The Jacobin Convention and the Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
The Jacobin Convention and the Reign of Terror
In early July 1793, the Jacobins arrested and executed key Girondin leaders and inaugurated the Jacobin phase of the convention, the most radical stage of the revolution. They approved a new Constitution (1793) that established popular sovereignty and universal male suffrage. Taking advantage of exceptional circumstances, they established a revolutionary government that suspended constitutional guarantees and initiated a policy known as the Terror, whose main objective was to eliminate the internal and external enemies of the Revolution and satisfy the more radical grassroots.
The Committee of Public Safety, controlled by Robespierre, concentrated all the powers and took exceptional measures: arrests, trials, and the expeditious execution of numerous suspects for attitudes against the revolutionary process, reorganization of the army, and the levée en masse.
Social Reforms of the Sans-Culottes
It introduced a series of social reforms demanded by the sans-culottes:
- Redistribution of land ownership.
- The maximum rate for basic necessities.
- Punishment of speculators.
- Abolition of feudalism and minimum wages.
In addition, they took a series of measures to change French society, such as the establishment of free and compulsory primary education (Le Peletier Act).
The Bourgeois Republic (1795-1799)
After the fall of the Jacobins, the third stage of the Convention started, which entailed the dismantling of Jacobin legislation and the beginning of a slow process putting the conservative bourgeoisie as the main beneficiary of the Revolution. It adopted a new Constitution (1795) that restored census suffrage, defined a new executive, the Directory, and established a legislature divided into two chambers: the Council of Elders and the Council of Five Hundred, both of a very conservative character.
Internal Resistance and the Conspiracy of Equals
The Directory harshly repressed popular uprisings led by the sans-culottes and Jacobins, who defended the continued revolution. The Conspiracy of the Equals became important, starring Babeuf, who wanted to establish an egalitarian society. The plot was aborted and its leaders executed. The Directory also had to contend with the royalist movement organization.
Foreign Policy and the Rise of Napoleon
The greatest success of this stage was due to foreign policy. The war against European troops was favorable to France; its boundaries stretched toward the Rhine and Savoy, and its army enjoyed great prestige. Amidst instability and economic problems, the bourgeoisie began to think of the army as the only possibility of maintaining social order, consolidating gains abroad, and defending the revolutionary principles of 1791.
On 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799), a young general, Napoleon Bonaparte, staged a coup and took over, definitely closing the revolution and starting the Consulate.