1792, the LA voted to abolish the monarchy, marked a new phase in the rev
(a republic) & broke a long tradition.
Shocked foreign monarchs- led to GB & Spain joining the war in 1793. The
incr tension in war set the stage for harsher measures (e.g. Law of suspects).
o By now the war was already going badly for France (many
soldiers deserted in the invasion of the Austrian Netherlands; by
the end of Aug 1792, the Prussian army had taken Longwy &
France – LA
Verdun), so it didn’t worsen the situation much.
Led to / highlighted a shift in power:
Significance of the overthrow of the o Led to even more emigres & royalists, etc went into hiding. This
left the Girondins in charge – relatively radical group, so rev was
Monarchy o
shifted left.
Showed/incr the power of the sans-culottes – Girondins had to
[=5, =4] make concessions to sans-culottes who played a big part (e.g. in
storming the Hotel de Ville) – e.g. Danton was appointed.
o Bastille had already shown the power of the sans-culottes.
There had been calls for republicanism from as early as Varennes (1791), so
this wasn’t that radical.
By this point, Louis XVI’s powers had already been greatly restricted by the
LA – e.g. only a suspensive veto on matters not related to the consti or
finance.
Issued by Commander in Chief of the Austrian-Prussian army in
Aug 1792, it promised that if the royal fam was harmed, they
would inflict ‘exemplary vengeance’.
Instead of intimidating the revolutionaries, it galvanized
support for the rev cause, as the French saw it as foreign
interference & a threat to their sovereignty.
France – LA Solidified the perception of the French monarchy as an enemy
War of the rev.
o Made it seem like the monarchy was aligning itself w
Significance of the Brunswick manifesto external powers & against the interests of the French
nation.
[=5, =2] Directly contributed to the storming of the Tuileries Palace in
Aug 1792.
Brunswick’s forces faced logistical challenges making them
slow to mobilise & delayed their execution of the threat.
Radicalisation w/in France was already growing quickly before
the Brunswick Manifesto.
Sep 1792, 52,000 French troops defeated 34,000 Prussians.
Saved the rev – halted the Prussian advance, if Prussians won,
Paris & the rev would’ve fallen, imp victory.
Turning point – w/in a month, French troops had occupied much
of the left of the bank of the Rhine. Before this the war had gone
badly.
France – LA
Boosted the Rev Spirit – impr morale & commitment to the rev.
Restored trust in gov & monarchy.
War Bolstered the position of the Girondins w/in the French gov, who
advocated for a more aggressive & expansionist foreign policy.
Significance of the Battle of Valmy Annexation of land (Jan 1793) following the battle was problematic
– revolutionary administrations set up in annexed countries pad the
[=6, =3] French army @ the expense of the local pop.
o Alienated the pop (causing unrest) & confirmed
Robespierre’s prediction that French armies wouldn’t be
welcome.
Decree of Fraternity (Nov 1792) issued by the convention offered
support to countries wishing to overthrow their rulers & established
democracy – alarmed foreign monarchs.
, The war began badly – no military discipline (General Dillon was
murdered by his own troops) & before the Battle of Valmy France was
retreating almost constantly (partly b/c 60% of officers had emigrated).
o Incr suspicion that Marie Antoinette was passing military
secrets to Austrians (proven by the armoire de fer).
Lafayette tried to march on Paris & deserted to the Austrians when his
France – LA troops refused. Louis XVI’s refusal to put him on trial made it seem like
he was working against the rev.
Overthrow of the Monarchy The Brunswick manifesto made it seen as if the enemy & Louis XVI
were conspiring.
The War The impact on the economy (cost at least 5 bill livres) caused
discontent.
[=8, =1] Louis XVI vetoed a proposal to call provincial troops to defend the
capital – made it look as if he wanted France to lose.
Involvement of sans-culottes in the war gave them admission into the
national guard, thus arming them, giving them the ability to carry out
journées such as the attack on Tuileries.
Trust in the King had already been undermined by the flight to
Varennes & economic failure.
Brissotin’s campaign for war argued that success would show
the power of the new regime & help France spread its rev ideas.
Many believed that success would be easy – France would
have support from the enemy’s own repressed subjects & the
European powers were unlikely to unite against France.
Many army commanders (Lafaette, Dumouriez, etc) were in
France – LA support of war in the hopes that success would incr their prestige
& allow them to negotiate w the LA on their own terms.
Reasons for & against War in Apr 1792 Louis XVI saw war as a win-win situation – if France won, he’d
be hailed as an enlightened supporter of the rev; if France lost,
[=5, =2] he’d regain his position.
Revolutionaries believed the war would root out those who
weren’t committed to the rev.
Feuillants opposed the war b/c there were too many
unresolved internal issues & divisions/
Robespierre saw the war as a plot by counter-revs for Louis XVI
to regain his absolute monarchy.
Militarization of the rev: consisted of volunteer citizen-
soldiers who were also militant revs & republicans.
o Brought perspectives of their localities, oft
representing more radical sentiments compared to
France – LA the moderate factions w/in the NA.
Their arrival in Paris in the summer of 1792 brought a
Overthrow of the Monarchy powerful pressure group & the threat of violent action, incr
Role of the fédérés pressure on the LA & monarchy.
o E.g. Contributed to the Aug 1792 storming of the
[=5, =1] Tuileries Palace.
Their presence in Paris helped establish networks of rev
activists across diff regions, enabling coordination & co-.
This facilitated the spread of revolutionary ideas
throughout France.
By Jul, there were only 5000 members.
The economy was declining.
o Inflation of assignats – price levels rose 20% in 1791.
o Bad harvests in 1791 Autumn led to flood riots in Paris & W
France in Jan & Feb 1792 (bread made up 2/3 of ppl’s
diets).
Led to high activity from sans culottes.
France – LA o Political clubs manipulated the discontent of sans-culottes
& linked economic protest to the demand for a republic.
Overthrow of the Monarchy o Driving force behind many journées that had shown the
Economic unrest crown’s lack of power & authority (e.g. 1789 October Days
& Great Fear).
[=8, =1] Convinced the ppl that the monarchy & current gov were
incompetent (esp compared to Louis IV).
The monarchy’s lavish lifestyle contrasted badly w the poor
economic state. Made it seem like the monarchy prioritized their
own interests over that of others. Led to the 1789 Oct Days.
The economic state was made much worse by the war – cost
France at least 5 bill livres.
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