Robespierre's Thoughts On Austria's Preemptive Strike

Maximilien Robespierre was a French lawyer and politician who became one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution. He was a radical Jacobin leader who came to prominence as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, an administrative body of the First French Republic. Robespierre fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard. Additionally, he advocated the right to petition, the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.

Robespierre's legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual or perceived participation in the repression of the Revolution's opponents. However, he is notable for his progressive views for the time. Robespierre's views and policies continue to evoke controversy. Academic and popular discourse persistently engage in debates surrounding his legacy and reputation.

Robespierre was a member of the Committee of Public Safety, which ruthlessly eliminated all those considered enemies of the revolution. These included leading revolutionary figures such as Georges Danton. In May 1794, Robespierre insisted that the National Convention proclaim a new official religion for France - the cult of the Supreme Being. The intensification of the 'Reign of Terror' and Robespierre's autocracy made him increasingly unpopular. A conspiracy was formed to overthrow Robespierre, and on 27 July 1794, he was arrested. The following day, Robespierre, wounded from a bullet to the jaw, and 21 of his closest supporters were executed at the guillotine.

Robespierre's opposition to war with Austria

Robespierre was a radical Jacobin leader who fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard. He advocated the right to petition, the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. He was also known for his progressive views for the time.

However, Robespierre's legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual or perceived participation in the repression of the Revolution's opponents. He was a prominent member of the Paris Commune and was elected as a deputy to the National Convention in early September 1792. He joined The Mountain, a radical left-wing faction. Robespierre faced criticism for purportedly trying to establish either a triumvirate or a dictatorship. In April 1793, he advocated for the mobilisation of a sans-culotte army to enforce revolutionary laws and eliminate any counter-revolutionary elements. This call led to the armed Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793. On 27 July, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Public Safety.

Robespierre faced growing disillusionment among his peers due in part to the politically-motivated violence advocated by The Mountain. Increasingly, members of the Convention turned against him, and accusations piled up on 9 Thermidor. Robespierre was arrested and taken to prison. Approximately 90 individuals, including Robespierre, were executed without trial in the following days, marking the onset of the Thermidorian Reaction.

> If they are Caesars, Catilines or Cromwells, they seize power for themselves. If they are spineless courtiers, uninterested in doing good yet dangerous when they seek to do harm, they go back to lay their power at their master's feet and help him to resume arbitrary power on condition they become his chief servants.

> In troubled periods of history, generals often became the arbiters of the fate of their countries.

Robespierre's role in the Committee of Public Safety

Robespierre was a prominent member of the Paris Commune and a radical Jacobin leader. He was elected as a deputy to the National Convention in early September 1792, joining The Mountain, a radical left-wing faction. Robespierre was a fervent campaigner for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard. He advocated for the right to bear arms in self-defence, the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, and the right to petition. He was also a deist, favouring it over atheism.

Robespierre was appointed to the Committee of Public Safety on 27 July 1793. The Committee was created in April 1793 and was given broad supervisory powers over military, judicial, and legislative efforts. Robespierre's appointment to the Committee came after the defeat of the Girondists in the Convention. Robespierre's power within the Committee peaked between August 1793 and July 1794, during which he established a virtual dictatorship.

Robespierre's time in the Committee was marked by the Reign of Terror, a period of violence during the French Revolution incited by conflict between two rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins. The Reign of Terror saw mass executions of "the enemies of the revolution", with the death toll ranging in the tens of thousands. Robespierre was a key figure in the Reign of Terror, dominating the Committee of Public Safety and exercising virtual dictatorial control over the French government.

Robespierre's time in the Committee was also marked by his opposition to the Hébertists and Dantonists, two factions that rose in opposition to the restructured Revolutionary Government. The Hébertists, also known as the Ultras, pushed for stronger repression measures and campaigned for de-Christianisation. The Dantonists, also known as the Citras, were strongly opposed to the machinery of the Terror and the policies of the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre led the charge against these factions, resulting in their execution in March and April 1794, respectively.

Robespierre's influence began to wane due to his declining health and frequent absences from the Committee and the National Convention. He also faced growing disillusionment and opposition from members of the Convention, who accused him of trying to establish a dictatorship. Robespierre was arrested and executed on 28 July 1794, marking the onset of the Thermidorian Reaction and the end of the Reign of Terror.

Robespierre's influence on the National Convention

However, Robespierre's influence began to wane as he faced growing disillusionment and opposition from members of the Convention. He was criticised for his purported attempts to establish a triumvirate or dictatorship and was accused of conspiring with internal enemies and calumniators within the Convention and the governing Committees. This tension ultimately led to his arrest and execution on July 28, 1794, marking a shift towards more moderate policies during the Thermidorian Reaction.

Robespierre's stance on the death penalty

During the Reign of Terror, Robespierre's stance seemed to shift. In a speech on 8 Thermidor (26 July 1794), he spoke of "internal enemies, conspirators, and calumniators" within the Convention and the governing Committees, which some interpreted as a prelude to another purge. Robespierre's role in the French Revolution and his association with the Reign of Terror have made him a divisive figure, with some scholars arguing that he used his oratorical skills to justify repression and maintain his ideals of a society built on virtue. However, others suggest that he had little to do with the organisation of the Terror and that his evolving stance on the death penalty was a result of changing political views and the need to protect the fledgling republic.

Robespierre's views on capital punishment were not the only aspect of his political philosophy that evolved. He also opposed the de-Christianisation movement, recognising that it would drive people into the arms of the refractory clergy and endanger the Revolution. Additionally, he initially opposed the declaration of war on European monarchies, arguing that it would consolidate opposition to the Revolution and risk military dictatorship. However, once war was declared, Robespierre supported the creation of a revolutionary army to defend Paris and the Revolution.

Robespierre's legacy remains controversial, with debates continuing about his true intentions, the extent of his responsibility for the Reign of Terror, and the nature of his political philosophy.

Robespierre's views on the abolition of slavery

Robespierre was a radical Jacobin leader and one of the principal figures in the French Revolution. He was a lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution.

Robespierre fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard. Additionally, he advocated the right to petition, the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.

On the topic of slavery, Robespierre's stance exhibits certain contradictions, prompting doubts about his intentions regarding slavery. On the one hand, he vehemently denounced the slave trade, emphasising that slavery contradicted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. On the other hand, Robespierre did not advocate for the immediate abolition of slavery. Proponents of slavery in France viewed him as a "bloodthirsty innovator" and accused him of conspiring to surrender French colonies to England.

On 4 April 1792, Louis XVI affirmed the Jacobin decree, which granted equal political rights to free blacks and mulattoes in Saint-Domingue. On 2 June 1792, the National Assembly appointed a three-man Civil Commission, led by Léger Félicité Sonthonax, to travel to Saint-Domingue and ensure the enforcement of the 4 April decree. However, the commission eventually issued a proclamation of general emancipation that included black slaves. Robespierre condemned the slave trade in a speech before the Convention in April 1793.

On 3 June 1793, Robespierre attended a Jacobin meeting to lend support for a decree aimed at ending slavery. On 4 June 1793, a delegation of sans-culottes and men of colour, led by Chaumette, presented a petition to the Convention requesting the general emancipation of the blacks in the colonies. The abolition of slavery was officially included in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793. The radical 1793 constitution, championed by Robespierre and the Montagnards, was ratified in August through a national referendum. It granted universal suffrage to French men and explicitly condemned slavery. However, the French Constitution of 1793 was never put into effect.

Starting in August 1793, former slaves in St Domingue were granted "all the rights of French citizens". In August 1793, an increasing number of slaves in St Domingue initiated a Haitian Revolution against slavery and colonial domination. Robespierre, however, prioritised the rights of free people of colour over those of the enslaved. On 31 October 1793, slavery was officially abolished in St Domingue. Robespierre criticised the actions of the former governor of Saint-Domingue Sonthonax and Étienne Polverel, who initially had freed slaves in Haïti, but then proposed arming them. Robespierre also cautioned the Committee against relying on white individuals to govern the colony. In 1794, the National Convention passed a decree abolishing slavery in all the colonies. On the day following the emancipation decree, Robespierre addressed the Convention, lauding the French as pioneers in "summoning all men to equality and liberty, and their full rights as citizens". Although Robespierre mentioned slavery twice in his speech, he did not specifically reference the French colonies. Despite petitions from the slaveholding delegation, the Convention resolved to fully endorse the decree. However, its implementation and application were limited to St Domingue (1793), Guadeloupe (December 1794) and French Guiana.

Robespierre's legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual or perceived participation in the repression of the Revolution's opponents. However, he is notable for his progressive views for the time.

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