Reign of Terror

A period of the French Revolution from 1793 to 1794 marked by mass executions and political repression under the Committee of Public Safety.

Committee of Public Safety: A French revolutionary executive committee that directed wartime government and, during the Terror, helped oversee repression. It exercised central authority over the republic during the Terror.
French Revolution: A period of political and social upheaval in France beginning in 1789 that ended the monarchy and reshaped the state. The Terror emerged from the Revolution’s struggle to remake France.
Maximilien Robespierre: A French revolutionary politician who became a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety and a central figure in the Terror. His political authority became closely associated with the Terror’s final phase.
Execution of Louis XVI: The public execution of France’s deposed king by guillotine on 21 January 1793. It preceded the Terror and made the break with monarchy irreversible.
Thermidorian Convention: The National Convention after Robespierre’s fall, which dismantled key institutions of the Terror and governed until 1795. Its policies reversed the emergency order that had sustained the Terror.
Law of Suspects: A 1793 French law that broadened the grounds for arresting people suspected of opposing the Revolution. It gave authorities wide latitude to detain alleged enemies.
War of the First Coalition: A series of wars beginning in 1792 in which France fought a coalition of European powers. Foreign invasion intensified fears of defeat and internal betrayal.
Georges Danton: A French revolutionary leader who helped overthrow the monarchy and later urged an end to the Terror. His execution in 1794 showed that revolutionary leaders were also vulnerable.
Execution of Marie Antoinette: The execution of France’s former queen by guillotine on 16 October 1793. It exemplified the revolutionary government’s prosecution of the royal family.
White Terror: A wave of reprisals by royalists and anti-Jacobins against former revolutionaries and Jacobin supporters, especially in 1795. It shows that political violence continued after the Terror’s official end.

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