“The King must die so that the country can live.”
Maximilien Robespierre was a key revolutionary during the 1789 French Revolution (no, this isn’t the one in Les Misérables, that’s set in 1830). He remains an intensely controversial figure, seen as a demonic madman who was solely responsible for the use of the guillotine in France in executing 17,000 people.
Robespierre was a man that brought together the dichotomy of enlightened political thought with utter brutality seen in his extensive use of Madame Guillotine...
But, before we can examine the man himself, we need some background on the world of 18th century France and the causes of the rebellion that Robespierre became central to.
Why was there a French Revolution?
18th century France was stuck firmly in the past. 98% of the population was part of the Third Estate, heavily taxed, with few rights and poor living conditions, all the while the Second Estate, the aristocracy, ignored the troubles around them and continued in their finery. This was the system of the Ancien Régime — the old rule of France. The King ruled absolutely over the three Estates: First the clergy, Second the nobility, and Third the middle and lower classes.
Recent events of the 1770s and 1780s exacerbated the already floundering system, the crown of France being in debt ever since the expensive wars of the Sun King, Louis XIV. But with France’s involvement in the American Revolution, as well as the continued high expenditure of the crown (looking at you Marie Antionette) France’s economy fell into turmoil. The monarchy was also incredibly unpopular. Louis’ Queen, Marie Antoinette was dubbed ‘Madame Déficit’ because of her spending habits: which included commissioning her own romanticised version of a peasant’s cottage - La Hameau de La Reine in Versailles. (She was indeed the OG cottagecorer).
Robespierre’s beginnings
Robespierre was born in Arras in northern France in 1758 to a middle-class family. His mother died when he was six years old and at fourteen his father abandoned him. He grew up a dedicated student, graduating as a lawyer and later becoming involved in politics.
For his time, Robespierre held progressive views:
The desire to abolish punishment without trial
Opponent of the death penalty (until May 1791)
Supporting universal male rights (including for ethnic minorities such as the Jews)
Believing you shouldn't need to own property to vote
Wanting to abolish slavery
The idea of the ‘incorruptible’ (as he would later be known) Robespierre is incongruent with his later image as a maniacal revolutionist.
Now, back to the problems of France…
Due to the ongoing economic problems in France, Louis XVI called the Estates-General in 1789, a parliament-esque organisation that had not been called since 1614. (Robespierre was in attendance as a representative for the Third Estate.) However, the system of the Estates-General was incredibly unfair, three equal votes spread across the three Estates, even though the Third Estate made up 98% of the population. This meant that the interests of the Third Estate would never be passed since they could always be countered by the First and Second Estates.
The National Assembly was born when the Third Estate diverged, holding their own meeting at a tennis court in Paris in June (advantage Robespierre!). Within this group formed a radical faction: the Jacobins. Robespierre was one of its leaders, alongside Georges Danton and Comte de Mirabeau.
The Fall of the Bastille prison in July 1789 is often seen as the beginning of the revolution, representing the breaking point in the tensions caused by issues in the Estates-General, as well as Louis’ ploy to employ an army in the palace and the dismissal of his popular finance minister.
Governor de Launay, in charge of the Bastille, was captured and killed by the revolters, and his head was paraded through the streets of Paris. This set the precedent for the grizzly executions shortly to follow.
The National Assembly supported the uprising and began to attain a greater grip on power in France. Robespierre aided in creating the new Republic of France declared in September 1792. It was inspired by the 1789 work of the Marquis de LaFayette, The Declaration of the Rights of Man. Three key ideas were formed that are still used in France today: ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’. All French peoples were known as ‘Citizens’ rather than by their titles such as Comtes, Marquises or Monsieurs. This applied to ‘Citizen’ Louis as well. Torture was made illegal, more rights were granted to women and homosexuality was decriminalised.
While Louis’ power was lessening to that of a figurehead, Robespierre and his Jacobin radicals wanted the King to be completely removed from power. What happened next is called by some a second revolution - the entire suspension of the monarchy. (This second revolution would also be a lot more bloody!)
The Reign of Terror: 5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794
While history views the Guillotine as a ruthless killing machine, it was in fact created as a more egalitarian and humane way to execute criminals. In the Ancien Régime, nobles had the honour of being executed by a sword while commoners were simply hanged. The Guillotine’s creator, Dr Joseph Guillotine (what a coincidence!) believed death via his machine would be almost painless.
In 1791, Louis fled from his palace in Paris to the Republic’s government in which the radical Jacobins had been growing ever more powerful. A decisive vote suspended the monarchy.
France became more radical and fear and violence spread across the country. Louis was put on trial for treason in January 1793. Robespierre expressed his view: ‘The King must die so that the country can live.’ Louis was found guilty and was guillotined in the same month. Marie Antoinette was executed later in October. His death is often seen as the beginning of the Terror.
The Jacobin insurrection starting on 31st May 1793 allowed Robespierre to access greater power, kicking out other factions in the French Government.
The Committee of Public Safety, the body responsible for the Reign of Terror (how ironic!), was formed on 25th March 1793, mainly headed by Robespierre. In this period across France, at least 17,000 people were sent to the guillotine. The motive behind the Terror was the belief that they were eradicating the enemies of France, not just the aristocracy, but anyone who went against the Republic. Great anxiety was created and spies patrolled the streets, and even devoted members of the revolution such as Danton were sent to the guillotine.
And oddly, as Robespierre was executing thousands of people, on the 4th February 1794 he abolished slavery in all French colonies. The Committee of Public Safety sent over 1000 troops to France’s Caribbean colonies to enforce the law.
But it is important to keep in mind that Robespierre was not the mastermind of the Terror, he had a whole committee of men backing him.
A fitting end for Robespierre…
As tensions with other countries began to cool off, the need to defend the Republic was minimised and people started to call for the end of the Terror, with revolts occurring across France.
Robespierre threatened to execute the entire Convention and in retaliation he and his compatriots were arrested. He was taken to Luxembourg prison and awaited his fate.
In the late afternoon of the 28th of July 1794, Maximillien Robespierre and his compatriots were led out onto the Place de la Concorde, known then as Place de la Revolútion, the same square in Paris where the King and Queen had been guillotined and faced the prospect of their own execution. The day before Robespierre had tried to shoot himself with a pistol in a scuffle but only shattered his lower jaw. And as he stepped up onto the scaffold, his face was tightly wrapped to hold his jaw together. But when he was laid under the guillotine and his neck cleared in preparation for the falling blade, the executioner removed his bandage, causing Robespierre to scream from the pain until the guillotine severed his head from his body.
The man who had played such a part in the Terror became one of its victims.
Evaluation: Madman or misunderstood?
Robespierre’s villainy is hard to dispute. He was partly responsible for a bloody period in French history where he arbitrarily sent his supposed enemies to the guillotine. However, history can sometimes paint one-sided portraits, and this is definitely the case for Maximilien Robespierre. After his death he was scapegoated as being the orchestrator of all the bloodshed and only seeking power for himself, thereby decreasing the blame on his colleagues. Robespierre was indeed a ruthless man but he acted according to what he believed would protect the fragile French Republic and held progressive views for his time. So, yes, Robespierre is misunderstood by public history, as the democratic and progressive figure is overshadowed by the cackling villain and his great accomplice, Madame Guillotine - instead, he should be remembered as a strange combination of both.
Written by Jasmine Fry, 1st Year English & History. Issue 6 Leadership & Revolution, Autumn 2021.
Illustrations by Jasmine Fry.
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