Opinion of the French Revolution

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I'm annoyed that I'm the first person to reference Zhou Enlai in this thread.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Burke had it about right.

FR until the Mountain seized power, HR afterwards

That's when it became a Freedom Revolution.

Because nothing says freedom like mass executions of political opponents.

The post-Robespierre executions of the Jacobins were actually worse in total number than the executions the Jacobins committed [/themoreyouknow]

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I see everyone has already successfully ignored my point.

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[Tetro Kornbluth]

I see everyone has already successfully ignored my point.

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It wouldn't be surprising that a ruling clase with absolutely no governing experience and nothing to guide them except beautiful but extremely abstract ideals would screw up big time. Considering that, the few things they did get more or less right (raising one of the first modern army and leading it to modest but significant success, reforming the administrative system and setting up a series of rules that would endure for a while) are what is most striking.

But again, the "quality of governance" (so to speak) is not really what matters about the Revolution. What matters is the broad principles it inspired and the effects these principles had over the 19th century, bringing about a paradigmatic change of unequaled proportions.

The gif is there is because what Cassius said is blatantly and obviously false. Perhaps the least historically accurate said in Atlas History that wasn't in a "Hitler was a leftist" thread.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

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This is another myth.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

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This is another myth.

Mind to elaborate? I have the memory that the European powers were scared sh*tless about what was going on in France and more or less ready to come over to "fix things up".

No. That's the myth. Rather the European powers stood on the sidelines unsure what to make of the situation (but were somewhat glad that France was self-destructing as it was clearly a threat to all of them; remember this was during a period of nearly endless European war). The war was caused by the Girondin government's paranoia that the European powers - especially Austria - were out to destroy the revolution (thus the myth). Danton was, ironically given what happened later, particularly prominent in whipping up both the sans cullotes and the General Assembly on this iirc.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

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This is another myth.

Mind to elaborate? I have the memory that the European powers were scared sh*tless about what was going on in France and more or less ready to come over to "fix things up".

No. That's the myth. Rather the European powers stood on the sidelines unsure what to make of the situation (but were somewhat glad that France was self-destructing as it was clearly a threat to all of them; remember this was during a period of nearly endless European war). The war was caused by the Girondin government's paranoia that the European powers - especially Austria - were out to destroy the revolution (thus the myth). Danton was, ironically given what happened later, particularly prominent in whipping up both the sans cullotes and the General Assembly on this iirc.

It is true that the Girondins' promptness played a key role in causing the war, but I would still think that the tangible possibility of an invasion to restore the monarchy existed at the time. There was Brunswick's ultimatum, which, as symbolic as it was, clearly that Europe wasn't willing to sit and watch while monarchy was being overthrown. And while these countries were traditional enemies of France, the familial connections between the French and other monarchs could certainly raise some reasonable suspicions of where their sympathies were.

Quite a lot of states were alarmed by what was happening to the Monarchs but not enough to launch a military campaign against Europe's most developed large state and the states were wrapped up in their own affairs anyway. Besides the Monarchs weren't fully overthrown until months after France had declared war and what worried those involved was partly that Marie Antoinette was an Austrian spy....