50 POINT QUESTION!!! Robespierre executed as many as 40,000 people during his reign of terror, including______?

History · High School · Thu Feb 04 2021

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Maximilien Robespierre, during his leadership in the period of the French Revolution known as the Reign of Terror, is attributed with overseeing the execution of thousands of people. Among those executed was Marie Antoinette, the former queen of France; Louis XVI, the former king; many political adversaries; and numerous accused counter-revolutionaries. However, it's important to note that Robespierre did not personally execute these individuals, but rather, these executions were the result of the revolutionary tribunal and the use of the guillotine, which was the method of execution at the time.

Extra: The Reign of Terror lasted from September 5, 1793, to July 28, 1794. During this time, France was undergoing radical political and social change. The revolutionary government, aiming to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders, adopted policies that led to mass executions, which were carried out by the guillotine.

The guillotine became a symbol of the terror that gripped France—as it was swift, efficient, and considered at the time to be a more humane form of execution compared to previous methods. People from all walks of life could be accused of being an enemy of the Revolution, which often meant there was little-to-no actual evidence of their opposition.

Key figures like Georges Danton and Camille Desmoulins, who were once allies of Robespierre, also fell victim to the guillotine during this period, as the atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion increased.

Robespierre himself was eventually arrested and executed without trial on July 28, 1794, an event that marked the end of the Reign of Terror. Post-Terror, France continued to experience political chaos, eventually leading to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Reign of Terror remains a significant and very controversial period in French history, illustrating the dramatic and violent shifts that can occur during revolutionary turmoil.