TheRei gnofTerr

or(1793–1794)
Candidatesareexpect
edt obeablet
odefinetheTer
roraswel
lasexplai
nit
scauses
andresults.Theyarealsoexpect
edt
odiscusshowtheTerr
orachi
evedit
sobject
ives,
thati
s,themachiner
yoft heTer
ror
.

Whatwast
het
err
or?

Thiswast heperi
odi ntheRevolut
ionwhent hegovernmentofFranceasembodi edin
theConv ent
ion,deli
berat
elyadoptedapolicyoft err
orinordert oinsti
l
lf earinthe
Republi
ci nthehear tsoft heroyal
ist
s,t
raitor
s,counter– revoluti
onar
iesand war
prof
it
eers.TheTerrorwasanemer gencyandt emporarymeasuremeantt orunforone-
year1793–1794.Nor malgover
nmentwassuspendeddur ingthereignofTerror
.

Causesoft
het
err
or

TheTer
rorwascausedbyt
hedet
eri
orat
ingsi
tuat
ionbot
hint
ernal
l
yandout
sideFr
ance.

a)
Thei
nter
nalr
evol
ts

Revol
tsbrokeoutinaboutsi
xtydepart
ment
ssouthandwestofPar i
s,wherer oy
ali
sts,
non-j
uri
ngpri
estsandGir
ondinsmadecommoncauset oovert
hrowtheJacobinsreign.
Some oft he depar
tments whi
ch wer ei
nr ev
oltincl
uded La-
Vendee,Ly ons and
Marseil
l
es.Thepeasant
s,especi
all
yinLaVendeehadrebel
ledagai
nsttherecrui
tment
oftr
oops.

I
nPar i
sandel sewhere,t
hepri
ceofbread,whichhadbeenstabil
i
zedthepreci
ousy ear
,
roseshapl
y.Necessit
iessuchassoap,sugar
,andcoffeewer
eunobt ai
nabl
e.Therewas
anunparal
lel
edshor t
ageoffoodandtheassignat
sdroppedonlytoabout30percentof
thei
rnormalvalue.

Theext
ernalt
hreat–Thef
ir
stcoal
it
ion

Wit
ht he for
mat i
on oft he Fir
stCoali
ti
on,mat terst ook a ser
ious t
urn al
most
i
mmedi atel
y.Thedef eatandtreasonofDumouriezwer ef ol
lowedbythelossofthe
Netherl
ands.Spanishtroopscrossedt
hePy r
enees.Thecr i
siswasaggrav
atedbythe
si
mul t
aneousinvasionbyPrussi
anandJordani
anf orces,
whi l
etheBri
ti
shfl
eetbegana
bl
ockadeofFr
enchhar
bour
s.

Therefor
e,wi
ththesecl
earanddanger
ousthreatstotheRevol
uti
on,i
twascl
eart
hat
drasti
cmeasur
esonlywoul
dsavetheRepubl
i
c, hencet
heReignofTer
ror
.

Themachi
ner
yoft
het
err
or

TheCommi
tt
eeofPubl
i
csaf
ety

The t hr
eatt othe Republ i
c posed byf orei
gn ar
mi es and i
nternalr evol
ts had an
i
mmedi ateef f
ectoni nt
ernalpoli
ti
cs.TheConv ent
ionentrust
edal lexecutiv
eaut horit
y
toasecr etcommi t
teeofni nemember s,knownast heCommi tt
eeofPubl i
cSaf et
y.The
mosti mpor tantmemberwasDant on.TheCommi tteecontr
oll
edt hemi nist
ersaswel l
ast hevariouscommi tt
eesoft heConv enti
on.Bymeansofpol i
ticalcommi ssi
oner s,i
t
keptacl osewat chonl ocalgovernmentsint hepr
ov i
ncesandi ncit
edt hem toact i
on.
t
h
Ont he10 ofJul y1793,t heCommi tt
eeofPubl i
csaf et
y-whi chwasi nchar geof
externalsecurit
y,assumeddi ctat
orial
power s.

Thecommi
tt
eeofGener
alSecur
it
y

Thiscommi tteecontrol
l
edt hepolice,i
nvesti
gatedthereport
sofsecretinf
ormantsand
arr
estedconspi rat
orsandsuspectper sons. I
not herwords,itwasinchar geofthe
i
nternalsecurit
yduringtheReignofTer ror.TheReignofTerrorcanbedi v
idedint
othe
economic,reli
giousandpoliti
cal/mil
it
aryTerror
.Thisisbecausethet
errorwastomake
i
tselff
elti
nt heeconomi c,
reli
giousandpol i
ti
calspher
es.

i
)Theeconomi
cter
ror

Thepur poseoft heeconomi cter

rorwasr eall
ytoor ganizethepeoplewi thav i
ew to
supresst hest ateofwar .I nthismanner ,milit
arysuppl i
escould beobt ai
ned at
reasonablecost .Thecl ashi
nginterestsoft heconsumerandt hepr oducercouldbe
coordinat
ed.Acent ralFoodcommi t
t eecontri
butedt ot hesuccessoft hepoli
cy.Bread
wasr ati
oned,foodandwarsuppl ieswer eear markedf ort hewareff
ortatf i
xedprices.
Accordingtot hel aw oft heMaximum,t heConv ent i
ononl ycouldsett hemaxi mum
pri
cesofal lbasiccommodi ti
es.Becausesomeoft hef armerswerenol ongerselli
ng
thei
rgr ai
nt ogov ernmentbecauseofl ow pr i
cesof f
eredbyt hel atter
,twodr asti
c
measur eswerei ntroduced.Thesewer efoodr equisi
tioning–wher ebyt hegovernment
usedforcetogetthegrai
nfrom t
hefar
mer sandmakinghoar
dingpuni
shabl
ebydeath.
Str
ingentfinanci
almeasures weretaken to war
d offthe fi
nanci
alcri
sis,e.
g.a
compulsorylevyof1000000Francsontheri
ch.

i
i
)Ther
eli
gioust
err
or

I
nr el
igiousmat t
ers,t
hepay mentofsal ari
est opr i
est swasl eftinabey anceandt he
Chri
stianr el
igi
onwasv i
ewedwi thsuspici
onandscor n.TheHer bert
ists,asmallgroup
offanaticsunderHer bertandFouche,whocont rolledt hePar isCommune,want edto
takemat tersevenf ur
ther.AllchurchesinPariswer eclosed,andst epswer etakento
i
nstit
uteat heism,ast heoffi
cialrel
igi
on.LutherCat hedr alorNot reDame,anact r
ess
wascr ownedast heGoddessofReason.Thepr ovincesf ollowedt heexampl eofParis,
andthousandsofchur cheswereclosed,orconvertedi nto“templesofr eason”

Ther epublicanCal endarr eplacedt heChr i

sti
an–Gr egorianone.Thet welvemont hsof
they earwer er e-namedaf terseasons,andt henamesofsai ntsinthecal endarwer e
repl
acedbynamesofpl ants,treesandf r
uit
s.Ev erymont hwasdi vi
dedi ntot hree
peri
odsoft enday s,sot hatt heChr i
sti
anSundayf ellaway.Thesemeasur es,wer e,
howev er,notaspopul arasant i
-cler
icali
stshadhoped. Robespi erre,whoper sonal ly
helddeist i
cconv ictionsr egardedt heexcessesoft heHer ber
ti
stsasabl otont hename
oft heRepubl ic,andf earedt hatt herewoul dbeser i
ousr epercussionsabr oad.The
Commi t
t eeofPubl icsafet yalsorealizedthatthemaj orityoftheFrenchwer est il
lloy al
totheRomanCat holi
cChur ch.I naddi ti
on,therewast hepossibi
li
tyt hatther eli
gi ous
terr
orcoul dbecomeasour ceofsoci alconf usi
onandpol iti
caldisunity. Wi t
ht he
suppor tofDant on,t he Heber ti
stswer e consequentlyaccused condemned byt he
RevolutionaryTr i
bunal ,andsentt ot hegui l
lot
ine.

Thepol
it
ical
ter
ror

Thepol it
icalterrori
sm oft heReignofTer rorwasextensive.The“ l
aw ofsuspect s”
determinedt hatallsuspectsshouldbechar gedimmediatel
y.Suspect swer edescribed
asal lpersonswhoshowedt hattheysy mpathi
zedwi t
h“ tyranny”.Asar esul
t,f ew
royal
ist
s, Gir
ondinsorpeopl ewhower einthesli
ght
est,di
ssatisfi
edwi t
ht heRevolution,
escaped.I nPar i
s,theCommi t
teeofGener al
Securi
tyhadthetaskofar resti
ngsuspect s,
whileinthepr ovi
nces,vigi
lancecommi tteeswereresponsible.Ithasbeencal culated
thatabout500000peopl ewer earr
ested.BetweenJanuary1793andJune1795,t he
Revolut
ionaryTr i
bunal,aspecialcourtnotboundbyt heor
dinar yrul
esofcour tandlegal
procedures,sentabout2800peopleamongt hem Mar i
eAnt
oinet
teandt hedukeof
Orleans,tothegui
ll
oti
ne.Manyother
swerethev ict
imsofasenselessbut
chery
,whi
le
theirpr
opertywasconfi
scat
ed.Theworstat
rocit
iesoccurr
edi
ntheprovi
nces.

Themi
li
tar
yter
ror

Onther ecommendat ionsoftheCommi t

teeofPubli
cSafety,
theConvent
ionproclaimed
agener almobil
i
zat i
onf ormil
it
aryserv
iceandlabour.Itwasani mport
antstepi nthe
di
recti
on off ul
l-scale war. An armyof750 000 men was soon r ai
sed through
conscri
ptionorleveeenmasse.Al lmenbetweentheagesof25and40wer edr aft
ed
i
ntothear my.Tri
but emustgot otheef
fort
softheenergeti
cCarnot
.Hetransf
ormedan
i
ll
-di
scipli
nedandi l
l-
equippedFrenchar
myi nt
oaneffici
entar
my .

Ther esultsoft
het err
or–positi
ver esul
ts
Whi letheabovemeasur eswerefrequent l
ysenselessandcruel,theyhadani mport
ant
effect.TheReignofTer r
orwasv i
ewedbynor malandcivi
li
zedcitizensasani mperati
ve
i
n or dert o ov
ercome a nati
onalst at
e ofemer gency.Notonl ytreason,butev en
i
ndi ff
erenceorl axnesstowardst heRepubl i
cbecamedanger ous. Inaddi ti
on,the
greatestdangers,aswellast
hethreat sfr
om abroad,coul
dbecount er
eddur i
ngOctober
1793wi thagoodmeasur eofsuccess. Fr anceendedt hey ear1793wi thexcell
ent
vi
ct ori
es.

i
)First
ly,t
heexternalenemy,whichist hef
ir
stcoalit
ionwasr
epul
sedacr
ossev
ery
bor
der,andthecounter
-r
evol
uti
onaryspr
itwascont
ained.

i
i
)Thei
nter
nal
rev
olt
sint
hedepar
tment
sli
keLaVendeewer
esuppr
essed.

i
ii
)Duet ot
heeconomicter
ror
,thevalueoftheassi
gnat
sremai
nedf
air
lyf
ir
m.I
not
her
words,
theeconomi
csceneimproveddrast
ical
l
y.

Negat
iver
esul
ts

i
)Thet err
orhadr
esul
tedi
nthedeat
hsofmanyi
nnocentpeopl
ethr
ought
heLaw of
Suspect
s.

i
i)Thedechri
sti
ani
zi
ngact
ivi
ti
esoft
heHebert
ist
shadcompr
omisedtheuni
tyofthe
nat
ion astheRoman Cat
holi
cChurch wast
hemajor
it
yrel
igi
on i
n Fr
ance. Lat
er
Robespi
err
e,whobel i
evedinthebindi
ngf
orceofr eli
gion,di
dnotwanttorei
ntr
oduce
RomanCatholi
cism.Hei nt
roducedanewdeisti
crel
igioncharact
eri
zedbyt
wothings–
thecul
toftheSupremeBeingandtheimmorali
tyofthesoul.

i
i
i)Robespi
err
e’sdi
ctatorship:-I
nst
eadofendingtheTerr
oraf
terithadaccomplishedi
ts
pur
pose,Robespierr
ei ntensi
fi
edit.Thi
sintensi
fi
cat
ionwast ot
all
yunjust
if
iedasit
waspromptedbyper sonalself
ishambi
ti
on.I tr
esult
edintheexecuti
onofDant on
andfi
ft
eenofhisf ol
lower s.

i
v)The Ther midori
an Convention (July 1794 – October1795) .Int he month of
Thermidor(July)
,theReignofTer rorreachedat ur
ningpoi
nt.ThefearthatRobespier
re
washeadi ngf ortot
aldictat
orshiphadr api
dlybeengrowing.Robespier
rebecameso
obsessedwi thpowerthathewant edthroughthelawofPr ai
ri
al(June)1794,tosi
lence
al
lcri
ticism.Thisali
enat
edhi mf rom mostmember softheCommi tt
eeofPublicsafety
.
t
h
Consequentlyont he27 ofJul y( 9thermidor
),hewasar r
ested.Thefoll
owingday,the
t
h
28 Jul y1794,hewasgui l
l
otinedwi t
h21ofhi sfoll
owers.

Consequencesofthef
allofRobespi
err
e
i
)Thecommi t
teesofPublicSafet
yandthatofGener
alssecur
it
ylostt
hei
rdespot
ic
powers

i
i
)TheRev
olut
ionar
yTr
ibunal
wasabol
i
shed.

i
i
i)TheJacobi
nscl
ubwascl
osed.

i
v)TheConv ent
ionret
ainedit
sgripont
heRev
olut
ion,andt
her
emai
ningGi
rondi
ns
r
egai
nedaccesstotheConvent
ion.

v
)Theeconomi
cty
rannywasr
elaxedandf
orcedl
oanswer
eabol
i
shed.

v
i)Al
i
stoft
hel
awsagai
nstt
henon-
jur
ingpr
iest
sandagai
nstt
heémi
gréswer
erev
oked.

v
ii
)Rel
i
giousf
reedom wasr
einst
ated.

v
ii
i)Thebourgeoi
sieregai
nedt hepoli
ticalcont
rolwhi
chithadt empor
ari
lylosttothe
r
asheffort
stoestabl
ishar epubl
icandemocr acy.Tof or
est
allanyfur
therattemptto
r
estor
et hemonarchy
,t hebourgeoisi
ei ntheConvent
iondrew uptheconst i
tut
ionof
y
earII
I(1795)
.

St
udyGui
des

i
)Whatwast
hesi
gni
fi
canceoft
heov
ert
hrowoft
heGi
rondi
ns?
i
i
)Howdi
dRobespi
err
ejust
if
ythet
err
or?

i
i
i)Whatwast
hei
mpactoft
heMaxi
mum Laws?

i
v)Howi
mpor
tantaf
igur
eisRobespi
err
eint
hehi
stor
yoft
heFr
enchRev
olut
ion?

v
)Howsuccessf
ulwast
err
or?

v
i)WhywasRobespi
err
eov
ert
hrownandexecut
eddur
ingt
hecoupd’
tatofTher
midor
?

vi
i)To whatext
entdi
dthe execut
ions -
aul
ott
es shape t
he cour
se oft
he Fr
ench
Revol
uti
on?

v
ii
i)Assesswhyt
hegov
ernmentf
oll
owedsuchext
remepol
i
cesdur
ingt
heTer
ror
?

i
x)Whatmeasur
eswer
etakent
oendTer
ror
?

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.“
Consideri
ngi
tsresul
tsuponFrenchsoci
etybet
ween1793and1794,t
err
orwasan
unnecessar
yev
il
.”Howf ardoy
ouagree?

2.Anal
ysethecausesandr
esul
tsofcount
er-
rev
olut
ionar
ywar
sinFr
ancebet
ween1792
and

1794.

3.Towhatext
entdi
dtheJacobi
nschanget
hecour
seoft
heFr
enchRev
olut
ion?

4.Whywast
her
uleofNapol
eonBonapar
teso‘
successf
ul’
inFr
ance?

THEDI
RECTORY:1795 -1799
Chapt
erobj
ect
ives

Byt
heendoft
hischapt
er,
student
sshoul
dbeabl
eto:

Expl
aint
heci
rcumst
anceswhi
chl
edt
ocr
eat
ionoft
heDi
rect
ory
.

Descri
beandexplai
nthestr
engthsandweaknessesoft
heConst
it
uti
onofYear111of1795
whichgaver
isetotheDir
ector
y.
Expl
ainwhyt
hepopul
arr
isi
ngsofGer
minal
andPr
air
alf
ail
edi
n1795i
nFr
ance.

Expl
aint
hereasonswhyt
heDi
rect
orywasabl
etosur
viv
ethemanyonsl
aught
sitf
acedbet
ween
1795and1799.

Expl
ainwhyt
heDi
rect
orywasev
ent
ual
l
yint
heCoupdet
atofBr
umai
re(
Summer1799)
.

Ev
aluat
etheachi
evement
soft
heDi
rect
ory
.

Expl
aint
heNapol
eonBonapar
te’
sri
set
opoweri
nFr
ance.

BACKGROUND

Thei mmedi at
eaftermat hsoft hefal
loftheJacobi nswasthat,theNat ionalConv ention
mov edi ntorestoreor der.TheJacobi nsthemsel veshadarisenoutoft heNat ional
Conv ecti
onasmember soft heMont agnards.Butt heyhadext remev i
ewsandv i
olent
tact
icst osavetherev oluti
on.Theset acti
csincludedter
ror,
dictatorshipandt heuseof
thelawoft hemaxi mum.Al thoughRobespierreclai
medt obewor kingt owardssav ing
therev ol
uti
onf r
om int ernalandexternalthreat
s,itmustber emember edt hathehad
morei mportantsi
nistermot ivessuchasset t
ingupanunpar all
eldictatorshipinFrance.

I
twast heref
orecommonunder standingandexpect ati
ont hatt hef
ir
stt asktheNat ional
Conv enti
on would do to ensureal asti
ng guarant
ee oft he li
berti
es oft he 1789
revolut
ionwoul dbetoremov ealltheinst i
tut
ionsandmechani smsoft error,
andi ntheir
place,sett
ingupademocr aticconst i
tution.Theconstituti
onwoul densur ethatnoone
i
ndividualismadet oopower fulinFr ance.Hence,t heDi rectorywer eappoi ntedasa
guarantoragainstapossi
blereturnoft heJacobiandictatorshi
pi nFrance.

ENDINGTHETERROR
Bet
ween July1794 and 31 May1795 the conv
ent
ion setaboutdi
smant
li
ng t
he
machiner
yoftheTer
rori
nanumberofways.

TheRev
olut
ionalTr
ibunalwasabol
i
shed,andFr
ancer
esor
tedt
otheci
vi
ljudi
cial
syst
em.

Allpol
it
icalsuspectswhohadbeendet
ainedundert
hel
aw ofsuspect
swer
e
rel
easedwithoutcharge.

Thelaw ofPrai
ri
al,whi
chauthor
isedtheJacobi
nst ocar
ryoutmorewholesal
e
conv
ict
ionsandbroughtint
heGreatTerr
or,wasrepeal
ed.TheJacobi
ncl
ubwas
 al
socl
oseddown.

Reli
giousr eformswer ealsocarri
edoutt oendthede- Chr i
sti
anisationwhichhad
beenst artedbyt heHerbeti
sts.InSeptember1794,t heconv enti
ondeci dedt hat
i
twoul dnol ongerpaycl eri
calsal
ari
es.This,forthefirstti
me, broughtaboutt he
separation oft he church and stat
e. Mor eov er,on 21 Febr uary 1795 t he
governmentr est
oredfreedom ofwor shi
pf orallreli
gions,andt her ebyformal l
y
ending t he persecuti
on of r el
i
gion waged dur ing t he Ter r
or by t he de-
Chri
stianisati
oncampai gn.Fort hef i
rstti
mei namaj orEuropeancount ry
,t he
stat
ewasdecl ar
ingi
tsel
ftobeent i
rel
yneutrali
nal lmat t
ersofr el
igi
ousf ait
h.

Theabov echangesmeantt hatthepol

it
icalcent r
ali
zat
ionwhichhadbeenestabl
ished
byt heCommi t
teeofPubl i
cSaf et
ywasabandoned. Commi t
teesoft heNati
onal
Conv entionwer esetupt ot akeovermostoft heworkoft heCommi t
teeofGener al
Secur i
ty( CGS)andt heCommi tt
eeofPubli
cSaf ety(CPS).Thelat
terwasnowconf i
ned
torunni ngt hewaranddi pl
omacy .InParis,thecommunewasabol i
shed. I
nl ocal
government ,powerpassedagaintothemoder atesandpr oper
tyowner
swhohadbeen
i
ncont rol beforeJune1793.

THECONSTI TUTI ONOFTHEYEARI I

I,1795
The Ther mi dor
ians ( those indi
vi
duals and gr oups who had hel ped t o overthr
ow
Robespier r
e)want edanew const i
tuti
onwhi chwoul dguarant
eet hemai nfeat ur
esof
theRevol uti
onof1789.Thi shadusher edintheabol i
tionofpri
vi
leges,andfreedom of
theindi
vidualandt hecontroloflocalandnat ionalaffair
sbyanel ectedassembl yand
elect
edof fi
cial
s. Theyal sowant edt oensur et hatadi ct
atorshi
p,l i
kethatoft he
Commi tteeofPubl icSafet
y7( CPS)woul dbei mpossi bl
einthef ut
ureandt hatthere
wouldbenor et
urnt omonarchyort hepopularsov erei
gntyonthesans- cul
ott
emodel( a
viol
entandanar chicmanner ).

Themainf
eat
uresoft
henewconst
it
uti
onwhi
chbr
oughti
ntheDi
rect
orywer
ether
efor
e
asfol
l
ows:

Al
lmalesover21year
soldwhopaiddir
ectt
axat
ionwer
eal
l
owedt
ovot
eint
he
pr
imar
yassembli
estochooseel
ect
ors.

Realpower ,howev er,wasexer

cisedbytheelect
orswhoact uall
ychoset he
deput i
es.El ectorsthemsel
veshadtobepeoplewhopai dtaxesequi
valentto
150–200day slabour.Thiswassuchahighrequirementthatthenumberof
electorshadf all
enf r
om 50000in1790–2t o30000i n1795.El ect
orswer e,
therefore,
thev eryri
chwhohadsuffer
edf
rom t
heRev olut
ioni
n1793.
 I
nordertopreventadict
atorshi
par
isi
ng,t
heMi
dor
iansr
igi
dlysepar
atedt
he
l
egi
slat
uref
rom t
heExecut
ive.

THELEGI
SLATURE
Thel
egi
slat
urewasdi
vi
dedi
ntot
wochamber
sasf
oll
ows:

Thecounci lofFi
veHundr
ed,allofwhom hadtobeov
ertheageof30.This
councilwouldini
ti
atel
egi
slat
ionandt henwoul
dpassitonto acounci
lof
Ancients.

TheCouncilofAnci
entswere( 250menofov er40),whowouldappr
oveorobject
to bil
l
s,butcould notintroduce orchange them. There was no pr
operty
quali
fi
cati
onfortheconsti
tuti
onofot herchambers.Elect
ionsweretobehel d
everyyear
,whenathir
dofthemember sret
ir
ed.

THEEXECUTI VE
Theexecut ivewast obeaDi rectoryoffiv
emember s,chosenbyt heAnci entsfrom the
l
istdr awnupbyt hefivehundred.Thef i
veDi r
ectorswoul dholdof f
iceforf i
vey ears,
thoughone,chosenl othadt or eti
reeachy ear. Di rector
swer enotal lowedt obe
member sofei thercounci l
,andt heirpowerswer el imited.Theywoul dnoti nit
iateor
vetol awsordecl arewar ,andt heyhadnocont rolov erthet r
easury,y ettheyhad
considerableaut hor i
tyast heywer ei nchargeofdi plomacy ,mili
tar
yaf fair
sandl aw
enforcement .Mi nist
erswhoal socoul dnotsitint hecounci lswereappoi ntedby ,and
werer esponsiblet ot he di
rectors. Thi s was t he same case wi th gov ernment
commi ssi
oners, aswel lasrepresentati
vesonmi ssion, andnat i
onalagentswhosawt o
i
tthatgov ernmentpol i
cywasi mpl ementedintheprov inces.

WEAKENESSESOFTHENEW CONSTI TUTION

Inspi
teofthechecksandbal
ances,acomplexsy
stem whi
chensuredthatthepower
giv
entotheexecuti
vewasbalancedbythepowergrant
edtothelegi
slat
ure,t
henew
const
it
uti
onhadmanyweaknesses.

Theyear
lyel
ectionspr
omot
edi
nst
abi
l
ity
,asmaj
ori
ti
esi
nthecounci
l
scoul
dbe
qui
ckl
yovert
urned.

Therewasnomeansofr
esol
vi
ngconf
li
ctsbet
weent
heLegi
slat
ureandt
he
Execut
ive.

Thecounci
l
scoul
deasi
l
ypar
aly
set
heDi
rect
orybyr
efusi
ngopassl
awst
hatt
he
 gov
ernmentr
equi
red.

TheDi
rect
orscoul
dnei
therdi
ssol
vet
hecounci
l
snorv
etol
awspassedbyt
hem.

Thel
egislat
urewasnotinastrongposi
ti
oneit
her,
ifi
tcl
ashedwit
htheexecuti
ve.
I
twouldal t
erthecomposit
ionoftheDi
rect
oryonl
ybyreplaci
ngt
heonedi r
ector
whoret
iredeachyearwit
hitsowncandidat
e

The new const i

tuti
on enf orced,qui t
er i
gidl
y,t he separation ofpowers( the
divisi
onofExecut iveandLegi slati
vepower sinor derthatthegov er
nmentcoul d
notmakel awswi t
houtt hesuppor toft helegisl
at ur
e).Yeti fahostil
emaj orit
y
domi nat
ed t he Legislat
ur e,then t he consti
tuti
on al l
owed i tto paral
yse the
Director
y.Ast heDi rectorywasunabl et odissolv ethelegislat
ureorevenv eto
theirlaws,itcame t or elyon unconst i
tuti
onalmet hodssuch ascancel l
ing
electi
onr et
urnsandcal l
i
ngi nt hearmyt or esolveanydi sputes.Aswi l
lbenoted,
thear myhadt heirownv estedi nt
erestsandt heyenv iedpoliti
calpower.Thi
sl ed
totheov ert
hrowoft heDi r
ectoryin1799.

Itisi mpor t
anttonot et hattheconv ention,hav i
ngdr awnupt henew const itut
ion
devisedmeanst ocl ingont opower ,al i
ttl
el onger,sincet heyknew t hattheywer e
unpopul arasanel ect edassembl y
/chamber .Theyal sof earedt hatanopenel ection
mightpr oducear oy alistmajori
ty. Hence,i nordert oav oidthis,itdecreedt hattwo
thi
rdsoft hedeputiest othenew counci l
smustbechosenf rom amongt heexi st
ing
deputiesoft heConv ent i
on.Thenewconst i
tut
ionofYearI I
Iwasagr eedon,22August
1795.Thi swassubmi ttedtoaplebisci
tef orapproval.1057390wer einfavouroft he
constitution,agai
nst49978whoopposedi t.Fourmi ll
ionv oter
sdi dnotv otemai nly
becauseofapat hytowar dsthewholesy stem ofelectionsinFr ance.TheTwo–Thi rds
Decreewasaccept edbyonl y205000t o108000.Aswi l
lbeseent herewasgr owing
anxietyandf i
ssi
oninmanysect i
onsofFr enchpol i
ti
cal l
i
fe.

THEVERONADECLARATI
ON–Whydi
ditf
ail
toappealt
otheFr
enchpeopl
e?

Asthedi scussionsaboutt heproposedconst i

tuti
onwer eneari
ngacl ose,theRoyal
ists
soughtt opromot etheircause.Consti
tuti
onmonar chists,wanti
ngar eturntoalimited
monar chysimilartothatinthe1791Const i
tuti
on,felttheyweregainingpublicsupport
astheyappear edtoof f
erapr ospectofstabi
lit
y.Theyhadhopedt oputLouisXVI’
Sson,
-aprisonerintheTempl e.(
oneoft hepri
sonsi nParis),onthethroneasLOUI SXVII’
,but
hediedi nJune1795.

Fr
om nor
ther
nI t
aly
,ther
efor
e,camet
heCont
eDePr ov
ince,Loui
sXVI ’
sbr
otherwho
i
mmediat
elyprocl
aimedhimsel
fasLoui
sXVII
I,andon24June,i ssuedt
heVerona
Declaration.TheDecl arat
ionpr omisedt oreversemanyoft hel i
ber algainsmadedur i
ng
theFr enchRev ol
ution.Loui spromi sedt orestoretheanci entconst i
tut
ionofFr ance
compl etely,whichmeantr estori
ngt het hr
eeor dersandt hepar lement s( 3classes,–
fi
rst,secondandt hir
d).Heal sopr omisedt orestor
e‘ st
ol enpr oper ti
es”suchast he
l
andst akenf rom t
henobi l
ity,émigrésandcl ergy.Thisant agoni sedal lthosewhohad
boughtl andsandal lwhohadbenef i
tedf r
om theaboliti
onoft het i
theandsi egneurial
dues.Al thoughnoti ntended,t heVer onaDeclarati
onturnedoutt obeagr eatboostt o
those who l oved a republ i
c.Thi si s because the declarat i
on t urned outt o be a
reacti
onar ydocumentwhi chmadeev ent hetaskofrestori
ngt hemonar chyv er
ydi f
ficult
i
fnoti mpossi ble.

THEVENDEMI AIREUPRI SI
NG
TheVeronaDecl arat
ionf ai
ledt oattractmasssuppor tforther
oyali
stcause.Al t
hough
workont henewconst i
tuti
onwaspr oceedingwell,oft henewtwo-thir
dsl awcameasa
shocktomanyPar i
sianswhohadhopedt hatt
heconv enti
onwouldsoonber epl
aced.I
t
wast heinabil
it
ytodealwi thf oodshor t
agesandi nflati
onthatturnedmanyor di
nar
y
peopleagainsttheConv ention,yetitnowappear edt hatmanyofi tsdeput i
eswouldbe
ret
urned tot he new assembl y. Hence,t he attack on the conv enti
on became
synonymouswi ththeattackont henewDi rect
ory.

Theroyal
ists,
inpart
icul
ar,
fel
tthatt
heprospectofanyrestor
ati
onoft
hemonar chywas
unl
ikel
y,giv
ent heknownhostil
it
yoftheConv ent
ion.Frustr
ati
onandanger
,theref
ore,
spi
ll
edintorebell
i
on.

On5Oct ober1795( 13Vendemiair

e)alarger oyal
istcr
owdof25000gat her
edtomar ch
ont heConv entionandseizepower.Theygr eatl
yout numberedthe7500gov ernment
troops,butthel att
erhadcannons,underthecommandofGener alBanapart
e,whereas
ther ebelsdid not . Thedevastat
ing art
ill
eryfire– Bonapar t
e’sfamous“ Whiffof
grapeshot”,crushedtherebel
li
on.Asov er300wer ekill
edorwoundedi nthefi
ghting,
thiswasoneoft hebl
oodi
estoftherevol
utionaryepisodes.Ital
somar kedanot
herwar ,
thepeopl eofPar i
swouldnotagainat tempt ,t
oi nt
imidateanelect
edassembl yuntil
1830.

Thedi vi
sionsamongt heroyal
istsandt heunpopul ari
tyoft heVer onaDecl arati
on,all
madet her i
singofVendemi ai
reappearr athermy sterious.I tisusuallypresent edasa
royal
istri
singbr oughtaboutbyt hetwo-thir
dsDecr ee,whi ch,itissaid,prev entedt he
royal
ist
sf rom obt aini
ngamaj orityintheel ect
ionst ot heCounci ls. Yet,thel argest
groupsoft her ebelswerear t
isansandappr entices:at hir
doft hosear restedwer e
manualwor kers. Ther i
singwasnotsi mpl yagai nstt het wo-thi
rdsDecr ee,buthad
economi cor i
ginst oo. Manypeopl e,i
ncludingr ent i
ers-smal lpropertyowner s,and
governmentemployed,hadbeenbadl
yhitbyinf
lat
ion.Thesepeopl
e,whowereamong
therebel
s,hadsupport
edt heTher
midor
iansanddef endedt
heConvent
ioni
ntheri
sing
ofGerminalandPrai
ri
al.

Therepr essi
onthatf ol
l
owedwasl i
ght
.Onl ytwopeopl ewereexecutedalt
houghst eps
weret akentopr
ev entfurt
herri
sings.Thesectionalassembl
ieswereabolishedandt he
Nati
onal Guardwasputundert hecontrolofNapoleanBanapart
e,thenewAr myGener al
.
Forthesecondt imei nsixmonths,thearmyhadsav edtheDir
ector
y ,whi
chwasst illin
i
tsinfancyandstil
l dominatedbytheunpopularfor
mermember soft heConv ent
ion.

THEDI RECTORY
Thenewt hirdofthemember selectedtot hecouncilf
orfivehundr
edaf t
erVendemaire,
andt hedissolut
ionoft heConvention,wasmai nlyar oyal
ist
,buttheywere,atleast,
unabletoinfl
uencet hechoi
ceofdi rector
s.Ast heVer onaDeclar
ati
onhadt hr
eatened
topunishalltheregi
cides(t
hosewhoki ll
edtheKing),t
heConv ent
ionnel
s(member sof
theconventi
onbet ween1792and1795)wer eelect
edasDi rect
ors,
(Carnotwasthebest
known),allofwhom wer eregi
cides,ast hi
swoul dbeaguar ant
eeagainstar oyal
i
st
rest
orati
on.

Thedirector
swant edtopr ovi
deast abl
eandl iberalgovernmentwhichwoul dmai nt
ain
thegainsoft her evol
ution. Yettheproblemst heyfacedwer edaunti
ng. Thewar
appearedtobeendl ess,andithadt obepaidf or.Thet reasurywasempt y
,t axeswere
unpai
dandt heassignathaddr oppedinv alue.ManyFr enchmandidnotexpectt he
Dir
ectorytolastmor ethanaf ewmont hs.TheDi rect
orydi d,howev
er,survi
v eandfor
l
ongert hananyoftheot herr
evolut
ionar
yregimes.Ther ewer eanumberoff actorst
hat
contr
ibutedtothi
s:

TheDi
rect
orywascommi
tt
edt
orest
ori
ngt
her
uleofl
aw.

Manyofthei
rkeyopponent
sweredi
scr
edit
ed.Fewwantedareturneit
hert
othe
Jacobi
nTerr
orofYearI
Iortot
heabsol
utemonar
chyoft
heancientregi
me.

Whil
emanyor di
nar
ypeopl
ewer eprepar
edtoacceptaconst
itut
ionalmonarchy
wit
hl i
mited power
s,the roy
ali
ststhemsel
ves wer
e deepl
ydiv i
ded bet
ween
ext
remist
s who suppor ted the Verona Declar
ati
on and const it
uti
onal
monarchi
sts.

Publ
i
capathyal
sohelpedtheDirect
orytosur
viv
e–aftersi
xyearsofrev
olut
ion
andt
hreey
earsofwarrevol
uti
onaryent
husi
asm hadal
l
,butdi
sappear
ed.

Si
gni
fi
cant
ly,t
hear
mysuppor
tedt
heDi
rect
oryasar
oyal
i
str
est
orat
ionwoul
d
 meananendt ot hewar. Armyof fi
cersdi dnotwi sht obedepr iv
edofany
opport
unit
yprovidedbywar ,f
orpromotionorpl under.I twast hear
myaboveall
,
thatenabl
edtheDi r
ector
ytoov er
comeal lchall
engest oitsauthor
it
y,butt
his
wasadoubl e-
edgedweapon.Thear mywhi chkepttheDi rectoryi
npowerwould
bethemostserioust hr
eattoi
tssurvi
val
, i
fitbecamedi ssati
sfi
ed.

THEBABEUFPLOT, 1797
The firstrealchal lenge t othe Di rect
ory came f rom Gr acchus Babeuf,a radical
pamphl et
eerandedi t
orofTr i
bunDuPeupl e.Babeufdi slikedt heconsti
tuti
onoft he
YearI I
Ibecausei tgav epowert ot heweal thy. Hebel i
ev edt hattheaim ofsoci ety
shouldbe“ thecommonhappi ness”,andt hatther evol
utionshoul dsecuret heequal
enjoymentofl ife’
sbl essingsforall.Het houghtt hatasowner shi
pofprivateproperty
produced inequaliti
est heonlywayt o est abl
ishrealequal it
ywast o est
abli
sht he
communalmanagementofpr oper t
yandabol i
shprivatepossessi on.Theseideaswer e
alotmor er adicalthant hoseputf orwardi nt heYearI Iandhadl edmanyhi stor
iansto
regardBabeufast hef i
rstcommuni st, af
or erunnerofKar lMar x(1818–83) .

From March1796,Babeufor ganisedapl ant oov erthrow theDirect

orybymeansofa
coup.Hesaw whathecal ledhi s“ conspiracyofEqual s”asapopul arri
sing.Babeuf
reali
sed,
howev er,t
hatthiswoul dnotcomeaboutspont aneousl
y,butmustbepr epared
byasmal lgroupofdedi catedr evol ut
ionari
es. Thr oughpr opagandaandagi tat
ionthey
wouldpersuadekeyi nst
ituti
onsl iket hearmyandpol i
ce, whowouldprovi
det heforceto
seizepower.Af t
erseizi
ngpowert her ev
oluti
onaryl eaderswouldnothandi tovertoan
electedassembly,butwoul dest abli
shadi ctat
orshi pi nordertomakef undament al
changesintheorganisationofsoci ety.

Babeufr eceivednosuppor tf rom thesans-culot

tesandl i
ttl
ef rom formerJacobins.He
wasar restedinMay1796, afterbeingbet r
ayedtot heauthorit
iesbyaf el
lowconspirator,
andwasexecut edthef ol
lowi ngy ear.Marxisthi
stori
anssuchasAl bertSoboulconsider
Babeuf ’
stheor i
estobeext remel yinfl
uenti
al.Theyar guethathi sideasinspi
rednotonl y
nineteenthcent ur
yFr enchr ev ol
utionari
es,li
keBl anqui
,butul ti
mat ely
,Leninandhi s
foll
ower swhosetupt hefirstcommuni ststateintheSov ietUni onin1917.Babeuf ’
s
i
mpor t
ancet otheFrenchRev olut
ioni t
sel
f,however,wasslight.

THECOUPD’ ETATOFFRUCTI DOR1797( 3-4Sept ember1797)

Theelect
ionsof1797 rev
ealed agr owing popularshi
fttowardsthemonarchist
s.
Peopl
ewer et
ir
edofwarabroadandr el
igi
ousconfli
ctsathome,andfoundt
heideaofa
const
it
uti
onalmonar
chyatt
racti
ve,beli
evi
ngthatitwouldofferpeaceandst
abil
it
y.Of
the 216 ex-member s ofthe conventi
on who soughtr e-
elect
ion,onlyeleven were
ret
urned. Monar chi
stswon 180 oft he260 seatsbei ng contest
ed,bringi
ng thei
r
number sinthecouncilst
o330.Theweal t
hy,populousnortherndepartmentsret
urned
thelargestproporti
onofmonar chi
sts,whi
chsuggest sthattheDi r
ectoryhadlostthe
supportofthericherbour
geoi
sie.

Theel ecti
ons, inwhi ch,i
nsomedepar t
ment s,werefewert han10%oft heelectorswho
voted,didnotgi vethemonar chist
samaj ori
t yi
ntheCounci l
s.Howev er,t
heydi dmean
thattheDi rectorynol ongerhadmaj ori
tysupportandcoul drelyononlyaboutat hi
rdof
thedeput ies.Al lthemonar chistsneededt odo,itappear ed,wast owaitf orthenext
elect
ions,whenmor eConv entionnelswouldhav etogi veupt heirseat
sand,i fv ot
ing
foll
owed asi mil
arpat ter
nt ot heelecti
onsof1797,t heywoul d obtai
namaj ori
ty.
Monar chists woul dt hen be i n a posit
ion tor estor
et he monar chyl egall
y. The
opponent s oft he Di r
ectory wee al so successfuli n electi
ons tot he pr ovi
ncial
admi nist
rations.

THECOUPD’ ETAT.WHATWASI TSIMPORTANCE

The royalists showed theirst r
ength when the councils appointed t
hree oft heir
support
er st oimportantposit
ions.Onewasel ectedPresidentoft heFiveHundredand
anotherPr esidentoft heAnci ents. Bart
hel
emy ,thenew di rect
orwasr egardedas
symphat hetictot hemonar chist
s,aswasCar not,whowasbecomi ngsteadi
lymor e
conservati
v e.Car notwaspr eparedt ogiveupconquer edterrit
oryt omakeal asti
ng
peaceandsowasdi sli
kedbyt hegenerals.

Oft heremaini
ngDi r
ect ors,twowerecommi ttedRepublicans.Theywer edet
erminedto
preventarestorat
ionoft hemonar chyandsoughthel pf r
om thearmy .Bonapartehad
alr
eadysentGener alAuger eautoPari
swi thsomet roopst osupporttherepubli
can
Director
s. Ont heni ghtsof3–4Sept ember1797( 17–18Fr uct
idor)tr
oopswer e
orderedtoseizeallthest rongpoint
sinParisandsur r
oundt heCouncilchambers.They
thenar r
est
edt woDi r
ect ors,Car
notandBarthelemy,and53deput i
es.

Someoft her emai ningdeput i

eswhoat t
endedthecounci lsclearl
yfeltinti
midated,and
they appr oved t wo decr ees demanded by the r emaining Directors. One decr ee
cancell
edt heelectionsin49Depar t
ment sremoving177deput i
eswi thoutprovi
dingfor
thei
rr eplacement . Nor mandyBr i
tt
any,thePar isar ea and thenor t
h now had no
parl
iament aryr epresentati
onatal l
.Asseconddecr eeprov i
dedf orthedepor t
ationto
thepenalset t
lement sinGui anaofCarnot(whohadescapedandf l
edabr oadandwas
sentencedi nabsent i
a),
Bar thelemy
,the53deputiesar r
estedandsomel eadi
ngroyali
sts.
TheDi rectorsal socancel ledt hel
ocalgovernmentel ecti
onsandmadeappoi ntments
themselves.
Itwascleart oallt
hatthecoupwast heendofpar l
i
amentarygover
nmentandoft he
consti
tut
ionofYearI I
I.Itwasal socleart
hattheexecutivehadwonani mpor t
ant
vict
oryoverthelegi
slat
ure.Thereviv
alofmonar
chism hadthusbeendealtasigni
fi
cant
blow.ItalsomeantthattheDir
ectorycoul
dnowgov ernwi
thoutf
acinghosti
lecounci
ls.

TERROR

AfterFruct
idor,t
henew Directorytookacti
onagai
nstémigr
ésandr ef
ract
orypri
ests.
Émi gr
éswhohadr etur
nedt oFranceweregi v
entwoweekst oleave,(ot
herwi
sethey
woul dbeex ecut
ed). Dur
ingt henextfew weeksmanywerehunt eddownandwer e
sentencedtodeath.TheClergywerenowr equi
redt
otakeanoathreject
inganysupport
fortheroyalt
y.Thosewhor efusedwouldbedeportedtoGui
ana.The1400non- j
uri
ng
pri
estsweresentencedtodepor t
ati
on.

The t
errorthatfoll
owed Fr
ucti
dorwas li
mited. I
twas carri
ed outsolel
ybyt he
gover
nmentandt hearmyinanattemptt
odestroyt
heroyal
i
stmov ement
.Intheshort
-
ter
m,itsucceeded.Butbyal
ienat
ingCat
holi
copini
on,i
tprovi
dedmor eopponent
sfor
theDi
rector
y

FINANCIALREFORM UNDERTHEDI RECTORY

Manyoft hef i
nanci
alprobl
emsoft heDirect
orywer ethel egacyofprevi
ousr egimes,
whichhadprintedmoreandmor eassisgnatsinordertopayf orthewar.AsbyFebr uary
1796,thesewer ealmostwor t
hless,andt heDi r
ectoryissuedanew papercur rency
knownasmandat sterr
it
ori
aux.Theyal sosoonl ostvalueandbyJul ywerewor t
hl ess
thanfi
vepercentofthei
rnominalvalue.InFebruary1797t heyceasedtobelegaltender
.

The monet arycrisi

s had been catast r
ophicf orgovernmentof f
icial
s,r enti
ers and
workers,astheysawr api
ddeclinei
nt heirpurchasi
ngpower .Metalcoinsnowbecame
theonlylegalcurr
encyandt hesewer einshor tsuppl
y.Therewereonlyonebi l
li
onliv
res
i
nci r
culati
oni n1797compar edwitht woandahal fbil
l
ionin1789.Thus,r esul
tedin
defl
ation(af al
linpricesasdemandf orgoodsandser vi
cesfall
s),aspr oducersand
ret
ail
er slowered pri
cest ot ryto stimulate demand among consumer swho wer e
rel
uctanttobuygoods.Thei nfl
ati
onof1795t o1997hadmadet heDirectoryunpopular
withthewor kers. Now i tbecameunpopul arwi t
hbusinessmen,si ncelowerpr i
ces
meantl owerprofi
ts.

REDUCI
NGTHENATI
ONALDEBT
From thecoupofFructi
dortothespringof1799t heDi rect
oryhadli
tt
letroublewiththe
purgedcouncil
s,andDomi nique– Vi ncentRamel ,t heMi ni
sterofFi nancehadan
opportuni
tytoint
roducesomef ar
-reachingrefor
ms.Thi sdebtincreaseddur i
ngt he
revol
utionandthewarwasr enouncedbyaone- offpay menttodebthol ders. Thei
r
l
oanst othegover
nmentwer econvertedintonon-i
nterestbeari
ngbondswhi chcoul dbe
usedtobuynati
onal pr
opert
y.

Thismov ewasofi mmedi atebenef i

tt othegov ernmentasi tr educedt heannual
i
nter estasitreducedtheannual i
nterestonthenat i
onal debtfr
om 240mi ll
i
onf r
ancs( a
quar terofgov ernmentexpendi t
ure)to80mi l
li
on. I twasnotofmuchuset ot he
bondhol derswhower edeniedi ncome.Wi t
hinay earthev al
ueoft hebondshadf al
len
by60per cent.Soonaf t
erthatt heybecamewor thl
esswhent hegov ernmentr ef
usedt o
acceptt hem forthepur chaseofbi ens( nati
onal
isedpr opert
yoft hechur chasor dered
byt hedecr eeof2Nov ember1789) .Thiswasi neffectapr acti
caldeclarati
onofst ate
bankr uptcyastwot hir
dsoft henationaldebtwasl i
quidatedinthi
sway .Althoughdebt
holder swer eunhappywi tht hemeasur e,thebankr uptcyoft het wo – t hir
ds( the
gover nmentwr oteofftwo–t hi
rdsoft hedebti towedi tscredi
tors),asitwasknown,
hel
pedt ostabil
izeFrenchfinancesf oratime.

INCREASINGREVENUE
I
nadditi
ontocutt
ingexpendit
ure,Ramelwant
edt
oincr
easer
evenue.Heputi
npl
acea
numberofpol
ici
estoachievethi
s:

I
n1798f
ourbasi
cfor
msofdi
rectt
axat
ionwer
eest
abl
i
shed

At
axont
radi
ngl
i
cences

Al
andt
ax

At
axonmov
abl
epr
oper
ty

At
axondoor
sandwi
ndows.

Thesemeasureswereamongt
hemostl
ast
ingachi
evement
soft
heDi
rect
oryand
sur
viv
edunt
il1914.

Ramelchangedt hemethodofcol l
ect
ingdi
recttaxes. Whereasprev
iouslylocal
ly
el
ected aut
hor
it
ies had been r
esponsibl
eforcollect
ion,cent
ralcont
rolwas now
i
ntr
oduced.Commi ssi
onersappoi
ntedbytheDir
ect
or sweret
oassessandlevytaxes.

Astherewasconti
nueddef
ici
tdur
ingwarti
me,thegover
nmentr
eviv
edanunpopular
pr
acti
ceoftheanci
entr
egi
me,–indir
ectt
axes.Thispr
ovedt
obev er
yunpopul
arasit
wasr
aisi
ngt
hepr
icesofgoodsi
nthet
owns.

Anincreasi
nglylucr
ati
vesourceofincomewaspl under
edfrom t
hosefor
eignst
ates,
especi
all
yIt
alyandGermany,whichhadbeenoccupi
edbyFrenchar
mies.

Thei mpactofthesepoli
cieswasposi t
ive.Althoughveryunpopular
,thebankruptcyof
thet wo-t
hir
dshel pedtostabi
l
iseFr enchf i
nancesforat ime,aidedbyt her educed
mili
taryexpendi
turewhenpeacewi t
hAust r
iawasmadei nOctober1797.Hence, Ramel
wasabl etobalancethebudget
.Thegov er
nment ’
sexpendi
turewasequaltoitsincome
fort
hef i
rstti
mesi ncet
heRevolut
ionbegan.

THEDI RECTORYANDTHEWAR
1794–1799
Thebat t
leofFleurus( i
nBel gi
um)inJune1794wast hef i
rstinaser iesofsuccesses
whichcont inuedunt ilal
lthemember soft hefir
stcoali
tion,exceptBr it
ain,hadbeen
knockedoutoft hewar .I nthesummerof1794,Bel gium wasoccupi edandi nthe
fol
lowing wi nt
er,t he Unit
ed Provinces wer einvaded. The Fr ench conquer ed t
he
Rhineland,andcr ossedintoSpain.Russi ahadi nt
ervenedinPol and,whichi twasclear,
wouldbepar t
it
ionedagai n. Russia,therefor
e,madepeacewi thFr ancesot hatshe
wouldbef reet ocl aim Poli
sht er
rit
oryf orherself
. This,inr eali
ty,madev erylit
tl
e
dif
ference,asRussi ahadpl ayedonlyami nimalpartinthewaragai nstFr ance,si
nce
1793.

Atthetreat
yofBasle,on6April1795,Russi
apr omi
sedt
ohandoveri
tst
err
it
oryonthe
l
eftbankoft heRhinetoFrance.Inr et
urn,shewouldr
ecei
vel
andontherightbank.
Thi
streatyfr
eedFrenchtr
oopstoattackotherenemi
es.

Meanwhi l
e,theuni tedpr ov
inceshadbecomet heBatavianRepubli
cinJanuar y1795.
Thiswasaf terar ev oltagainstWil
li
am Vwhof l
edt oEngland. HavinglostRussian
supportt heDut chmadepeacewi thFr ancetowhom t heybecameal l
ies.TheFr ench
hopedt hatthepower f
ulDutchnav ywoul dhelptotipthenav albal
anceagainstGreat
Bri
tai
n,butt hisdidnothappen.Spai ntoomadepeacei nJuly1795,giv
ingupt oFrance
herpartoft he islandofSanDomi ngo.Oft hegreatpowers,onlyGr eatBr
itai
nand
Austr
iar emai nedint hefi
ghtagainstFrance.

DEFEATOFAUSTRI A
I
n1796t hemainFrenchobj
ect
ivewastodef
eatAustr
ia.Car
not,t
heref
ore,drewupthe
pl
anoft hecampai
gn.ArmiesunderJour
danandMor eauwoul
dmar chacrossBavari
a
to Vi
enna,whil
stthe armi
es ofthe Al
ps and I
tal
ywould conquerPiedmontand
Lombardyandthenmoveacrosst
otheAlps,t
oVienna.Themainatt
ackwast
ocome
fr
om JourdanandMor
eau,whoweregi
venchargeof140000t
roops.

Themai nIt
aliancampai gnwasspear -headedbyNapol eonBonaparte,
whowasgi vena
smallfor
ceof30000i l
l-
disci
pli
nedtr oops.Napol eon, however
,soonwont hel
oyalt
yof
hismenbypr omisi
ngt hem v astweal thafterdefeat i
ngAust r
ia. Wit
hinamont hof
taki
ngcharge,Napol eonhaddef eatedt heNorthI t
alianstateofPiedmontandf orced
hertomakepeace.I nthesamemont hofMay ,hedef eat
edtheAustri
ansatLodiand
enter
edMi lan. Mant uawast hekeyt ot hepassi ngov ertheAl pstoVienna,and
Napoleonfi
nal l
ycaptureditinFebruary1797.

WHATI
MPACTDI
DNAPOLEONMAKEONTHEWARI
NITALY?

Fi
rst,itisimpor t
anttonot ethatthroughtheconquestofMant ua,t
heroadt othe
eventualconquestofViennaitsel
fwasopened.Nev ert
hel
ess,duetothefactthatt
he
Austral
ianAr chDukeCharles,haddri
venMor eaubacktot
heRhi ne.Napoleonhadto
si
gnanar mi sti
cewit
hAustriaatLeobeninApril
1796.

Secondly,Napoleon actual
lydecided the t er
ms atLeoben wi thoutconsult
ing the
Direct
ory.Hewasal r
eadyconf i
dentenought obemaki nghisownf orei
gnpoli
cy.Inso
doing,hewasignori
ngt hespeci
ficinstr
uctionsfrom t
heDirectors.Theyhadwant edt o
useLombar dyasabar gainingcounterwhennegot i
ati
ngwi t
hAust r
ia,t
oexchangef or
recogniti
onofFrenchcont r
olofthel eftbankoft heRhine.I nstead,Napoleonjoined
Lombar dytoModenaandt hePapalst atest oformt heCisalpineRepublic. Austri
a
recognisedBel
gium,whichtheFrenchhadannexedi nOctober1795, asFrenchterr
it
ory.

Ascompensat i
onforgivingupLombar dyandBelgium,Napoleongav eAustr
iaVeni ce
andpartoftheVeneti
anRepubl ic,whichprovi
dedaccesst otheAdriati
cSea.Thef ate
oft
heleftbankoftheRhinewasuncl ear;i
twastobedeci dedbyacongr essoftheHol y
RomanEmpi re.TheDirectoryandthegener al
sont heRhinewerefuri
ous, t
hattheyhad
nochoice,butt oacceptwhatNapol eonhaddone. Ast her oy
alistshadwont he
el
ect
ionsinFrance,t
heDi rect
oryknewi tmi
ghtneedhi m.ThepeaceofCampoFor mi o,
on18October1797,confirmedwhathadbeenagr eedatLeoben.

CREATI
NGSTATES.HOW WASTHECREATI
ONOFNEW STATESBENEFI
CIALTOTHE
DI
RECTORY?

Ont heconti
nenttheprospect
sf orapermanentpeacereceded.Frenchfor
eignpol
icy
becameincreasi
nglyaggressi
veast heDi
rect
orssoughttokeepFrenchconquest
sand
eventoextendthem.Fr ancere-
organi
sedanumberoff or
eignter
ri
tor
ies,
eff
ecti
vel
yre-
drawingthemapofEur opei nsomear eas. Thesenew t
err
it
ori
eswer
e,i
nef
fect
,
satel
l
iter
epubl
i
csunderFrenchinf
luenceorcontr
ol.

TheHelvet
icRepubl
i
cwassetupi nSwitz
er l
andi
nJanuar
y1798withthehelpof
SwissPatr
iot
ssympat het
ictoFrenchi
deals.Thi
swasimport
anttoFranceasit
contr
oll
edthemainAlpinepassi
ngtoIt
aly
.GenevawasannexedtoFrance.

I
nIt
aly
,thr
eesmal
lrepubl
i
cswer
ecr
eat
ed,
viz

TheRomanRepubl
i
c,af
tert
heFr
enchi
nvasi
on,andt
hef
li
ghtoft
hePopet
o
Tuscany(
1798)

TheCi
sal
pineRepubl
i
c,basedi
nMi
l
an

TheLigur
ianRepubl
i
cwhi
chr
epl
acest
heGenoese(
Genoa)Republ
i
cinJune
1797.

TheBat
avianRepubli
cwasestabl
ishedi
ntheUnit
edPr
ovi
ncesinJanuary1795
aft
erar
evoltsuppor
tedbyt
heFrenchagai
nstWi
ll
i
am V,
whofledt
oEngland.

TheFr enchwerebusyre-
drawingt
hemapofGer manyinnegoti
ationswit
ht he
Congressoft heHolyRomanEmpi reatRast
att.InMarch1898t hecongress
handedov erthel
eftbankoftheRhinet
oFrance,andagreedthatpr i
nceswho
hadlostlandther
e,shoul
dbecompensatedbyreceivi
ngchurchlandelsewhere
i
nGer many .

Thespr ingof1798mar kedthehighpointoftheRepubl i

c’spower.I
nwest er
n,
centr
aland sout her
n Europe,France had att
ained a degree ofhegemony
(dominat i
on)unparal
lel
edinmoder nEur
opeanhistory.Yetfrom t
hisposi
ti
onof
greatext ernalstr
ength,the decl
i
ne inthe Director
y’sfort
unes was equal
ly
dramatic.Wi thi
n18mont hsitwouldbeover
thrown.

THESECONDCOALI
TION

Foll
owinghissuccessinIt
aly,Napol
eondepart
edforEgypti
nMay1798withthe
aim ofatt
acki
ngBrit
ishint
erests.Hi
sfl
eet,howev
er,wasdestr
oyedbyNel
sonat
theBattl
eofAboukirBayinAugust1798.

Thedefeatwascrucial
.I tencour
agedothercountr
iestoonceagaint
akeup
armsagainstt
heFrench.Asecondcoali
ti
onwasf ormed,andRussi
awhichhad
nottakenpartinprevi
ousf i
ght
ingagai
nstFrance,decl
aredwarinDecember
1798.TsarPaulwasi ncensedattheFrenchseizureofMaltawhichhehad
 declaredhimselfprot
ectorin1797. Fr
ancedecl
aredwaronAustri
ainMar ch
1799ont hegroundsthatAustr
iahadall
owedRussiantr
oopstomovethr
ough
hert err
it
ory. Immediatel
ywarr esumed.Fr
ance occupi
ed t
he r
estofItaly
.
Piedmontwasannexedt oFrance.

Theseear lyv i
ctor
ies,t hough,werefollowedbyaser i
esofdef eat
s.TheFr ench
werepushedbackt ot heRhinebyt heAust ri
ansandt heRussi ansadv anced
thr
oughnor thernItaly. Frenchf or
ceswi thdrew f rom therestofI t al
y,except
Genoa,ast heRussi ansmov edintoSwi tzerland.Itappearedt hatFr ancewoul d
beinv adedf orthef irstti
mei nsixy ears,but ,ashadhappenedbef ore,France
wassav edbyquar relsamongt heall
i
es.Aust r
ia,insteadofsuppor t
ingRussi ai
n
Switzerl
and, sentherebestt roopsnort htot heRhi ne.ThisallowedtheFr enchto
getont heof fensi
v einSwi t
zerl
andwher et heRussi answithdrewint heAut umn
of1799.Thei mmedi atedangertoFrancewasov er.

HOW EFFECTI
VEWERETHEMEASURESI
NTRODUCEDI
N1799TODEALWI
THTHE
WORSENINGECONOMICANDMILI
TARYCRI
SIS?

By1798t herewereconcernsaboutthesizeoft heFr

encharmywhichwasonl y
270000st rongmen.Deser t
ion,
lowmor aleandar el
uct
ancetojoi
nthemi l
i
tar
y,
were alltaki
ng t
hei
rt ol
l. Jourdan’
sl aw proposed t
hatconscr
ipt
ion be r
e-
i
ntroduced forthe f
ir
stt ime since 1793. The council
s appr
oved thi
si n
September1798.

Howev er,thelaw provokedwi despreadr esi

stance. MuchofBel gi
um,wher e
conscri
ptionwasal sointr
oduced,revoltedinNov emberanditt
ookt womont hs
toputdownt her isi
ng. Thepr ospectofconscr i
pti
onwasv i
ewedwi thgreat
rel
uctanceamongl argenumber sofy oungmenwhowentt ogreatlengthsto
avoi
dmi lit
aryser
vice.Oft hef
irstdraftof230000, only74000menr eachedthe
armies.

The1799electionsonceagai nshowedtheunpopul ar
it
yoft heDi rectory.Only66
outof187gov ernmentcandi dat
eswer eelected. Amongt her estt herewer e
about50Jacobi ns,incl
udingsomewhohadbeenpur geddur ingFl oreal.They
werestil
lami norit
y,butmanymoder atedeput ieswer enow pr epar edt ofoll
ow
thei
rlead. Themoder at
eshadbecomedi si
ll
usionedwi ththegov ernmentas
newsofmi li
tarydefeatsreachedParis.Themi li
tarysituat
ionwasr egardedas
sodesperatet hatthecounci l
swereper suadedt opassemer gencyl awst hat
wereproposedbyJacobi ns.Hence,inJune1799Jour dancalledf oranewl evee
 enmasse–al
lmenbet
ween20and25wer
etobecal
l
edupi
mmedi
atel
y.

THECRI
SIS

WithherarmiesbeingdrivenbackintoFrance,theRepubliccouldnolongerpay
forthewarbysei zingforei
gnasset s. Aforcedloanmeasur ecompel li
ngthe
wealthyt
oloanmoneyt ot hegovernmentwasdecr eed.Thiswasi ntendedto
rai
se100mi l
li
onfrancs,asum thatmeantthatt hewealthymighthav
et ogiveup
asmuchast hreequarter
softheiri
ncome.

The law ofhost ages (decreed thatt he relat

ives ofany Fr ench ci
ti
zens
chal
lenging t
heaut hori
tyoft heRepublicwoul d beimpr i
soned att hei
rown
expense,and t heirproper t
yseized to payf oranydamagescaused byant i
governmentrebel s) ofJul y12,wasev enwor seforthenot ables. Anyareas
resi
sti
ngt henew measur eswouldbedecl ar
ed“ dist
urbed”. Localauthori
ti
es
wouldt hen arrestr el
ati
v es ofémi gr
és,nobl es orr ebels. Theywoul d be
i
mpr i
soned,fined,andt heirpropert
yconf iscat
edt opayf orthedamagecaused
bydistur
bances.

Thesemeasur esappearedtobear eturntothear bit

raryarrestsandhar
assment
oftheTer roroftheYearI I.YetbyNov ember ,onl
y10mi ll
ionli
vresofthe100
mill
ionlivr
eshadbeencol l
ected. Conscri
ptionwaspl annedt orai
se402000
tr
oops,butasi n1798,t herewaswi despread resist
anceand onl y248 000
actual
lyjoi
nedt hearmy.Manybecamebr i
gandsorr oyal
istrebel
stoavoidbei
ng
cal
ledup. I nf act,t
hel aw ofhost ageswashar dlyev erappliedbecauseof
oppositi
onf r
om localof
fici
als.

I
n 1799 t
here was a v
irt
ualcollapse ofgov
ernmentadmi
nist
rat
ion i
nthe
pr
ovi
nces.Ther
eweremanyr easonsforthi
s:

TheDir
ect
orycoul
dnotpersuadel
ocalnot
abl
est
oacceptof
fi
ceandhadf
ew
tr
oopst
oenfor
ceit
sdecr
ees.

Localaut
hori
ti
eswereof t
entakenoverbyroyal
ist
swhor
efusedt
olev
yfor
ced
l
oans,per
secutenon-
jur
ingpr
iest
sorcatchdeser
ter
s.

TheNati
onalGuar
dwasnotlargeenoughtokeeporderi
ntheabsenceofregul
ar
tr
oopsandhencesubst
ant
ial
areasofthecount
rysi
dewerenotpoli
cedatall
.

Gov
ernmentcommi
ssi
oner
swer
eki
l
ledasqui
ckl
yast
heywer
erepl
aced.

Ther
esul
toft
hisadmi
nist
rat
ivecol
l
apsewasbr
igandage(
out
breakofl
awl
essnessand
v
iol
encebygr
oupsofbandi
ts)
.ByNov
ember1799t
her
ewasci
vi
lwari
nAr
decher
egi
on
i
nSouther
nFr
ance.

THECOUPD’
ETATOFBRUMAI
RE.WHATWASSI
EYESHOPI
NGTOACHI
EVEBYACOUP?

Itwasinthewakeofawor seningpol
i
ticalandeconomiccrisi
sthatAbbeSieyeswho
hadbecomeaDi rectorthoughtofacoupi nor dert
ostrengt
hentheexecut
ive.Buthe
knew t
hattheFiveHundr edwoul dnotagr eetothisandt hati
tcouldnotbedone
const
it
uti
onal
l
y.Ther eforehesawt heopportunit
yofacoupinwhichthesupportoft
he
armywouldbereall
ynecessar y.

Sieyesappr oachedBonapart
e,themostsuccessf ulofther epubli
cangeneral
stoback
hi
mi nthecoup.Onhi swayt oParisfrom Egypton10Oct ober,Napol
eonwasgr eeted
enthusiasti
call
ybyt hepopulati
onasonewhohadbr oughtpeacei n1797. Hehad
equallymadeuphi smindtoplayaleadingrol
einFr enchpolit
ics.He,ther
efore,
agr eed
tojoinSi ey
es’couponl yoncondit
ionthatapr ovisi
onalgov ernmentofthreeconsul s,
whowoul ddraftanewconsti
tuti
on,wouldbesetup.

Thedecr eetoaboli
shtheDir
ectorywasinfactappr
ovedbyasmal lgr
oupofCouncill
ors
who wer e sympatheti
ctot he coup plot
ter
s. The direct
orywas replaced wi
tha
provi
si
onalexecut i
vecommitteeofthreemembers,Si
eyes,RogerDucosandNapoleon.
Thegr eatbenefici
aryofBrumairewasNapol eon,andhi sbrot
herLucienBonapart
e,
Presi
dentoft heCounci
lofFiv
eHundr edwhohadmov edi
nt oj
usti
fyNapoleon’
srol
e.

CONSTI TUTIONOFYEARVI II
Napoleonissuedapr ocl
amationtotheFrenchNati
onon10Nov ember1799t oexplai
n
whyhehadt akenpar tinthecoup.“Onmyr et
urntoParisIfoundallaut
hori
tyinchaos
andanagr eementonl yont hetruththattheconsti
tuti
onwashal fdest
royedand
i
ncapableofpr eser
vingliber
ty.Menofev er
ypart
ycamet oseeme, confi
dedthei
rplans,
discl
osedtheirsecret sandaskedf ormysuppor t. Iref
usedt obeamanofpar t
y
(ali
gnedtoanypar t
y)”

Parisr emainedcal m butthi

swasasi gnofapat hyandrel
uctancetobecomei nvolv
edin
anymor eprotests,ratherthanofappr oval
. Whennewsoft hecoupspr eadt othe
provinces,therewasl it
tl
erej oi
cingattheev ents.Suchr eact
ionwasv ari
edbet ween
surprise and mi ld opposition. A post ert hatappeared in Paris expressed the
disi
ll
usi onmentmanyf el
ttowar dstheDi r
ectory:“Fr
ancewant ssomet hinggr eatand
l
ong–l asti
ng.I nstabil
it
yhasbeenherdownf all.Shehasnodesi r
ef oramonar chy
,
want saf r
eeandi ndependentl egi
slat
ureandt oenj
oythebenef i
tsfrom teny earsof
sacr
if
ices”

WhenNapol eonpr esentedthenewconst i

tut
ionofYearVIIIt
ot heFrenchpeopl
eon15
December1799,hesai dt hatitwas“foundedont hetruepri
nciplesofrepr
esent
ati
ve
government,ont hesacr edr i
ght
sofpr operty
,equali
tyandl i
berty. Theci
ti
zensthe
rev
oluti
onisestablishedont hepr
inci
pleswhichbeganit
.Itisfi
nished”.

Manydidnotreali
sethesi
gni
ficanceofthecoupd’et
atofBrumaire.Therepubl
i
can
phaseoftheRevol
uti
onwasdrawingt oacl
ose,whi
l
eanotherdest
inedtocul
minat
ein
theNapol
eoni
cEmpi r
ewasbeginning.

WHYDI DTHEDI RECTORYFAIL?

TheDi r
ectorshadwant edtoproduceastabl
egov er
nmentwhi chmaintai
nedthegai
ns
oftheRev olut
ionof1789whi lstatthesamet i
meav oi
dingtheextr
emesofJacobin
dict
atorshi
porr oyal
ism.Inthefi
nalanal
ysi
stheywer eunsuccessf
ul,
andt hi
swasdue
toacombi nati
onoff act
ors.

The Director
yf ai
led to create a stabl
e governmentpar t
ly because ofthe
weaknessesoft heconstit
utionofYearI I
I.It
ssystem ofannualel
ecti
onshadno
provi
sionf orsett
lingdisputesbet weent heLegisl
atur
eandt heExecutiv
e,or
changet heconsti
tuti
oninar easonableway .

Inordertotryandmai ntai
nanon- Jacobin/Royal
i
stmaj or
it
yintheCounci
ls,the
Dir
ectorsint
erfer
edwi thel
ect i
onresult
s.Dur i
ngt hecoupsofFructi
dor(1797)
andFloreal(1798)theypurgedt heCouncils.Theef f
ectofsuchactionont he
Consti
tuti
onwast hattheDirector
ytogetherwit
htheconstit
uti
on,l
ostr
espect.

Increasingreli
anceont hearmyt osettl
epolit
icaldisputest erri
blyweakenedand
eventuallydestroyedtheDirectory.Thisstartedwi t
ht heTher midoriansdur i
ng
ther i
singsofPr ai
ri
alandVendemi air
eandcont i
nuedt ot hecoupofFr ucti
dor.
Thisheav yrel
ianceont hear mymademi lit
ar yt
ake- overadi sti
nctpossi bi
li
ty.
Althoughapol i
tici
anplannedthecoupi fBrumai r
e,andassumedt hatthear my
woul dmer elyoccupyasuppor ti
verole,i
tsmosti mpor tantf i
gurewasGener al
Napol eonBonapar tewhohadnoi nt
enti
onofleav i
ngt hepol it
icalstage.

Mostoft hepeoplewhowoul dnormall

yhavesupportedtheDirect
ory–owner s
ofbi ens,theweal t
hynotables– wereali
enat
edbyi t
spoli
cies,especial
lyi
ts
forcedloans.Theyshowedt hi
sbyrefusi
ngtovotei ntheannualelect
ionsor
takeuppost sinlocalgover
nment.Whent hechal
lenget ot
heDi rect
orycame,
fewwer epr epar
edtodefendit.
 Anyenthusiasm forthewarhadl ongsincegoneandmostpeopl ewantedpeace.
Yetwarhadbecomeanecessi tyfortheDirect
ory.Theyneededt osecuremoney
fortheFrencht reasury,toproducet hev ict
ori
esandt hepresti
gethatwould
enablether egi
met osur v i
veandt opr ovi
deanoppor tuni
tytokeepambi ti
ous
general
sandunr ul
ysol dier
soutofFr ance.AsNapol eonobser ved:“
toexistit
(theDir
ectory)neededast at
eofwarasot hergovernmentsneedast ateof
peace”.Oneoft her easonsforNapol eon’spopul
ari
tywast hathehadbought
peaceatCampoFor mi oin1797.

Therenewalofthewaraf t
er1797alsopr oducedaflurr
yofJacobi
nact i
vi
ty.The
Jacobi
nspressedforandsecur edaforcedloanandt helawofhostages.Whilst
Jacobi
nsbyt helat
e1790swer enevermor ethananur banmi
nori
ty,thepoli
cies
whichtheyadvocat
edr ev
ivedfearsofaTer r
orliket
hatofYearII
.Thishelpedt o
convi
ncemanyt hattheDir
ectorycoul
dnotandshoul dnotsurvi
ve.

Theabov ement i
onedev entsdiscreditedt heDirector
yandpr oducedpol it
ici
answho
werenotasat tachedt otheRepubl i
cast heconv enti
onalhadbeen.Onl y12per cent
ofthoseel ectedt ot hecounci l
sin1799hadbeenmember soft heConv entionand
only5per centwer er egici
des( thosewhohadexecut edf ort hefirsttimet haty ear.
Thesedeput i
eswer epr eparedt oacceptt hev iew ofSiey est hatt heconst i
tut i
on
shouldbechangedandt his,ofcour se,meantget t
ingri
doft heDi r
ect ory,theywer e
notonlypr eparedt owel comet henew r egime,butt ookpar ti nrunni ngit.Of498
i
mpor tantof fi
cials oft he consul ate,77 per centhad been deput i
es undert he
Dir
ectory.Theseconser vati
v esandmoder ateswant edst abili
tyandwer epr epar ed
toacceptanaut horitari
anr egimet ogeti t.Tosomeext entt her egimecol lapsed
becauseoft hecont radicti
onswi thini t
.Itclai
medt ofavourdemocr acy,yetusedt he
mili
tar
yt osuppr essopposi t
ion.I tneededwarf oreconomi cpur posesandy et,the
warmadet heDi rectoryloseconsi der abledomest icsuppor t.

DI
DTHEDI RECTORYHAVEANYACHI EVEMENTSATALL?
Despitethefactt hattheDi
rector
ywast helongestl
ast
ingoftherevoluti
onar
y
regimestherehasbeenat endencytodiscussitasaperi
odofli
tt
leachievement.
Thet r
endinr ecentyear
shasbeent oconsidert
heperi
odinamor ebal
ancedand
object
iveway.

Manyoftheachiev ementsoftheconsulateinfactbeganundertheDi rect

ory.The
fi
nanci
alref
ormsandr eorgani
sat
ionofthet axsyst
em start
edduringt heDirect
ory
i
mmenselycontributedtoeconomicrecovery
.Thesehel pedsti
mulateindustri
aland
agri
cul
tur
alexpansionthatwoulddevel
opmuchmor efull
yintheNapoleoner a.
 Mor eover,changesinadmi ni
str
ati
onwi t
hinthedepartmentsprecededt her
olesl
ater
takenbypr ef
ects.Althoughitscoll
apsewassudden,t heDirectory
’sachievements
shouldnotbedi smissedani nsigni
fi
cant. Reformsundert heDi r
ector
ywer ea
signif
icantbasisuponwhi chfutur
erefor
mswer er ef
inedandper f
ected.

St
udyGui
des

i
)How farwasFrance’
smi
l
itar
ysuccessdur
ingt
heDi
rect
oryt
her
esul
tofdi
vi
sions
amongsti
tsenemi
es?

i
i
)Howdi
dtheRev
olut
ionaf
fectt
heFr
enchnobi
l
ity
?

i
i
i)Howdi
dtheRev
olut
ionar
yWarchanget
hemapofEur
ope?

i
v)Whatwasthei
mpactofWar
,economi
ccr
isi
sandr
eli
giousdi
vi
sionont
hecour
seof
Rev
olut
ion?

v
)Whatdi
dtheFr
enchRev
olut
ionachi
eve?

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Howeff
ect
ivewer
et hemeasuresintr
oducedbyt
heDi
rect
oryi
n1799t
odealwi
tht
he
wor
seni
ngeconomicandmili
tarycri
sis?

2.Expl
ainwhyNapoleonemer
gedasamaj
orpol
i
ticalandmi
l
itar
yfi
gur
edur
ingt
he
peri
od1792-1799.

3.Howv al
idi
sthecl
aimthatt
heDi
rect
orywast
hemostsuccessf
ulr
egi
mei
nFr
ancei
n
theperi
od1789–1799?

4.Whatcanbelear
nedfrom t
heDir
ector
y(1795–1799)aboutt
heachi
evement
sand
pr
obl
emsoftherevol
uti
oninFr
ance?

5.Whywast
heDi
rect
orysoeasi
l
yov
ert
hrownbyNapol
eonBonapar
tei
n1799?

Whichposedmoredanger
oust
hreat
stot
hesur
viv
aloft
heDi
rect
ory
:thei
nter
nal
or
exter
nalenemi
es?

Whatdi
dtheDi
rect
oryachi
evei
nrev
olut
ionar
yFr
ance?

Howval
i
disthevi
ewthatwi
thoutthesuppor
toft
hear
myt
heDi
rect
orywoul
dnev
er
hav
esurv
ivedt
hewayitdi
dinFrance?
Howi
mpor
tantwasr
oleofNapol
eoni
nbr
ingi
ngaboutt
heov
ert
hrowoft
heDi
rect
ory
?

Whatsi
gni
fi
cantdi
ff
erenceswer
enot
icedbet
weent
heFr
anceof1793andt
hatof1795?

KeyRef
erences:

Aft
alionF-:
TheFr enchRevol
uti
onEconomi cI
nter
pret
ati
on.1990
MatthewsA.- :
Rev ol
uti
onandreact
ion:
ReesD. -:
FranceinRevol
uti
on,
Reyner 1.E.
G- :TheFr
enchRev ol
uti
on1789-
99,1995.
Eur
ope:1789-1849;2001

5.Schani
aSi
mon-
:AChr
oni
cleoft
heFr
enchRev
olut
ion,
1889

6.Sol
eJ -
:Quest
ionsaboutt
heFr
enchRev
olut
ion.