National Convention

Created: 20 September 1792

It was common practice for every iteration of France's national representative body to be referred to simply as the 'National Assembly', but this term covered three entirely separate institutions. The National Convention was set up in the wake of the fall of the monarchy in August 1792, and the first act of its elected deputies was to declare France a Republic. The basic purpose of the Convention was to draft a new constitution to reflect this changed political landscape, but Revolutionary events (including domestic rebellions, an expanding European war, widespread political repression and violence, and religious and economic tensions) delayed this until the end of 1795. Instead the Convention came to be defined by factional politics, the rise and fall of Maximilien Robespierre, government by Terror, and the early failures and later successes of a gruelling military struggle against domestic and foreign Counter-Revolutionary forces.

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Appears in these Letters:

1792

14 August: The August Revolution: The Fall of the Monarchy

The summer of 1792 was a perfect storm for the French monarchy, with rising demands for a Republic amid military defeats and the lasting resentment...

1793

21 January: The Execution of Louis XVI

The deposed king's trial before the nation's elected representatives in the National Convention began on 11 December 1792. A guilty verdict was never...

11 March: Terror on the Horizon. Part 1

This entry is dated the same day that the creation of a new Paris Revolutionary Tribunal was announced by the Convention. This was one of the building...

29 May - 31 May: Purge of the Girondins. Part 1

Another entry which speaks to the possible political implications of the military pressure the Republic was under. The duchess believes this to be the...

1 June - 3 June: Purge of the Girondins. Part 2

Popular pressure finally secured the ‘Purge of the Girondins’ from the National Convention on 2 June 1793. A total of twenty-nine deputies were...

5 June: Purge of the Girondins. Part 3

The political implications of the Purge of the Girondins began to be felt immediately, and the duchess emphasises the political importance of the...

5 June: Reflections on Political Repression

The duchess explains how the balance of political power in the capital has recently shifted in a more radical direction, and considers the...

15 June: Problems in the French Republic

The summer of 1793 sees at a critical juncture, and the duchess paints a gloomy picture of morale at the political heart of the Republic....

31 July: Revolutionary Justice in the summer of 1793

The duchess offers news and personal reflections on recent developments in the French Revolution (as seen from her home in the heart of the capital)...

22 October: The Execution of Marie-Antoinette

The execution of the former queen Marie-Antoinette on 16 October 1793, after a highly politicised show trial at the Paris Revolutionary Tribunal, was...

6 November: The Terror Gathers Pace

The duchess describes the execution of Brissot and a group of his fellow Girondin deputies. She combines this with broader reflections on the...

1794

8 January: The Last Words of the Duchess

The final entry in the duchess's notebook series. She observes that France's improving military situation has not resulted in a reduction in domestic...