Anna Chiprean

Violence During the French Revolution

The French Revolution was caused by a series of violent attacks against the monarchy,
the individual estates, and the people of France. There were three estates that made up the
population of France. The first estate was made up of the Clergy and the extremely rich. They
made up one percent of the population. The second estate was made up of the Nobility. They
made up two percent of population. The third and final estate is made up of everyone else. They
made up three percent of the population. They were the poorest of the three estates and were not
allowed to own land. On top of this, they had to pay all of the taxes.
The French La Terruer, the most violent period during the French Revolution, it was
short, but extremely bloody. The 14th of July, 1789, the start of the French Revolution began. The
storming of the Bastille kicked off the fireworks of terror throughout the kingdom. The people of
Paris finally decided to fight back by storming the Bastille and taking all of its ammo that it
contained. By the time it was over, the people of Paris had freed the prisoners held in the Bastille
and taken the governor captive and stabbed him. The cost was steep: nearly one hundred citizens
and eight prison guards were killed. By order of the new revolutionary government, the Bastille
was torn down. On February 6, 1790, the last stone of the prison-fortress was presented to the
National Assembly. Today, July 14Bastille Dayis celebrated as a national holiday in France
and is also Frances Independence Day. (1)
On October 5, 1789, the women (and some men) of Paris, all gathered together and
stormed Versailles because of poor harvests in 1788 and 1789. The supplies of grain fell well
short of their usual level, the price of bread rose dramatically. In October, food shortages in the

popular markets of Paris fostered discontent and fear, prompting market women and women
consumers to show their concern by marching on foot to Versailles and calling upon the king,
Louis XVI and Marie Antionette to exercise his their role by securing more food for the people
of Paris. As the women made their way to Versailles, some men joined to escort them, but the
great mass of the marchers were women. At Versailles, the confrontation with the Kings guards,
led to the deaths of several soldiers and possible some women. By the end of the fight, the King
and queen agreed to leave their home and come to Paris. The king, queen, and their children
never returned to Versailles. They resettled in a much smaller palace in the Tuileries Palace in the
center of Paris. (2.)
Starting September 5, 1993 and ending July 27, 1994, the Reign of terror took the lives of
over thirty thousand people. The Reign of Terror was designed to fight enemies of the French
Revolution. Most people however, were not aristocrats, but ordinary people in the community.
These people were not gaining freedom; they were being enslaved by terror. Its sole purpose was
to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders. The
Reign of Terror beheaded the people against the French Revolution by guillotine. The inventor of
the guillotine was Dr. Guillotin. He had the idea of a faster, easier, and less pain enduring
machine the mascaraed thousands. The guillotine consists of two upright posts held together
by a crossbeam and had grooves in the posts to guide the blade, the back of which is heavily
weighted to make it fall forcefully upon (and slice through) the neck of the victim. The King and
Queen of France, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were two of the first people to be sentenced to
death by guillotine. Maximillian Robespierre was one of the last. After the heads were severed
they were often casted and made into wax figures and art pieces. Marie Tussaud was one of the
main fabricators. She herself was supposed to fall to the blade, but was saved because of her

amazing art skills. She made models of the heads and pwoplw in the crowds could buy them and
hold them up at trials. After they were severed and some casted, the heads were placed on posts
and crowds shouted at the fall of the French Monarchy.
The French Revolution endured many difficulties and deaths. From the fall of the French
Monarchy to the beginning of the Revolution, blood was spilled. The most blood was spilled
during the Reign of Terror. Guillotines beheading people left and right and the royalists falling to
the ground. During the French Revolution, Frances population decreased significantly. From the
lack of money which led to the poor getting poorer, to the Reign of Terror, the population of
France decreased almost by half. Without the French Revolution, would the world be under the
reign of a monarchy? Without the Reign of Terror would the population of France still be down
or would it be outrageous? What we need to realize now, is that the Reign of Terror was one of
the most violent times during the French Revolution, but also in all of French History.

Bibliography
(1) History. "Storming of the Bastille." French Revolutionaries Storming of the Bastille.
History. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/frenchrevolutionaries-storm-bastille>.
(2) History. "Storming of the Bastille." French Revolutionaries Storming of the Bastille.
History. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/frenchrevolutionaries-storm-bastille>.
(3) "Reign of Terror." Reign of Terror. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
<http://public.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/hist106web/site21/steph.htm>.