Vendée

The 1793 Vendée rebellion against the French Revolutionary state took place in a region which overlapped with the coastal Vendée department but also spread to the west (rebel forces captured Thouars and Saumur) and further north (rebel forces laid siege to Nantes). The town of Cholet is highlighted here as a central point of this fight against Revolutionary authority. See 'Maps' under the Resources tab for further information.

Appears in these Letters:

1793

11 May: Counter-Revolution in the Vendée

The civil war in the Vendée region of Western France had become a serious strategic and political concern for the Republic by May 1793. The duchess...

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...

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...