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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and Welcome to Western civ Episode four hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>ninety five, The Downfall of the King. The year seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety two began with France still a monarchy, a constitutional

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<v Speaker 1>monarchy in theory but fragile in practice. By December of

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<v Speaker 1>that year, the king will be imprisoned, the republic will

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<v Speaker 1>have been proclaimed in Europe a flame in war. Seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety two was in fact one of the most dramatic

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<v Speaker 1>years in French history. On February the first, seventeen ninety two,

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<v Speaker 1>the Legislative Assembly, which again remembers replaced the National Assembly,

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<v Speaker 1>decreed that all French citizens must carry passports to travel

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<v Speaker 1>within the country. Now this was not mere bureaucracy. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a decision that was born out of fear. Fear

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<v Speaker 1>of emmigres, those zornobles fleeing abroad to rally the enemies

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<v Speaker 1>of the revolution, fear of royalists plotting insurrection. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>one deputy quickly explained the traders who leave France do

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<v Speaker 1>so not as travelers, but as conspirators, and indeed the

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<v Speaker 1>fear was to a large extent justified. Just days later,

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<v Speaker 1>on February the seventh, Austria and Prussia signed a military

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<v Speaker 1>convention in Berlin. They pledged to defend the monarchy against

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<v Speaker 1>the French Revolution, although with the proviso that the other

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<v Speaker 1>crowned heads of Europe join as well. Knowing this, on

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<v Speaker 1>February ninth, the Assembly struck back, decreeing that the property

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<v Speaker 1>of Emigre's nobles and clergy who had fled abroad were

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<v Speaker 1>now to be confiscated quote for the benefit of the

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<v Speaker 1>nation end quote. The battle lions were now clearly being drawn,

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<v Speaker 1>and these laws so division at home. On February the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty third and bit Dune soldiers clashed with angry crowds

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<v Speaker 1>demanding grain. The revolution was not just political, but also

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<v Speaker 1>just a battle for daily bread. On March seventh, the

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<v Speaker 1>Prussians named the Duke of Brunswick to command their forces.

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<v Speaker 1>Charles William Ferdinhand, the Duke of Brunswick Wolfenbolten, was one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most celebrated German generals of the eighteenth century.

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<v Speaker 1>Born into the noble House of Brunswick, he was educated

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<v Speaker 1>at the University of Geneva before embarking on a military

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<v Speaker 1>career that quickly earned him distinction in the armies of

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<v Speaker 1>Frederick the Great of Prussia during the Seven Years War,

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<v Speaker 1>gained fame for his courage and tactical skill, particularly at

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<v Speaker 1>the Battle of Krefold in seventeen fifty eight, where he

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<v Speaker 1>distinguished himself as a rising commander. Though he later served

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<v Speaker 1>both Prussia and his own duchy, he cultivated a reputation

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<v Speaker 1>as an intellectual soldier, admired for his knowledge of classical literature, mathematics,

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<v Speaker 1>and the art of war. By seventeen eighties, he was

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<v Speaker 1>recognized across Europe as a model of an Enlightenment prince

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<v Speaker 1>and professional general. Although, as we're about to see, his

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<v Speaker 1>behavior in the war against France would alter that significantly. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>his reputation was formidable, and Europe trembled at the thought

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<v Speaker 1>of his armies marching into France. Now. Meanwhile, as the

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<v Speaker 1>Prussians were assembling their forces, the National Assembly struck a

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<v Speaker 1>blow against privilege. On April fourth, they granted equal rights

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<v Speaker 1>to the free people of color back in San Daman.

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<v Speaker 1>The decree proclaimed, quote, they are French citizens and entitled

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<v Speaker 1>to all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution end quote.

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<v Speaker 1>As we talked about last time, for many planters this

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<v Speaker 1>was absolutely intolerable. But for many men of color. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a vindication, though, as we also talked about last time,

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<v Speaker 1>it did absolutely nothing to staunch the flow of blood

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<v Speaker 1>in the Haitian Revolution. The very next day, on April fifth,

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<v Speaker 1>the Sarbonne Long, a bastion of conservative theology, was permanently closed,

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<v Speaker 1>another indication that France was trying to move on from

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<v Speaker 1>the ancien regime, that it was trying to cast off

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<v Speaker 1>the weight of an old what it saw as medieval

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<v Speaker 1>order to move into the modern age. Now, the break

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<v Speaker 1>truly came on April the twentieth, when the Legislative Assembly

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<v Speaker 1>declared war on the King of Bohemia Hungary and the

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<v Speaker 1>Holy Roman Emperor Brisseau, leader of the Vanger, cried out,

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<v Speaker 1>quach war against kings is the only way to end

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<v Speaker 1>war with them. Essentially, the crown heads of Europe were

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<v Speaker 1>clearly throwing in their lot with the hope of saving

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<v Speaker 1>Louis the sixteenth. Those in the Legislative Assembly were not

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<v Speaker 1>willing to tolerate that. And remember, the Legislative Assembly is

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more radical than the National Assembly had been,

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<v Speaker 1>because all of those who had been part of the

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<v Speaker 1>National Assembly during the early moderate days of the revolution

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<v Speaker 1>had sworn that they could not run for the legislative Assembly.

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<v Speaker 1>So the new body that was running France, which is

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<v Speaker 1>both executive and legislative to a large extent, is much

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<v Speaker 1>more radical, much more inclined to throw in with the

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<v Speaker 1>egalitarian elements of the French Revolution. And we'll see exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what the consequences of that are now. Days later, in Strasburg,

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<v Speaker 1>Captain Claude Joseph r Go composed to a hymn for

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<v Speaker 1>the Army of the Rhine, first sung on the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>fifth of April. It would later become La Marseille. When

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<v Speaker 1>eyewitness would recall quote, the whole hall trembled with the

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<v Speaker 1>power of the song, a hymn that seemed to announce

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<v Speaker 1>a new world. On April the twenty eighth, French armies

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<v Speaker 1>marched into the Austrian Netherlands. But the French armies were unprepared.

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<v Speaker 1>They were badly led and often unwilling to proceed. Rochambeau's

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<v Speaker 1>campaign quickly faltered and desertion spread. To finance the war,

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<v Speaker 1>the French government issued three hundred million ausignants on April

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<v Speaker 1>the thirtieth, which was paper money backed by confiscated church lands.

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<v Speaker 1>Inflation only crept higher at this announcement, and discontent within

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<v Speaker 1>the capitol deepened. The spring brought more humiliation. On May

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<v Speaker 1>the sixth, the Royal alemand Cavalry regiment deserted over to

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<v Speaker 1>the Austrians. On May the twelfth, the Saxon and Berchini

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<v Speaker 1>hussars followed. Suddenly, the revolutions soldiers were simply fleeing directly

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<v Speaker 1>over to its enemies. In response, on May the twenty seventh,

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<v Speaker 1>the Legislative Assembly ordered the deportation of priests who had

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<v Speaker 1>refused the oath to the civil constitution of the clergy.

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<v Speaker 1>These refractory priests to remain influential in rural France and

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<v Speaker 1>were symbols of resistance to revolutionary change, as we often

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<v Speaker 1>see in revolutions around the world. As the revolutionary armies

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<v Speaker 1>of France met difficulty, suddenly the impulse was to crack

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<v Speaker 1>down on dissent at home, but the clash with the

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<v Speaker 1>king was the bigger issue and kind of inevitable at

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<v Speaker 1>this point. On June the eighth, the Assembly decreed a

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<v Speaker 1>camp of twenty thousand volunteers outside Paris to be mobilized,

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<v Speaker 1>and on June the eleventh, still operating under the Constitution.

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<v Speaker 1>Louis the sixteenth vetoed this proposal, along with the deportation

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<v Speaker 1>of priests from the month earlier. Jean Marie Laurand, Minister

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<v Speaker 1>of the Interior, protested in a famous letter, calling the

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<v Speaker 1>king's veto quote a betrayal of the people's will, and

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<v Speaker 1>he was consequently dismissed from office on June the thirteenth.

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<v Speaker 1>But by the twentieth of June, Paris was re literally

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<v Speaker 1>boiling with anger. Crowds invaded the tou Lories Palace, forcing

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<v Speaker 1>Louis the sixteenth to don the red liberty cap and

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<v Speaker 1>drink to the nation's health. Sire. One observer noted the

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<v Speaker 1>king was compelled to show himself in citizen, if only

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<v Speaker 1>in costume end quote. The Assembly tried to restore order,

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<v Speaker 1>banning armed gatherings altogether on June the twenty first, but

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<v Speaker 1>the genie was kind of out of the bottle now. Meanwhile, Lafayette,

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<v Speaker 1>who was now General again of the People's Guard and

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<v Speaker 1>still a hero of seventeen eighty nine, was doing his

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<v Speaker 1>best to call order. He denounced the Jacobins, who were

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<v Speaker 1>becoming increasingly radical in the Assembly. On June the twenty eighth,

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<v Speaker 1>he called for discipline, order and the defensive constitutional monarchy,

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<v Speaker 1>but unfortunately Paris had moved on. Robespierre, who I introduced

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<v Speaker 1>several episodes ago, denounced him him being Lafayette as it

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<v Speaker 1>would be dictator, and his effigy was now burned in

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<v Speaker 1>the streets, which is quite the come uppance for a

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<v Speaker 1>man who styled himself as the hero of both worlds.

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<v Speaker 1>By June the thirtieth, Lafayette had fled Paris to rejoin

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<v Speaker 1>his army, his influence forever broken. And then came a

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<v Speaker 1>major thunderclap. On July the eleventh, as enemies on the

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<v Speaker 1>board advanced, the Assembly declared la patrier and danjerre, the

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<v Speaker 1>fatherland is in danger. The calls for volunteers rang out,

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<v Speaker 1>and a new radical patriotism began to spread throughout France.

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<v Speaker 1>By July, the twenty fifth of the sections of Paris

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<v Speaker 1>neighborhood assemblies, increasingly dominated by two groups, the Jacobins and courtliers,

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<v Speaker 1>were authorized to sit permanently in the Assembly. Now. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>it was the news of a foreign announcement that really

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<v Speaker 1>caused the final division between the king and his people.

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<v Speaker 1>Some period before the Duke of Brunswick, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>Austrian generals had declared that if the royal family and

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<v Speaker 1>so Louis the sixteenth, Marie Antoinette and the rest Paris

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<v Speaker 1>would face quote an exemplary and externally memorable revenge. On

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<v Speaker 1>July the twenty fifth, news spread of that announcement throughout Paris,

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<v Speaker 1>to the people of the capital of France, a red

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<v Speaker 1>lake proof that their king was now conspiring with foreign enemies,

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<v Speaker 1>even though every historical source seems to indicate that Louis

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<v Speaker 1>the sixteenth had absolutely nothing to do with that pronouncement.

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<v Speaker 1>On July the thirty of working class citizens, those who

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<v Speaker 1>paid no taxes, were admitted to the National Guard. All

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<v Speaker 1>this was going to do was make the armed forces

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<v Speaker 1>as radical as Paris was quickly becoming. And again the

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<v Speaker 1>momentum continued to shift. On August third, forty seven of

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<v Speaker 1>Paris's forty eight sections demanded that the king be removed

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<v Speaker 1>from his constitutional position. By August the ninth, dan Ton

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<v Speaker 1>and his allies had seized the Hotel de Ville, establishing

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<v Speaker 1>it now as the Revolutionary Paris Commune, which it would

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<v Speaker 1>continue to be throughout much of the rest of the revolution. Suddenly,

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<v Speaker 1>on dawn on August tenth, the National Guard marched on

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<v Speaker 1>the Tularis Palace. The Swiss guards, who were still protecting

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<v Speaker 1>the royal family, fought valiantly, but the numbers were overwhelming.

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<v Speaker 1>By mid afternoon, the palace was stormed. Hundreds of Swiss slaughtered,

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<v Speaker 1>their bodies strewn across the courtyards. The king and his

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<v Speaker 1>family quickly fled to the Assembly for protection. The monarchy

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<v Speaker 1>was then suspended. Elections were called for a new body,

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<v Speaker 1>the National Convention. As all this was going on, foreign

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<v Speaker 1>armies continued to press into France along the borders. On

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<v Speaker 1>September the second ver Dunn surrendered without resistance. Panic swept

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<v Speaker 1>throughout Paris. That same day, mob invaded the city's prisons.

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<v Speaker 1>For nearly a week, between fourteen hundred and two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>prisoners were massacred. A witness would later recall quote the

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<v Speaker 1>gutters ran with blood, the shouted that they were cleansing

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<v Speaker 1>the city of traders. But then fate turned. In the

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<v Speaker 1>summer of seventeen ninety two, the revolution seemed imperiled. In fact, abroad,

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<v Speaker 1>Austria and Prussia had joined forces to invade France, hoping

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<v Speaker 1>to crush the revolution and restore Louis the sixteenth full authority,

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<v Speaker 1>and though the monarchy had fallen, it seemed the Duke

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<v Speaker 1>of Brunswick, commanding the Prussian led coalition, was going to

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<v Speaker 1>march steadily into France. His troops were well drilled, professional

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<v Speaker 1>and confident. They crossed the frontier in the path to

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<v Speaker 1>Paris seemed open, but the French armies, once in chaos,

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<v Speaker 1>began to recover. Now under the leadership of Generals Charles

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<v Speaker 1>Dumrans and Francois Christophe Kellerman du Morns, an ambitious but

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<v Speaker 1>skillful commander, lured the Prussians into a deep trap in Champag,

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<v Speaker 1>stretching their supply lines and mud slowed the invaders, and

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<v Speaker 1>dysentery began to plague their camp. Meanwhile, Kellermann concentrated about

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<v Speaker 1>thirty six thousand French troops near the village of bal Maay,

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<v Speaker 1>positioned on gently rolling hills dotted with windmills, and there

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<v Speaker 1>on the morning of September the twentieth, they awaited the

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<v Speaker 1>advancing Prussians. This was the battle that would change the

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<v Speaker 1>course of the French Revolution, and the battle itself didn't

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<v Speaker 1>begin with a furious cavalry charge, as we might have expected,

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<v Speaker 1>but with a cannonade. Around nine o'clock, Brunswick's Prussians deployed

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<v Speaker 1>opposite the French lines. For hours, the two sides traded

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<v Speaker 1>artillery fire across the misty fields. Gotha, the German writer

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<v Speaker 1>serving as a volunteer in Brunswick's army, later recalled the

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<v Speaker 1>uncanny atmosphere as follows. From this place and from this

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<v Speaker 1>day forth commences a new era in the history of

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<v Speaker 1>the world. And you can say all were present. The

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<v Speaker 1>French army, largely composed of raw volunteers mixed with veterans,

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<v Speaker 1>held firm under the barrage. When the Prussian infantry began

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<v Speaker 1>to advance. Kellerman is said to have ridden forward, wounded

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<v Speaker 1>in the leg, but unshaken. He called out to his men,

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<v Speaker 1>long live the nation. His soldiers took up the cry,

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<v Speaker 1>their shouts echoing across the fields, banners of liberty waving

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<v Speaker 1>in defiance. This display of determination unsettled the Prussians. Their

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<v Speaker 1>assault faltered, and Brunswick, cautious and aware of his worsening

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<v Speaker 1>supply situation, declined to press the attack. By late afternoon,

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<v Speaker 1>the cannonatees spluttered out. The French had stood their ground,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Prussians withdrew. Casualties were light Braybe one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>on both sides, but the psychological impact of the victory

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<v Speaker 1>for France was enormous. Valmay was no decisive military triumph

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<v Speaker 1>in the conventional sense of the term, but it was

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<v Speaker 1>a moral and political victory. For the first time, the

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<v Speaker 1>revolutionary armies had faced the old monarchies of Europe and

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<v Speaker 1>they had not crumbled. And most critically, a volunteer national

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<v Speaker 1>army had stood up against a disciplined and drilled, professional

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<v Speaker 1>paid force and held their ground. This was a major

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<v Speaker 1>change in the history of Europe, and one that was

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<v Speaker 1>going to portend a lot of innovations in military planning

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<v Speaker 1>that going to culminate in World War One. Now, news

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<v Speaker 1>of Elmey race to Paris, where on the same day

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<v Speaker 1>the National Convention convened and ultimately then declared the abolition

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<v Speaker 1>forever of the monarchy. France had now become a republic

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<v Speaker 1>in Valmat seemed like a divine sign that this new

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<v Speaker 1>order could survive. Back on the frontier, Brunswick's army, weakened

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<v Speaker 1>by disease and poor supplies, soon retreated out of France altogether.

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<v Speaker 1>The revolution was saved, and a new chapter of European

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<v Speaker 1>warfare was now about to begin, and it didn't take

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<v Speaker 1>long for France to recognize the advantage they now held.

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<v Speaker 1>French armies positively surged outward. On September the twenty ninth.

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<v Speaker 1>They occupied Nice on October the third, Basel, on October

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<v Speaker 1>the twenty third, Frankfurt. By November the fourteenth, Brussels was

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<v Speaker 1>in French hands. The revolution suddenly became militant. On November

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteenth, the convention to clarity it would aid all

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<v Speaker 1>people seeking liberty, the decree reading quote wherever people desire

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<v Speaker 1>to recover freedom, our armies shall carry for ti tnity

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<v Speaker 1>and assistance. Then, on November the twentieth, came a devastating discovery,

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<v Speaker 1>the Armois de Faire, the iron chest hidden in the Tuileries,

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<v Speaker 1>containing Louis the sixteenth's secret correspondence with emigres and foreign monarchs.

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<v Speaker 1>It confirmed, as it was open and read, every single

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<v Speaker 1>Frenchman's suspicion that their king was treasonous. On December the third,

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<v Speaker 1>Robespierre demanded the king's death, writing Louis must die because

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<v Speaker 1>the nation must live. Finally, on December the sixth, Jean

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Moraut proposed, and the Convention agreed that each deputy

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<v Speaker 1>must publicly declare his vote on the king's fate. There

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<v Speaker 1>would be no secrecy, there would be no refuge. As

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<v Speaker 1>we will see next time. The stage was now set

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<v Speaker 1>for the final trial of Louis the sixteenth