Robespierre: The Reign Of Terror

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Robespierre The Reign of Terror On 21 January 1793 a gruesome scene unfolded at the place de la revolution in Paris After attempting to address the crowd only to have his words drowned out by drums King Louis XVI the King of France was decapitated by the Guillotine Spectators rushed forward and soaked their handkerchiefs in his blood to create a macabre souvenir of the event A critical figure in the demise of Louis XVI was the revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre He had argued that giving the King a trial would undermine the Republic His fate was already sealed As he put it Louis must perish because our country must live But just one year later the incorruptible revolutionary and reformer would meet the same fate on the very same spot In this episode I examine the life or Maximilian Robespierre his development from a precocious child into a lawyer then a revolutionary and ultimately in the eyes of many a tyrant SPECIAL GUEST nbsp Marisa Linton Professor Emerita at Kingston University in London I am a historian of the French Revolution also eighteenth-century politics and the Enlightenment I have written numerous books and articles on the politics of the French Revolution including Choosing Terror Virtue Friendship and Authenticity in the French Revolution Oxford University Press 2013 and most recently Terror The French Revolution and its Demons with Michel Biard Polity Press 2021 I also work as a historical consultant I am currently working on a study of four leaders of the French Revolution Maximilien Robespierre Georges Danton Louis-Antoine Saint-Just and Camille Desmoulins Music Pixabay Picture Portrait of Maximilien Robespierre artist unknown Public Domain — Send in a voice message https anchor fm daniel-mainwaring5 messageClick here to visit this podcast episode