Tag Archives: radicalism

The execution of Louis XVI

The French Revolution: Radicalisation of the Revolution, 1791-93

This revision podcast follows events from the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly in October 1791 to the execution of the King in January 1793.  Growing tension between the revolutionaries and the King are explained through Louis’s decision to continue vetoing laws, the issuing of the Brunswick manifesto, and the King’s imprisonment in the Temple.  As well as struggling to fight a war against Austria and Prussia, the revolutionary government was faced with internal struggles.  The divisions between the deputies in the newly-elected National Convention are discussed against the backdrop of the September Massacres of 1792.  The episode ends with an overview of the trial of Louis and his eventual execution by guillotine on January 21st 1793.

          

The execution of Louis XVI

The execution of Louis XVI

Marat murdered in his bath

The assassination of Jean-Paul Marat – background and consequences

On the 13th July 1793, the radical French journalist Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday.

The death of Marat

The French Revolution: The Reign of Terror

This podcast episode explores the situation in France following the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, and seeks to explain why the Convention introduced the Terror.  It considers both the external and internal pressures facing France at the time, and goes on to explore how and why the Convention chose to respond in such an extreme way to the situation.  The role of Maximilien Robespierre is considered, along with an exploration of the reasons for his downfall.

          

The Reign of Terror and Counter-revolution

The French Revolution: The Directory

This A Level and IB History revision podcast charts the rise and fall of the Directory from 1794 to 1799.  Beginning with the execution of Robespierre, the Thermidorean Reaction and the onset of the White Terror, it goes on to explore the terms of the Constitution of Year III.  The challenges to the Directory are described, and the government’s various failures and successes are explained.   The episode finishes with Napoleon and the Coup of Brumaire.

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