Category: French Revolution

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One of France’s Little Secrets

Crop of The Emperor Napoléon in His Study at the Tuileries. Painting by Jacques-Louis David (1812). National Gallery of Art. PD-100+ Wikimedia Commons.
Crop of The Emperor Napoléon in His Study at the Tuileries. Painting by Jacques-Louis David (1812). National Gallery of Art. PD-100+ Wikimedia Commons.

One of the things that France keeps a very low profile about is the fact that French aristocracy did not disappear with the French Revolution. Yes, it was thinned out by Madame Guillotine but enough of them survived so that more than 220 years later, the nobility population (la noblesse) is about the same as before the Revolution.

Contemporary Aristocracy

You don’t hear much about the contemporary nobility today. Many of the families can trace their origins to the Middle Ages. The de Vogues family dates back to the 12th-century and their forefathers were likely members of the king’s court. However, like most of la noblesse, the de Vogues family tries to not attract attention to their historical or hereditary status. Why?

King Louis-Philippe. Map: Painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (2006). PD- 100+ Wikimedia Commons.
King Louis-Philippe. Map: Painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (2006). PD- 100+ Wikimedia Commons.

France is a republic. In fact it’s on its Fifth Republic. Read More One of France’s Little Secrets

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The Law of Suspects

The outbreak of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror was cast on 17 September 1793 when the Law of Suspects was passed (it was a decree rather than a law). Up until then, the arrests, trials, and executions had been mere footnotes.

Committee of Public Safety

Now here is the ultimate oxymoron. This committee was first set up in April 1793 for the purpose of “protecting the newly established republic against foreign attacks and internal rebellion.” By July 1793, the committee was acting as the de facto French government and its citizen’s rights were about to become severely compromised.

The committee’s twelve members were given broad powers over military, judicial, and legislative issues. Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794) and his radical right hand man, Louis Saint-Just (1767–1794), were appointed to the committee in July 1793 following the elimination of the moderate Girondins. Read More The Law of Suspects