2H - Internal and external war: the spread of war
By summer 1793 the Republic faced foreign invasion, a major rebellion in the west and revolts against Paris in provincial cities. These emergencies strengthened wartime government, but the struggle between Girondins, the Mountain and popular activists also helped turn military danger into political repression.
War widens in 1793
The success of French armies in autumn 1792 did not guarantee security. Occupation of the Austrian Netherlands, revolutionary decrees in conquered territories and threats to open the Scheldt challenged established interests. After the execution of Louis XVI, France declared war on Britain and the Dutch Republic in February 1793 and on Spain in March. Britain, Austria, Prussia, Spain and other states formed the First Coalition, although their priorities and military efforts differed.
The Republic now faced several fronts and British naval strength. General Dumouriez's defeat at Neerwinden in March 1793 forced a retreat from Belgium. He then attempted to turn his army against the Convention and defected to the enemy when the attempt failed. A commander once celebrated for revolutionary victories appeared to confirm fears of betrayal. Defeat therefore undermined trust in both military leadership and the Girondins associated with the war policy.
The crisis worsened as coalition armies captured frontier fortresses during the summer. Enemy successes placed pressure on scarce supplies, experienced officers and manpower. Nevertheless, coalition forces pursued separate objectives and spent time besieging fortresses rather than advancing directly on Paris. The Republic was endangered, but its survival was still shaped by enemy decisions as well as French measures.
The Vendée rising
The rising in the Vendée, spreading across parts of western France beyond the department of that name, began in March 1793. The immediate trigger was the February levy of 300,000 men: villagers resisted selection for service in a distant war. This was the earlier levy, not the August levée en masse. Confusing the two reverses the sequence of cause and response.
Conscription activated deeper grievances. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the persecution of refractory priests had disrupted communities whose religious life depended on trusted local clergy. New officials and urban purchasers of church lands could appear to have benefited from a revolution that offered rural people few immediate gains. Attachment to Catholicism, hostility to outside authority and resentment of burdens gave the rising popular support.
Peasant fighters joined leaders such as the noble officers Charette and d'Elbée and the former peddler Cathelineau. They formed a Catholic and Royal Army and used local knowledge of hedges and lanes to resist republican forces. They took Saumur in June but failed to capture Nantes. The rebels' local commitments made them effective near home yet complicated sustained campaigning and unity of command.
Royalist and religious slogans did not mean that an aristocratic conspiracy had manufactured all grievances. Nor were all western inhabitants rebels: towns and local republicans resisted the rising. For Paris, however, the combination of rural revolt, foreign war and royalist leadership looked like a coordinated counterrevolution. This perception encouraged exceptional punishments as well as ordinary military operations.
Building wartime control
The Convention created new instruments of emergency rule before the Mountain's victory over the Girondins. A Revolutionary Tribunal was established in March 1793 to try political offences. Local surveillance committees monitored suspected opponents. Deputies sent as representatives on mission supervised recruitment, armies and provincial authorities, enabling the centre to intervene where ordinary administration appeared unreliable.
The Committee of Public Safety, created on 6 April 1793, coordinated executive action, particularly war and national defence. Danton was an important early member. The Committee of General Security handled policing and surveillance, while the Convention remained the source of the committees' authority. These bodies overlapped: the Republic was not yet controlled by one man or one institution.
Food policy also became a security issue. The grain maximum of May 1793 limited grain prices; forced loans on the wealthy and measures against hoarding sought resources for the Republic. Such policies answered popular demands but relied on enforcement against reluctant traders or farmers. A price ceiling could restrain prices in legal markets without ensuring that enough produce reached them.
Continue this lesson.
You’re previewing NovaLearn without an account. Create a free account to read the rest.
Create free account