The French Revolution :: European Europe History

The French Revolution Thesis: The French Revolution was a crucial event in Western History, and possibly the single most crucial influence on British intellectual, philosophical, and political life in the nineteenth century. The French Revolution was a crucial event in Western History, and possibly the single most crucial influence on British intellectual, philosophical, and political life in the nineteenth century. It presented itself as a triumph in its early stages but later proved to be a revolution of senseless revenge. With a mob composed of mainly animals, like Madame Defarge, the French Revolution is one of the most barbaric periods recorded in history. The French Revolution began in 1789 when the States General met May 5. June the seventeenth the National Assembly was declared. Then a gang of angry, mistreated peasants stormed the Bastille and murdered numerous aristocrats. As a precaution, Louis XVI and the Royal Family were removed from Versailles to Paris. The King attempted, but failed, to flee Paris for Varennes in June 1791; he was captured. The Legislative Assembly sat from October 1791 until September 1792, when, in the face of the advance of allied armies, it was replaced by the National Convention, and the National Convention proclaimed the Republic. The King was brought to trial, found guilty, and executed on January 21, 1793. In February, war was declared against Britain, Holland and Spain. The Revolution heightened. After the execution of the King, the Committee of Public Safety and the Revolutionary Tribunal were created. The most horrific time was still to come. The reign of terror, during which the ruling faction ruthlessly exterminated all potential enemies, began in September and lasted until the fall of Robesoierre on July 27. During the last six weeks of the terror, nearly fourteen hundred people were murdered in the guillotine. On October 16, Marie Antoinette was executed, and many others followed her. The revolution began to invade people's lives deeper and deeper. In November of 1793, the worship of God was abolished and the cult of Reason took its place. Battle followed battle; the Revolution raged on devouring everyone in its path. Things finally came to a halt when Napoleon Buoneparte became Emperor on May of 1804.