CIE AS LEVEL HISTORY NOTES : FRENCH REVOLUTION
PART 2
This document focuses on the rise of radicalism from 1792 -
1795 and the rise and reign of Napoleon Bonaparte 1995-1999
The attack on the Tuileries
The Vendée uprising
The September massacres
The National Convention
The trial and execution of Louis XVI
The Girondins and Montagnards
The sans-culottes
Revolutionary culture
The Terror unfurled
The revolutionary tribunals
The Committee of Public Safety
The Reign of Terror
The Law of the Maximum
The Cult of the Supreme Being
From Thermidor to Napoleon
The fall of Robespierre
The Thermidorian reaction
,Attack on the Tuileries (10 August 1792)
🔶 Background Context
After the Flight to Varennes (June 1791), Louis XVI lost nearly all popular support.
Trust in the monarchy collapsed.
The 1791 Constitution established a constitutional monarchy, but Louis retained a
suspensive veto and showed little support for revolutionary reforms.
Declaration of Pillnitz (August 1791) by Austria and Prussia threatened to intervene
to protect the French monarchy—fueling fears of counter-revolution.
In April 1792, France declared war on Austria, later joined by Prussia.
Early defeats (e.g., at the Battle of the Tuileries, Verdun) and the Brunswick
Manifesto (July 1792)—which threatened Paris if the royal family was harmed—
outraged revolutionaries and radicalised the populace.
, Paris became increasingly unstable; power was shifting from the Legislative
Assembly to the streets.
🔶 Events of 10 August 1792
Who participated?
Sans-culottes (working-class Parisians) and fédérés (volunteers from the provinces,
especially from Marseille and Brittany).
Led and encouraged by radical Jacobins and revolutionary sections of Paris.
Supported by the Paris Commune, which became increasingly militant.
What happened?
Around 20,000 insurgents stormed the Tuileries Palace, where the royal family was
staying.
The Swiss Guards, loyal to the King, defended the palace.
Fighting broke out: roughly 600 Swiss Guards were massacred.
The King fled with his family to the Legislative Assembly, seeking protection.
🔶 Immediate Consequences
➤ Monarchy suspended:
That same day, Louis XVI was formally suspended by the Legislative Assembly.
He and his family were imprisoned in the Temple prison.
End of constitutional monarchy.
➤ Fall of the Legislative Assembly:
Power shifted to the insurrectionary Paris Commune and radical Jacobins.
The Assembly called for elections to a new body: the National Convention, to decide
the future of France.
➤ Mass executions:
The violence continued with the September Massacres (2–6 September 1792),
where over 1,000 prisoners (many accused of royalist sympathies) were killed by
mobs.
These events deepened political divisions and alarmed moderates.
🔶 Significance of the Attack on the Tuileries
, ✅ Turning point in the Revolution:
Marked the collapse of constitutional monarchy.
Radicalised the Revolution—paved the way for the Republic (declared on 21
September 1792).
✅ Rise of radicalism:
Jacobins (led by Robespierre) gained influence.
Girondins and Feuillants (moderate factions) lost credibility and support.
✅ Shift in power:
Popular sovereignty asserted through direct action by the people.
Legitimised violence as a political tool.
The Paris Commune and sans-culottes emerged as key political forces.
✅ Prelude to the Terror:
The growing use of violence and political purges foreshadowed the Reign of Terror
(1793–1794).
🔶 Key Individuals
Name Role
Suspended from power, imprisoned. Seen as a traitor due to war
Louis XVI
and Brunswick Manifesto.
Marie Antoinette Also imprisoned; deeply unpopular among the people.
Radical Jacobins (e.g.
Encouraged popular action, gained control after monarchy’s fall.
Robespierre, Danton)
Paris Commune Took control of Paris, acted independently from the Assembly.
Key in the physical attack; symbolised provincial revolutionary
Fédérés
fervour.
🔶 Exam Tip
When discussing the Attack on the Tuileries in an essay:
Link it to broader themes like the failure of constitutional monarchy, popular
sovereignty, and the radicalisation of the Revolution.
Connect causes (Brunswick Manifesto, war, sans-culotte unrest) and consequences
(end of monarchy, rise of Jacobins, lead-up to the Terror).
PART 2
This document focuses on the rise of radicalism from 1792 -
1795 and the rise and reign of Napoleon Bonaparte 1995-1999
The attack on the Tuileries
The Vendée uprising
The September massacres
The National Convention
The trial and execution of Louis XVI
The Girondins and Montagnards
The sans-culottes
Revolutionary culture
The Terror unfurled
The revolutionary tribunals
The Committee of Public Safety
The Reign of Terror
The Law of the Maximum
The Cult of the Supreme Being
From Thermidor to Napoleon
The fall of Robespierre
The Thermidorian reaction
,Attack on the Tuileries (10 August 1792)
🔶 Background Context
After the Flight to Varennes (June 1791), Louis XVI lost nearly all popular support.
Trust in the monarchy collapsed.
The 1791 Constitution established a constitutional monarchy, but Louis retained a
suspensive veto and showed little support for revolutionary reforms.
Declaration of Pillnitz (August 1791) by Austria and Prussia threatened to intervene
to protect the French monarchy—fueling fears of counter-revolution.
In April 1792, France declared war on Austria, later joined by Prussia.
Early defeats (e.g., at the Battle of the Tuileries, Verdun) and the Brunswick
Manifesto (July 1792)—which threatened Paris if the royal family was harmed—
outraged revolutionaries and radicalised the populace.
, Paris became increasingly unstable; power was shifting from the Legislative
Assembly to the streets.
🔶 Events of 10 August 1792
Who participated?
Sans-culottes (working-class Parisians) and fédérés (volunteers from the provinces,
especially from Marseille and Brittany).
Led and encouraged by radical Jacobins and revolutionary sections of Paris.
Supported by the Paris Commune, which became increasingly militant.
What happened?
Around 20,000 insurgents stormed the Tuileries Palace, where the royal family was
staying.
The Swiss Guards, loyal to the King, defended the palace.
Fighting broke out: roughly 600 Swiss Guards were massacred.
The King fled with his family to the Legislative Assembly, seeking protection.
🔶 Immediate Consequences
➤ Monarchy suspended:
That same day, Louis XVI was formally suspended by the Legislative Assembly.
He and his family were imprisoned in the Temple prison.
End of constitutional monarchy.
➤ Fall of the Legislative Assembly:
Power shifted to the insurrectionary Paris Commune and radical Jacobins.
The Assembly called for elections to a new body: the National Convention, to decide
the future of France.
➤ Mass executions:
The violence continued with the September Massacres (2–6 September 1792),
where over 1,000 prisoners (many accused of royalist sympathies) were killed by
mobs.
These events deepened political divisions and alarmed moderates.
🔶 Significance of the Attack on the Tuileries
, ✅ Turning point in the Revolution:
Marked the collapse of constitutional monarchy.
Radicalised the Revolution—paved the way for the Republic (declared on 21
September 1792).
✅ Rise of radicalism:
Jacobins (led by Robespierre) gained influence.
Girondins and Feuillants (moderate factions) lost credibility and support.
✅ Shift in power:
Popular sovereignty asserted through direct action by the people.
Legitimised violence as a political tool.
The Paris Commune and sans-culottes emerged as key political forces.
✅ Prelude to the Terror:
The growing use of violence and political purges foreshadowed the Reign of Terror
(1793–1794).
🔶 Key Individuals
Name Role
Suspended from power, imprisoned. Seen as a traitor due to war
Louis XVI
and Brunswick Manifesto.
Marie Antoinette Also imprisoned; deeply unpopular among the people.
Radical Jacobins (e.g.
Encouraged popular action, gained control after monarchy’s fall.
Robespierre, Danton)
Paris Commune Took control of Paris, acted independently from the Assembly.
Key in the physical attack; symbolised provincial revolutionary
Fédérés
fervour.
🔶 Exam Tip
When discussing the Attack on the Tuileries in an essay:
Link it to broader themes like the failure of constitutional monarchy, popular
sovereignty, and the radicalisation of the Revolution.
Connect causes (Brunswick Manifesto, war, sans-culotte unrest) and consequences
(end of monarchy, rise of Jacobins, lead-up to the Terror).
