Fighting the French Revolution

Book excerpt: This vivid history of late 18th century France chronicles the little-known counterrevolution that threatened the First Republic. 1793 was a year of great turmoil in France. With foreign invasion along its borders and a political war raging in Paris, a large-scale revolt suddenly erupted in the western Department of the Vendée, The Vendée Militaire almost brought the new-born French Republic to its knees. The immediate trigger for this Great War of the Vendée was the attempted imposition of conscription. But the region seethed at the erosion of its traditional values and way of life. The persecution of the Catholic Church and killing of the king symbolized to the Vendéens how dangerous the new Republic had become. In a matter of weeks tens of thousands had flocked to fight for the ‘Catholic and Royal’ cause. This is the story of the new Republic’s ferocious military campaigns against the armies of the Vendée, which fought a dogged battle from March to December of 1793. Napoleon later called it ‘The War of Giants’ and it directly led to the implementation of some of the Republic’s most extreme laws.