Foreign Crisis Domestic trouble was accompanied by a foreign crisis.

After the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Dutch Republic were all against France. o The French welcomed the challenge. Some of the countries against France poised an invasion of France. If they won, the Old Regime would be reestablished and the Revolution would be destroyed. o Decisive moment in the Revolution National Convention- a group that tried to get rid of anarchy while trying to win the war by trying to win over the people. o Gave broad powers to the Committee of Public Safety. Maximilien Robespierre- Estates General. Big in politics. He was dedicated to use power to benefit the people (did not love on a one-to-one basis, rather a broad spectrum)

A Nation in Arms 1793, French revolutionary government had a 650,000 man army; by September 1794, they had 1,169,000. A nation in arms (the Republics army) was the largest in European history. A nation in arms pushed the allies back and by May 1795 the anti-French coalition was decaying

The Committee of Public Safety and the Reign of Terror Reign of Terror- issued by the Committee to help rid the country of internal enemies. o Queen Marie Antoinette was one of the victims. It didnt matter who you were, if you were suspected, you were killed. o During a span of 9 months, 16,000 people were officially killed by guillotine. However, it is believed that nearly 50,000 people were killed. o They were executed at cities that were known for rebellion of the Convention. Marseilles fell to a revolutionary army in August. Guillotining was decided to be too slow, so they used cannon fire and grapeshot to blow the suspects into open graves. The Terror was the most destructive at Vendee. 42% of the victims had something to do with the city. In Nantes, people were killed by sinking them in barges in the Loire River. The Terror did not have any class prejudice.