Great Fear

The Great Fear was a wave of rural panic and revolt across France in the summer of 1789, driven by rumors of aristocratic plots and attacks on peasants.

Rumor: An unverified story or report circulated among people as though it might be true. Rumors of armed brigands and aristocratic plots carried panic between villages.
French Revolution: A period of political and social upheaval in France beginning in 1789 and ending in 1799. The Great Fear was an early rural crisis within the Revolution.
August Decrees: The National Assembly’s decisions of 4–11 August 1789 that dismantled many feudal privileges in France. Rural revolt helped drive the Assembly to abolish seigneurial privileges.
Great Fear in Franche-Comté: A regional episode of rural panic and revolt in Franche-Comté during the summer of 1789. It reveals how the crisis took shape beyond the best-known outbreaks.
Brigandage: Robbery and violence by organized or loosely organized groups of outlaws. Fears of brigands approaching villages helped trigger defensive mobilization.
Estates-General of 1789: A representative assembly summoned by Louis XVI that opened at Versailles in May 1789. Its political deadlock unsettled authority while village communities faced local threats.
Abolition of feudalism: The ending of feudal privileges and obligations in France during the Revolution. The Great Fear intensified pressure for this sweeping legal transformation.
Great Fear in Alsace: A regional outbreak of rural panic and revolt in Alsace during the summer of 1789. Local reports and attacks there show the movement’s geographic reach.
Château burning: The destruction of aristocratic residences during episodes of rural revolt in 1789. Some peasants attacked châteaux as panic shifted toward resistance to seigneurial power.
Storming of the Bastille: The capture of the Bastille fortress in Paris on 14 July 1789 by revolutionary crowds. The news of Parisian revolt helped unsettle rural communities already fearing conspiracy.

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