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==Background== | ==Background== | ||
{{Quote|We need audacity, and yet more audacity, and always audacity, and France shall be saved!|Georges Danton in response to the Duke of Brunswick's | {{Quote|We need audacity, and yet more audacity, and always audacity, and France shall be saved!|[[Georges Danton]] in response to the Duke of Brunswick's invasion.|Assassin's Creed: Unity}} | ||
In April 1792, France's [[Legislative Assembly]] declared war on [[Austria]], purportedly to "spread the Revolution", but actually to distract the populace from its own economic problems. Initial engagements were not in France's favor, however, and the country ended up being invaded by the allied Austrian and Prussian forces under the [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Duke of Brunswick]].<ref name="ACU">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]''</ref> | In April 1792, France's [[Legislative Assembly]] declared war on [[Austria]], purportedly to "spread the Revolution", but actually to, among other things, distract the populace from its own economic problems. Initial engagements were not in France's favor, however, and the country ended up being invaded by the allied Austrian and Prussian forces under the [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Duke of Brunswick]].<ref name="ACU">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]''</ref> | ||
Around the same time, the revolution took a radical turn with the storming of the [[Tuileries Palace]] on the [[10 August|10th of August]], leading to the arrest and imprisonment of King [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and his family. | Around the same time, the revolution took a radical turn with the storming of the [[Tuileries Palace]] on the [[10 August|10th of August]], leading to the arrest and imprisonment of King [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and his family. Radicalists such as Marat subsequently began to incite hatred towards royalists, priests who had refused to accept the terms of the new constitution, and aristocrats, many of whom were sent to languish in Paris' prisons alongside common criminals and lunatics.<ref name="ACU"/><ref name="Ubi">[http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-GB/news/news_detail.aspx?c=tcm:154-176244-16&ct=tcm:148-76770-32 The September Massacres - France's Most Horrible History]</ref> | ||
When the Duke of Brunswick secured victory at Verdun on 2 September, the revolutionaries panicked and decided to radically purge any and all opposition to their cause; their paranoia led them to target the prisoners, whom they believed would join forces with the Prussian Army in an effort to restore the monarchy.<ref name="ACU"/> | |||
==Prison massacres== | ==Prison massacres== | ||
The bloodshed began at the [[Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés]], where 24 non-juring priests were dragged from their carriages and butchered as they were being transported to the prison de l'Abbaye. The violence subsequently spread to other prisons, with makeshift courts being formed to judge whether or not the inmates were against the revolution.<ref name="Ubi"/> | |||
Those who were found to be "guilty" were immediately and brutally murdered; one notable case involved {{Wiki|Princess Marie Louise of Savoy}}, a close confidant of [[Marie Antoinette]], who was hacked to pieces by an angry mob. Her head was subsequently placed on a pike and paraded for her old friend to see, though whether or not she did is unknown.<ref name="Ubi"/> | |||
The [[Templars|Templar]] captain [[Frédéric Rouille]] participated in the massacres as well, marching on the [[Grand Châtelet]] with his men. Killing [[guards]] and prisoners alike, they took control of the prison, with Rouille taunting the captured prison warden by waving the head of his decapitated brother in front of him.<ref name="ACU"/> | |||
==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||
"These outbursts of punitive violence had left their mark on the Parisians, although a number of deputies insisted that these actions had been necessary. In the provinces, they engendered disapproval and horror with regard to Paris, but they also spread terror among potential opponents." | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
{{ACU}} | {{ACU}} | ||
Revision as of 19:19, 27 December 2016
| This article is about the event. You may be looking for the memory. |
- "This is what happens when you give command of the government to half-starved lunatics, and command of the army to bloodthirsty savages."
- ―Napoleon on the September Massacres, 1792.[src]
The September Massacres were a wave of killings that occurred across France, though principally in Paris, during the French Revolution.
With the threat of foreign armies advancing upon them, the revolutionaries grew fearful that Paris' prison population could form a dangerous counter-revolutionary force if freed. Rallied by radicalists like Jean-Paul Marat, they set out to pre-emptively eliminate any prisoner that showed even the slighest evidence of being against the revolution; ultimately, over a thousand people lost their lives in the massacres.
Background
- "We need audacity, and yet more audacity, and always audacity, and France shall be saved!"
- ―Georges Danton in response to the Duke of Brunswick's invasion.[src]
In April 1792, France's Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria, purportedly to "spread the Revolution", but actually to, among other things, distract the populace from its own economic problems. Initial engagements were not in France's favor, however, and the country ended up being invaded by the allied Austrian and Prussian forces under the Duke of Brunswick.[1]
Around the same time, the revolution took a radical turn with the storming of the Tuileries Palace on the 10th of August, leading to the arrest and imprisonment of King Louis XVI and his family. Radicalists such as Marat subsequently began to incite hatred towards royalists, priests who had refused to accept the terms of the new constitution, and aristocrats, many of whom were sent to languish in Paris' prisons alongside common criminals and lunatics.[1][2]
When the Duke of Brunswick secured victory at Verdun on 2 September, the revolutionaries panicked and decided to radically purge any and all opposition to their cause; their paranoia led them to target the prisoners, whom they believed would join forces with the Prussian Army in an effort to restore the monarchy.[1]
Prison massacres
The bloodshed began at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where 24 non-juring priests were dragged from their carriages and butchered as they were being transported to the prison de l'Abbaye. The violence subsequently spread to other prisons, with makeshift courts being formed to judge whether or not the inmates were against the revolution.[2]
Those who were found to be "guilty" were immediately and brutally murdered; one notable case involved Princess Marie Louise of Savoy, a close confidant of Marie Antoinette, who was hacked to pieces by an angry mob. Her head was subsequently placed on a pike and paraded for her old friend to see, though whether or not she did is unknown.[2]
The Templar captain Frédéric Rouille participated in the massacres as well, marching on the Grand Châtelet with his men. Killing guards and prisoners alike, they took control of the prison, with Rouille taunting the captured prison warden by waving the head of his decapitated brother in front of him.[1]
Aftermath
"These outbursts of punitive violence had left their mark on the Parisians, although a number of deputies insisted that these actions had been necessary. In the provinces, they engendered disapproval and horror with regard to Paris, but they also spread terror among potential opponents."
References