Maximilien Robespierre: The Reign of Terror

Maximilien Robespierre promised to usher a fairer, more representative form of government to the French people. What they got was a reign of terror that saw thousands facing the horror of the guillotine.
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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Steve Theunissen
Producer - Jack Cole
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
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[@katy4714]

It's always amazed me that Maximilen started off fighting for no imprisonment without trial to condemning many to death, without trial.

[@azunkor422]

Power corrupts anyone who has it

[@davehallett3128]

It has happened to hundreds to the peril of thousands

[@forcedtohaveahandle]

Katy Power corrupts absolutely

[@johnhuddleston8647]

He, Robespierre, is the poster child of why a Bernie Sanders or an AOC type should NEVER gain real political power!!!

[@patrickbooth5091]

John Huddleston couldn’t agree more! They would be very dangerous to any of their political opponents if they were ever given real power

[@AnnabelRoss6789]

Robespierre is the living embodiment of the Nietzsche quote "be careful when fighting monsters, lest you become one yourself,"

[@Halbi1987]

He is kind of the French Hitler, I mean look at the Nazis who at the beginning seemed to fight all the injustice Germans faced after WWI and how all their weird ideology was overlooked in the 1930s and later their true nature became more and more obvious.

[@ManishSingh-xo1fb]

One thing history has taught us that a revolution within a country is never successful. The wheels keeps turning. Nothing really change. The only ones who suffer from revolutions are the ones who cause it - the people.

[@adrijan6510]

@@ManishSingh-xo1fb we need to differentiate between violent revolution VS political and ideological but peaceful revolution I know is hard but not impossible. Educating people makes the difference.

[@JustDoz87]

he already lost himself he was just using the people to get rid of the king to get himself power lol he never cared about the people

[@ZombieSlayerTakashi]

@@Halbi1987 More like a French fusion of Stalin and Lenin. He had the visionary traits of Lenin and the Brutality and Paranoia traits of Stalin.

[@MightyMattTM]

“They fled to an unused palace” has to be the single most decisive sentence to explain why France revolted.

[@SlyBlu7]

"When our turn comes, we will not shall not make excuses for the terror"

[@gsmooth4279]

@@SlyBlu7 Marx?

[@rennor3498]

The fact that they used good money to build a palace and never use it. That a real waste.

[@Fractal_blip]

@@rennor3498 I guess they used it after all

[@leandrochavez6480]

@@rennor3498 public management in one sentence.

[@mauricewatkins8968]

Robespierre is the perfect example of the legendary saying: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

[@BarbarellaAlpha]

he is also the epitome of the example of what the modern leftwing have turned into, they admire this guy along with marx and other dictators of history

[@jamesdavis9036]

@@BarbarellaAlpha I've got no love for the left, but I've never heard them praise Robespierre.

[@nicholascave3012]

@@jamesdavis9036 she is confused. She is thinking of Rousseau.

[@rbrinks5]

@@BarbarellaAlpha Karl Marx reign of terror over Soviet China is certainly what turned me left wing.

[@aukustivalli9344]

@@BarbarellaAlpha If you learn history from history books instead of 4chan and twitter, you would know that Marx was a theorist not a dictator.

[@cuthulux]

I know things have to be cut for time, but it's a shame you couldn't include the fact that he sentenced his childhood friend Danton to the guillotine as well. I feel like that really showed how far he had fallen.

[@cuthulux]

You are correct, Danton and Desmoulins were executed together, however. That must have been where the confusion came from.

[@ashalaska3685]

you're thinking of Desmoulins, and Robespierre actually tried to keep him from being sentanced.

[@keithg1313]

I came here looking for this point.

[@cuthulux]

@dr2599 I'm going to add that to my "to watch" list.

[@opexy007]

Desmoulins was his childhood friend , not Danton.

[@TheGoddamnJefe]

It seems as if everyone lost their heads over the French Revolution. I’ll see myself out.

[@ladycharlenegrace8023]

Hahaahaa! Whoo!

[@pudgebl67]

Yeah, it seems it was the only way that someone in that position could get a head in life. I know that was bad, I should get the chop. Ok, ok, ok... last one.... Sorry couldn't think of any, I got a head of myself

[@frankalbe8996]

If you get carried away you can find in your head, you're a basket case.

[@pudgebl67]

@@frankalbe8996 wah wah... Awesome Dude. Did not see that one a head of me.

[@elizabethbee3033]

😂

[@joseherrera2338]

Robespierre is a darkly glaring examples of: 'you become what you oppose'.

[@coreyrotella4650]

Jose Herrera when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back

[@joshglover2370]

You either die Spongebob or live long enough to become Mr. Krabs...

[@AUniqueHandleName444]

Robespierre is a darkly glaring example of leftists always lying about their intentions.

[@callmeej8399]

llriv I don’t trust any institution because humans are naturally egocentric power hungry animals that will use any system to benefit themselves. People will always corrupt a system. Mankind is too intelligent for its own good, capable of providing the means to kill itself.

[@edwardgoering1237]

Live by the Sword Die by the Sword !

[@Ryattt81]

A few years ago I tried to sum up the French revolution in a limeric. "There was a man named Robespierre, who lamented how life was unfair, he beheaded the royals, and everyone loyal, then anyone else he could spare.

[@bernas8064]

You should read more.

[@eowyn-faramir-reads]

Jeez. That limerick covers it.

[@callmeej8399]

Greca Scha alright douche lets hear yours

[@kristinradams7109]

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing 😊

[@chigwesibanyama1148]

Very nice...

[@somerandomguyfromthebeyond1821]

the classic case of living long enough to become the villain

[@Thepourdeuxchanson]

Brought out brilliantly by Hilary Mantel's book about Robespierre, Desmoulins and Danton.

[@Useaname]

And a delicious ending. The scream was particularly poetic.

[@auklin7079]

also a classic example of the dangers of concentrations of power

[@paulamuniz5845]

@@Thepourdeuxchanson She's an amazing author. I'm currently reading Bring Up the Bodies but I intend to buy A Place of Greater Safety next. She brings a gritty yet sophisticated atmosphere in her stories and I'm all in for it!

[@BioHunter1990]

No, literally the villain at “Go!”

[@Psychol-Snooper]

Robespierre started his judicial career as an adamant opponent of the death penalty, and then became the chief executioner of the Republic. He should have stuck to the morality of his earlier years and he might have died as the father of his nation.

[@101jir]

Did he ever genuinely care, or was it just rhetoric? I wonder...

[@Psychol-Snooper]

Ultimately nobody could know, and will perhaps insert their own sentiments into his story. As I recall though in his time as a criminal judge he staunchly refused to ever consider the death penalty. Maybe he became so savage due to a real devotion to revolution, or maybe out of personal fear of becoming a victim or his own revolution or a counter revolution. Either way he embraced what he hated and met a singularly horrible and poetically just fate.

[@101jir]

Quite the interesting story in any case.

[@Psychol-Snooper]

The entire Age of Enlightenment is a fascinating period. Robespierre is sort of a muddle of all of it. He even tried to create a new religion based on his beloved Rousseau's ideas! thx for noticing my comment.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

It could be the contradictions in his ideals that caused his failure of charisma that turned the revolution against him.

[@juandelacruz2340]

a doctor, a fireman, a personal trainer, a plumber, and now art historian. this man can do anything..

[@lukastorngren7498]

Hahaha

[@thegrimmcommoner2203]

He eventually settled on becoming a barber.

[@stnicgglemploy2794]

Checking your Mom's pipes 👨‍🔧

[@philiphunn194]

I understood that reference.

[@juandelacruz2340]

@@philiphunn194 glad to see a fellow man of culture

[@HandleMyBallsYouTube]

"like Saturn, the Revolution devours its children." -Jacques Mallet du Pan

[@Bugsfuckingbunny]

wrong but yes

[@romelnegut2005]

How ironic is that? He managed to bring so many to the guillotine only to end up like them.

[@christineparis5607]

Romel Negut It should be a warning to anyone in power, but they never, ever get it. Persons of power who abuse it, ALWAYS end up going the same way as all the others they abused, yet the lesson never sinks in.

[@romelnegut2005]

christine paris I agree with you on that 100%.

[@guilhermecastro8682]

I think it’s even more ironic a defender o liberty to die as tyrant. Robespierre was fuckedup

[@JK-gu3tl]

"Revolutions eat their parents."

[@gjtrue]

*What goes around, comes around.* 😎

[@buck6021]

Actually, Robespierre never got the power to order an execution alone, he was part of the committee which did so alongside of eleven other men. The reign of terror was a fight between several factions for power and Robespierre was one of the numerous participants in this carnage. But as always, it's up to the victors to write history and Robespierre became the scapegoat for those who remained to distance themselves from all the bloodshed they were a part of.

[@rockytopbritt]

Personally, I would say yes and no. You're right that he technically couldn't order an execution alone, but he wielded large amounts of influence over the Committee of Public Safety, hence those who he disagreed with like Danton and Herbert ended up dead. I would say he was somewhere in between the mastermind and just another participant. I mean by the end he acted like he thought he was a god, so whatever power he did have was enough to go to his head.

[@anselledmont9614]

Sounds like familiar history

[@pioneirohill8493]

Yes, he was betraid by the counter revolucionairs inside the party.

[@guigoufred1]

Thank you, finally someone who knows facts

[@guigoufred1]

@@rockytopbritt That's false, he did participate in repression because there was a bloody civil war and actions needed to be took, yet, he fought strongly against the massacres and when he wanted to held people accountable, they conspired and made him the scapegoat. Most people who actually commited the massacres likes in Nantes and Lyon (such as Fouché), ended up having nice positions in the following regime and enriched themself, which Robespierre never did.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:40 - Chapter 1 - The early Robespierre 4:40 - Chapter 2 - On the brink 7:20 - Chapter 3 - France in revolt 10:00 - Chapter 4 - The estates generals 12:10 - Chapter 5 - A new national assembly 15:10 - Chapter 6 - The people speaks 17:00 - Chapter 7 - Causing division 19:00 - Chapter 8 - Omnious power 20:40 - Chapter 9 - The reign of terror 23:35 - Chapter 10 - Justice of the blade

[@XxAnimetardxX]

Tyyy

[@cricketfanatics4084]

🎉

[@HibHab69]

You forgot that time he tried to declare himself god.

[@maximillenfrancoismarieisa6732]

i am

[@forcedtohaveahandle]

MAXimillen francois marie isador ROBspierre How could you be? Can’t even properly spell and capitalize your own name lol

[@achekzai5852]

@@forcedtohaveahandle Gods dont need to know how to spell anything. You fail to realize what God means. God is simply a force that animates all life therefore all life is God. Being God doesn't imply all that stuff in Christianity like being all good, all smart, all holy ETC. Infact, most aspects of God are total assholes. There are kinder aspects of God, like my friend Bob, but then there's hitler, stalin ETC. but remember all life is God.

[@Vahki100]

@@achekzai5852 There is no universal concept of the word "God". YOU fail to realize that too. What you define as "God" is up for your own personal consumption and views. It's not universal. So, no.

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

@@maximillenfrancoismarieisa6732 😅😅😅

[@eyyy2271]

The funny irony is not he only became the victim of his own reign... He was the leader of the "Committee of Public Safety..."

[@BarbarellaAlpha]

ah more irony of the guy that is the epitome example of what the modern left have become

[@jefffung2562]

0:40 - Chapter 1 - The Early Robespierre 4:40 - Chapter 2 - On the brink 7:20 - Chapter 3 - France in revolt 9:55 - Chapter 4 - The Estates Generals 12:10 - Chapter 5 - A new national assembly 15:10 - Chapter 6 - The people speak 17:00 - Chapter 7 - Causing division 19:00 - Chapter 8 - Omnious Power 20:35 - Chapter 9 - The reign of terror 22:35 - Chapter 10 - Justice of the blade

[@BS-rm1hv]

He was just a member of the comity

[@ashalaska3685]

he wasn't the leader of the CSP.

[@thomy1955]

@@BarbarellaAlpha And just like during the french revolution it's the crimes of the right that radicalizes the modern left.

[@MaximilienRobespierre1]

Great video by the way, subbed.

[@lexluther3066]

Maximilien Robespierre We need you Max!

[@anakingachalifecritics6616]

Lex Luther hell nah!

[@lexluther3066]

Anakin Gâcha Life Critics hell yeah.

[@anakingachalifecritics6616]

David Bowie With a hand fetish but there is a tax for that!

[@anakingachalifecritics6616]

Harsh Sidhu Harsh Sidhu max we are sending way too many people to the guillotine

[@meias.]

It is physically painful to see all the people in these comments thinking that they understand anything about Robespierre because they watched ONE video about him, a single video that also heavily oversimplifies a lot of historical circumstances (don't get me wrong, I know this is only meant to be a sort of "short overview") and seems to be biased by thermidorian propaganda (as is most media concerning the french revolution and Robespierre in particular).

[@CegeRoles]

_"There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man."_

[@Darth__Maul]

Fun Fact about the execution of Maximilien Robespierre: Augustin Robespierre (brother of Maximilien Robespierre) Was guillotined the same day with Maximilien and his twenty jacobins friends. Georges Couthon and Saint Just are to name a few Augustin’s last words were “Goodbye Brother”.

[@shinebrightlikeadoitsu1120]

*Fun fact*

[@bootdude7527]

Wasn't goodbye for too long

[@frankie-1871]

Fun Fact: This randomly made me cry.

[@urmorph]

And Augustin had broken his legs trying to escape arrest by jumping out a window. Like Thomas More, he needed help going up to his execution, but not coming down.

[@avocadolover7459]

*mY hEART-* augustin you poor precious thing... for he didn't even get to meet his mother...

[@red__3574]

I learned more about the French rev in the first 10 mins than I did in a year of euro history

[@sparkyfister]

Red __ you'd lean a lot more on the Revolutions podcast

[@jedirevan1582]

Thats what I like about KZbin, no tests for them to give you, more time to focus on educating.

[@mikelheron20]

You must be more than usually dim.

[@t.o.6953]

This video gets quote a bit wrong. Listen to the Revolutions Podcast by Mike Duncan. It's a much more comprehensive history.

[@raymondrivers3317]

Aaaannnd thats why school is low key a waste of fckin time

[@loretta_3843]

How strange, after hearing all that, to be told "I hope you enjoyed that" and hit the "like" button 😕

[@lesleygiles8924]

That totally transfixed me! Brilliantly presented. I had a good history teacher in senior school but this just blew me away.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Well...that was dark.

[@geniemiki]

The french revolution is kinda that. It starts all hopeful and epic...but it ends ina a ridiculous bloodbath.

[@nikkihollywood2610]

😂😂

[@ousou78]

I'm pretty sure that most of the average Frenchs have no idea of how blody were days just after the revolution. Some (including me for years) never bothered to look pass the revolution and think that it was all day-dream after.

[@Meyour67120]

@@ousou78 I disagree, I think the majority of French knows this period of our history. But only interviews in street could enlighten us about who's right or wrong on that matter

[@y0urs03pic]

Robespierre Died... *"You Can Make A Religion Out of This"* !!!

[@spiritusmundi70]

s1r_dr2g0n if the bible why not?

[@Artur_M.]

No, don't.

[@ianmoore3470]

No, don't

[@serbgoyim5020]

Yes do it

[@JP51ism]

Actually Marx wrote the text but it was Lenin who made it religion. Many Soviet phrases re: Lenin echo those about Christ; his preserved body is still adored.

[@charliespurr7325]

I'm surprised you never mentioned his title, Robespierre the Incorruptible.

[@davehallett3128]

Who became robespierre the uncorrectable. If his name were robespierrepoint he could have done his own executions

[@richardque4952]

Hitler .mao stalin pol pot all of them are incorruptable.except of course political powrr

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

They all were corrupted as well as corrupt able.

[@lisaahmari7199]

A lot of the people replying don't understand that his nickname was truly, literally "The Incorruptible." That was what they called him.

[@user-yn7ux4fz6u]

@@richardque4952 For Fouché and others like him Robespierre became a convenient scapegoat. They could shrug off their part in the Terror and blame Robespierre alone. It was a convenient fiction and one that has influenced historians ever since. Robespierre has become the bloody handed dictator prefiguring twentieth century dictators such as Stalin and Hitler. As an historical analysis it lacks precision and is entirely unsupported by the evidence.

[@ThoughtfulPotato]

I love learning more about history... Especially in the world that we live in, despite the chaos and seeming unhinged madness all over, history shows me that we've been through such spells before. It's like a cycle of tides... There will always be ebbs and flows...

[@BigCatSilver]

This was amazing. I've got a book from 1797 called 'The Bloody Buoy' which details the atrocities of the revolution, it's fascinatingly gruesome. Great work Simon!

[@squamish4244]

When Robespierre said, "Let's go, chop chop", he really meant it.

[@small_joys2022]

😂😂😂

[@LaylaVaughan]

You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain

[@BarbarellaAlpha]

the story summary of the modern leftists

[@mosquitobight]

This needs to be followed by bio videos on Danton, Desmoulins and Murat as part of a French Revolution basket.

[@EmoBearRights]

The artist Davide would be interesting as would Caravaggio.

[@mosquitobight]

yes

[@jjc5475]

and then the guillotine fell.. ...and hit that like button! transition wasn't that smooth.. XD

[@Akira42]

Well that one left me reeling. Absolutely gobsmacked.

[@JTS616]

This was awesome. I wasn't aware of more than half of these details. Well done

[@tu134pilot]

Your videos are so well researched and enjoyable. Thank you!

[@gerlan1234to]

Why no mention of the 'Cult of the Supreme Being' ?

[@gloriamontgomery6900]

Which was a moment of extreme weirdness

[@pietpistolify]

I was also read about that before. That piece blew my mind.

[@awesomelegion9950]

Bask in the virtue of my Republic!

[@monitor1862]

The morning the revolution started Marie Antoinette came downstairs sniffed the air and asked King Louie what that horrible smell was to which he replied "it's the peasants they're revolting".

[@barker940]

Not true, but FUNNY!

[@felixargyle3659]

That’s a clever joke, I like it. (^~^)

[@alanaadams7440]

Lol

[@emancoy]

I seem to have heard a similar joke before, Mel Brooks in the History of the world.

[@gailcbull]

@@emancoy From Mel Brooks' History of the World Part 1 Count deMoney: "Sire, it is said that the peasants are revolting." King Louie: "You said it! They stink on ice!"

[@davidmizak4642]

The remarkable information you provide to your viewers needs to be applauded. I sincerely appreciate your effort to expand your viewers knowledge. A sincere thank you!

[@guigoufred1]

Although I like your videos, I must say I disagree a lot on this one. Historians have questionned most of the things people say : > First, we tend to over estimate the power of Robespierre, if we was indeed the head of the Comitee of public safety, he wasnt making all the decision by himself > Lots of the horrors were actually commited by subordinates who wanted to gain power for themselves like Fouché or Barras. The best example is Lyon, Fouché murdered the whole place then had an argument with Robespierre, just days before the execution > Robespierre was a sick man for most of the terror (and before) and stayed mostly at home, it is very unlikely that he was holding the ropes during this time > He voted against the wars of the revolution > He was by all account a very humble man, living simply and not wanting light on himself, which is the opposite of the cliché people have on him. > In the end, he was used as a scapegoat by the very people who accused him of their crimes, people who then became the heads of the following regime (the Directoire). Was he willing to make sacrifices for the cause, yes, was he the tyranic autocratic monster that people think he is, absolutely not. I encourage you to make another video because Robespierre is actually a brilliant symbol of a naive idealist who did not expect malice from people around him. His ideals were beautiful and he is most likely on of the few to not have tried to use the Revolution for personal advancement. I hope we can have a discussion about this.

[@sanktpierre8025]

Thank you for bringing light to a topic enveloped in the shadows of history.

[@ElectroIsMyReligion]

Found the socialist.

[@guigoufred1]

@@ElectroIsMyReligion found the ignorant assuming people's political opinion through a KZbin comment.

[@sanjosemike3137]

During revolutions, there are always competitions for among participants, sometimes for financial, status, control or raw power. This is one of the reasons why the Communist Revolutions get so fragmented and result in the inevitable death of hundreds of thousands or even millions. As defined by Nietzsche and later on, Solzhenitsyn, "without God, anything is possible." Thus, in Communism you have a despot quite willing to murder a close associate of perhaps 20 years previous acquaintance. They would define this as "following the Revolution and perfecting it." A kind of "regrettable necessity." Or so they say. Could YOU do better in the throes of a violent revolution? Who do you think you are? Are you NOT aware that there are hundreds standing just behind YOU who would put a gun to your head at any chance? Exactly WHY do you think you have the ability to control an active revolution? This is the ultimate lesson of the French and other like Revolutions. Robespierre apparently thought that by force of his considerable intellect and caring for the masses, he could "control" it. How ironic that his jaw swung uselessly after the bandage was ripped away just before the blade fell. His great speech, intellect, love for the masses and education were of no use, after all. Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)

[@guigoufred1]

@@sanjosemike3137 Although I like the eloquence and rafinement of your answer, I have to disagree on its conclusion. The main ideals pursued by the Revolution and Robespierre live on as what we call norm today. Wherever you are (except North America where the following innovation did not originate from the same source), chances are that you have written law & no casts system limiting your rights compared to a highborn man, the possibility of defending yourself in front of your peers. All of that sparked in France, during the revolution, and no power could stop once it was there. It was messy, chaotic and quite often unfair, but the overall conclusion is one of the most positive in human History. Not sure the Russian revolution brought that much to the table, if anything.

[@Darth__Maul]

Robespierre started out of being a good person. A successful lawyer in France, tried to free the slaves in South America at one time, and having a kind and gentle humor. But when the revolution started, he went from being a successful lawyer to a bloodthirsty dictator.

[@basiltolosa487]

Nope it's the black fairy tales of Robespierre. Robespierre was never a '' virtual dictator ''. The great terror was a kind of state of emergency, the revolutionaries are centralized the state's violence in Paris justly to end the chaos across the country. Before the terror, the people were executed arbitrary and without judgment. Plus Robespierre are never controled le '' comité de salut public '', actually there was conflicts betweens the members of this committee. Robespierre wanted to condemn the war criminals and the members of the committe who abuse of the terror, but his enemies were more faster than him. After is death, the enemies of Robespierre make him the principal responsible of the great terror for hide their own crimes

[@LomLaLay]

@@basiltolosa487 Robispierre voted aginst death penalty , "tho it was irrevserible". He change later. When they voted if Louis Chapet (King) shuold be executed it was only one extra vote for death. Jean-Bernard have written an excellent book-serie (one for each year) about the revolution where every week is a chapter. Sometimes not so much happend so he write about whats on the theaters and which play is royalistic and not. And he dont take side in the revolution. Best books i've ever read about a topic like this.

[@kaamos79]

This is the unfortunate path of all too many 'revolutionaries'... the road to hell is paved with good intentions and all.

[@stsk7]

@@kaamos79 yes just look at the modern far left

[@BarbarellaAlpha]

i doubt it, people who want power will use any means necessary to get it, even if that means grand gestures of altruism and charity and noble deeds, once they get the power they then reveal who they truly are

[@VodkaHellstorm]

Any chance of a biographic on the Marquis de Lafayette? :)

[@avocadolover7459]

YESSS

[@avocadolover7459]

i need this 😩😬

[@Leon-tq5kz]

Onarchy?

[@sidbid1590]

Did he take that horse from the reins, making Redcoats redder with bloodstains?

[@laurenlanterns4376]

Sid Bid and [he’s] never gonna stop until [he] make[s] ‘em drop, burn[s] ‘em up and scatters the remains?

[@JavierArveloCruzSantana]

I love everything you do, mate! Great channel.

[@rayjacobs1146]

Quickly becoming my favorite YT channel! Great work.

[@HayneStatioN]

Thanks for continuing to produce high quality informative videos. The French Revolution is a critically important event that people should know about.

[@abeddani992]

What do you recommend to watch or read if I want to know more about the French Revolution?

[@somerandomguyfromthebeyond1821]

@@abeddani992 there is a documentary that the History Channel produced about this time time period that I will highly recommend watching

[@claralillie9393]

I knew very little about the French Revolution, I was gripped all throughout this video. Fascinating. Thank you for your work. Simon seems like a true gentleman and a scholar.

[@elizabethnash7491]

This was so interesting. A complicated subject made clear thank you

[@partizanofficer24]

its so fascinating to watch americans (most of them) comment on some issue ... they always go to specifics to argue and discus, and most of the times they bypass the essence or the heart of the problem.

[@Sub-km4nk]

Sitting back and listening to Simon's voice while sitting in my recliner munching on some chips is the best way to spend a Tuesday afternoon

[@bubblebreak4160]

You gravely misrepresented the Marquis de Lafayette. "The King's chief enforcer??" No Lafayette was the leading liberal aristocrat and one of the leaders of the French Revolution. The National Guard was far more a neutral formation than a Royalist one. To imply that Lafayette would have stormed the city as an enforcer of the King is absurd.

[@JoeKaneB]

Lafayette has a complicated legacy as the political mood of the times swept passed him (in both directions) a number of times. He was pretty consistent in his views though. He supported a republic but was entirely willing to settle for liberalizing the monarchy if that would maintain order.

[@6idangle]

Joe Baker exactly, there was often times this external rush to attribute some republican radicalism to Lafayette based on this misconception about him but he showed multiple times he was willing to settle for something far less than adequate. The Louise Philippe embrace at his coronation is a perfect example of this phenomenon, it lended legitimacy to a regime that ended up being pretty unpopular.

[@marquisdelafayette1929]

Tyler Potts exactly.. at 19 was one of the wealthiest and well connected men in France, gave up a life in the kings court to come fight with the Americans. Was forbidden by the king to go (they weren’t openly supporting them yet) and he was too well connected to feign ignorance. So he bought his own ship and snuck out disguised as a woman and sailed to America. In his first battle he was shot in the leg at Brandywine and he won over Washington (who had been tiring of French officers “offering their services “ where Lafayette said he came to learn). He became like a son to him and he sailed back to France and lobbied for the naval support that won the war. He wrote to Jefferson over the years and even had him draft Frances constitution. He was offered to be Frances dictator twice and turned it down. He stuck to his beliefs.. was like the Bernie of their time. He was given control of the national guard and given an impossible task to protect the king and queen while also protecting the people and he really tried to do both when it was impossible. When rhe crowd took the king he got there to late to prevent it and then when the guard shot the crowd he was blamed again when he gave no such orders. Dude just couldn’t win. But he held to his beliefs til the day he died. I love him, if you read his writings you see he was a person who tried hard to do his best with the situation he had.

[@stephanierando3477]

Let's also mention that it was American diplomats who kept him alive during the Reign of Terror. I believe he had managed to escape to the Netherlands who were going to extradite him back to France but American diplomats tied down the Dutch courts by claiming Lafayette to be an American citizen and couldn't be extradited to France.

[@marquisdelafayette1929]

stephanie rando no.. he (I) was trying to get to the Netherlands but since war with the Austrians had started they captured him and despite the best attempts of the US they couldn’t get him out. They considered him a dangerous revolutionary and he was sent from one shithole prison to another. No contact with anyone in a dungeon basically. His wife has sent their son George Washington Lafayette to live with Washington in America and petitioned Austria to allow her and her daughters to join him. They granted it and there is actually a painting of it with the door being swung open and Lafayette on his knees in front of his wife and daughters. Imagine not seeing another human or even sunlight in a damp disgusting dungeon and then one day the door opens and it’s your family . Apparently the American, British. Dutch, Spanish and others kept petitioning on his behalf but the King of Austria was Marie Antoinettes brother and blamed him for what happened. He was finally freed when Napoleon invaded Austria. When he got back to France he refused to participate in Napoleons administration saying he was no Washington, rather a dictator. He was also broke so Jefferson found a way to pay him back partially for expenses he paid out of his own pocket for the continental army. For the rest of his life he hid revolutionaries in his home and spent hours every day connecting and communicating with the best minds of the time. They recently found a ton of volumes of these letters hidden away in La Grange which was the only property he had left.

[@robertmoore6149]

A fantasy show could make Robespierre out to have supernatural powers of persuasion. Only when his jaw was shattered was he silenced, thus his power coming to an end.

[@henriklarsson5221]

"The end justifies the means" This has been the thinking of every psychopath since the dawn of man.

[@davehallett3128]

To the don of king

[@e.moonbound2420]

More than psychopaths I would say fanatics and those who were blinded by themselves

[@spurezurko]

Today it would be: "The end justifies the memes."

[@AdityaDeo-cg6eu]

@Duncan M you should try death note

[@BarbarellaAlpha]

yeah and it is the leftwings motto: by any means neceassary the end justifies the means

[@peter-radiantpipes2800]

Awesome choice Simon!!

[@seanbeck2381]

"It always happens when you give these little people power, it goes to their head like strong drink." -Lady Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Better to have kings let their power go to their head. It's more satisfying to chop off a big head.

[@windhelmguard5295]

@tiglath pileser the best way for a nation to work properly is to give the common people just enough power for the ruling class to be rightfully afraid of them.

[@BJN1253]

The most honest quote ever spoken. Love Lady Violet.

[@sars910]

I hate how she says "these little people" as if she holds the masses in contempt. Absolute power will indeed corrupt absolutely, no matter who that power is given to. Indeed, the ruling class has persecuted the lower classes far more frequently in history, than vice versa.

[@dennisdelany9098]

The point she was making was that those who were used to holding power were more likely to acknowledge its limitations. Its a fair point. Louis XVI himself was a very easy-going monarch and patriotic Frenchman who was manipulated by his wife to conspire with the Austrians much against his will. Tyrannical kings were the exception in Europe during the Enlightenment, not the rule. The French aristocracy was trapped in the web spun by Louis XIV at Versailles to ensure no aristocrat could challenge the King. It's complex. @@sars910

[@Ricklawrence]

Wow. Thank you. These Videos are wonderful. I am a total history nerd You pack a great deal of information in a short time without political bias or personal opinion.

[@politicallynotcorrect]

Hands down this has become my favorite KZbin channel!!!

[@alexthegreat8874]

Saame lol

[@matthewmckenna248]

Could you cover Georgy Zhukov?

[@hockeyking30]

Gipsy Danger we really need stan lee!!

[@konstm.s.236]

Yes omg please

[@yuriyashurin1629]

That's actually very good request, my respect.

[@hipwave]

the people asks for a Zhukov review. Obey or face guillottine or a headshot in the gulag. You choose

[@Biographics]

We have officially added Zhukov. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@goofyhayden]

Ho Chi Minh I'm going to keep requesting him every video until it happens.

[@mariakelly5]

Me too! Who's with us?

[@beastraveladventures6134]

It happened 😂

[@dansto5240]

Didn't they do him already ?

[@thegrayyernaut]

@@dansto5240 The date of the comment, dude.

[@hungkieu666]

@@mariakelly5 he's the father of the socialist republic of Vietnam, lead the nation to victory against France + America invasion. Gave us an independent, united full-sovereignty nation

[@61head]

Excellently done, as per usual!

[@cassandraralph5906]

I learned something new today again, Simon! Now I understand the causes and reasons behind the French Revolution, something I had never quite understood! Well done indeed again, Simon!

[@charlesgatine7045]

Clearer, better explained and better narrated than the history lessons I received at school in France I must say ^^. Very well done

[@mikesutliff9142]

Coming from a Yank, you are the best narrator on KZbin. Or any other form of communication, really! You could make a 10 minute video of me cleaning my bathroom and somehow it would be interesting! Good luck to you and, of course, your crew who make this video's.

[@jeffreyharrison3731]

I saw an historical drama caleed " Danton" the other night. This helped to fill in some blanks for me. Thank you.

[@33moneyball]

The “will of the people” is exactly what I believe it is at all times~Robespierre

[@shannonleigh8472]

Yay more biographies!

[@kyrgyzjeff4550]

Shannon Leigh Agreed!

[@SupaL33tKillar]

Could you cover Lee Kuan Yew? Like seriously it's interesting how Singapore became the country it is today given its history and size.

[@focast1825]

It goes way beyond economic freedom and the harbor. I have some old out of print books from Lee Kuan Yu and other officials from the PAP and the things they did to greatly reduce racial strife, create public ownership, transform the military, focus on value added industry, protect the environment, and (specially) resist meddling from foreign powers, are rather remarkable. Their first attempts to house the poor resulted in apartment blocks full of farm animals, and elevators full of urine because people didn't know what elevators were and mistook them for futuristic private places to relieve themselves. They really brought their population from ignorance and poverty to the top education and living standards in the world.

[@pascalausensi9592]

FO cast Do you remember the names of the books? That sounds really interesting.

[@focast1825]

pascal ausensi I remember 'Lee Kuan Yew A Man of Ideas' details a lot of the policies and the problems they were intended to solve. Written by some journalists but I don't remember the names other than "Han something" sorry. 'From Third World to First by Lee Kuan Yew' details the situations the state found itself in and the thinking behind the president's decisions. I should dig through my boxed up books... digital is so convenient I haven't unpacked a lot of these since moving some years back.

[@eugenetswong]

That guy seems like hero.

[@pascalausensi9592]

Thank you!

[@priscillawatson7049]

brilliant summary! thanks

[@peterhoare3754]

Brilliant video. Thank you.

[@squamish4244]

When Robespierre and his cronies were arrested, Robespierre blew off his lower jaw, his brother threw himself out a window but only succeeded in breaking his legs, another man also jumped out a window and fell into a sewer but did not die, and another fell out of his wheelchair and down a staircase. All were executed the next day. It sounds like a very dark Mel Brooks film.

[@jmchez]

Oh Lord! That is too dark, even for Brooks. More like the Coen Brothers or that guy that made the movie, "The Death of Stalin"..

[@ottovonbismarck2165]

Love this series, could you perhaps look at some prominent figures from the 2nd Punic war, like Hannibal Barca or Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus?

[@johnvidler4242]

Thank you. You have an amazing voice

[@arjanros3966]

Very interesting bio indeed, thank you very much!

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

Lets say it got a bit out of control... As a Dutchman could you do Wilhelm van Oranje?

[@Psychol-Snooper]

He has to impersonate a Dutchman to cover the Prince of Orange?

[@bobrussel3955]

William of orange

[@bobrussel3955]

William III of england

[@karlp8484]

And yet after all that, France re-introduced the monarchy? Confusing times for France in the late 18th and early 19th Century methinks

[@SmilingHoplite]

the other monarchies of Europe imposed a monarchy** that's different and even when it came back,it was definitly just an agonizing and obsolete symbol of power.No wonders the throne wa burned in 1848.

[@daddyquatro]

Liberty, fraternity, equality. The first two terms are mutually exclusive because the only thing that can impose on your liberty is other people!

[@marvelfannumber1]

France didn't really know what it wanted to be in the 19th Century, it went from a Republic, to an Empire, to a Kingdom, to another Kingdom, to a Republic again, to an Empire again and finally to a Republic again (although it almost became a monarchy again in the 1870's)

[@historiculgeomocule5569]

Unfortunately, revolutions tend to end up with regimes just as totalitarian if not more totalitarian than the regimes replaced with them. I think it's mainly due to most revolutions being far too collectivistic.

[@6idangle]

Varence de Lyssos that really isn’t true what about 1830?

[@onkelkonkel5]

23:14 - It's not certain if Robespierre actually tried to commit suicide. He could have fumbled the gun while defending himself or been shot by someone else. Accounts of the event vary depending on source.

[@TDace25]

The very faint background music used during the transitions really represent the coming revolution and how quickly it turned. Well done.

[@MR-wh6ji]

Could you please make a Video about Kaiser Wilhelm II. ? :)

[@KaneWolchuk]

Desperado Davee yes!

[@dukadarodear2176]

He doesn't deserve it. He was the greatest fraud of a man that ever lived. Everything about him was twisted; he was stupid, vain, pompous and cowardly. He was the greatest single cause of the Mass slaughter of Europe's young men between 1914 and 1918 yet he was allowed to live out his own life in peaceful retirement. He was a walking Whited Sepulchre full of the foul blue blood of European Royalty.

[@byrondowling195]

The jerk that caused us to lose sleep from Daylight Savings time?

[@BenwaysPatient]

@@dukadarodear2176 Yeah I guess a certain Habsburg Monarch and his convertible riding idiot of a son had nothing to do with starting the great war.

[@ArchLich12]

@@dukadarodear2176 That's incorrect. He wasn't the greatest of monarchs, but he was also literally the only European ruler that had any real chance of stopping the Great War, and of those few that could he was the only one who tried. He tried to hold an assembly, he tried to stop mobilization, and he attempted to make it clear that Austria-Hungary only had German support if they moved quickly, striking while the iron was hot to avoid greater conflict. He failed, but he tried. More than the English or French ever did. The only other European king who tried was Nicolas II, but his petty fear of being considered a weak ruler led him to support mobilization against Wilhelm, his close cousin and friend. A man he called Willy and hunted with, but fought just to feel better about himself because his stupid ass didn't understand what he was getting his nation into, or how it would end with his own slaughter at the hands of the Bolsheviks. The only people to blame for the Great War were the Black Hand for their short-sighted terrorism and the Austria-Hungarians for acquiescing to a warmonger in their midst in the form of Hötzendorf. Wilhelm II was a good man by the standards of the nobility of the time. Flawed, but good.

[@zerdapekin847]

i'm so thankful that someone does these types of videos for the French Revolution.. cause i chose Modern History as one of my General Subjects for school and we're doing the French Revolution XD (one of the reasons i chose it lmao)

[@davidppfitzner]

So much more information than veneer we are taught. Thank you

[@chrissirvid5845]

Always interesting and informative 👍 👌

[@Thulahdanlauss]

Nice video ! I'm french myself and i learned a lot with this :) Could you do one about Pierre and Marie Curie ? :D

[@ianharvey4406]

At one point you say 1972 instead of 1792. Good though.

[@jlibb099]

I think even the best speaker on KZbin gets a bit dyslexic...

[@larsblesvik1110]

Really thought 4000 killed in Central France eight years before my birth would have been mentioned somewhere 😅

[@elfofcourage]

Ian Harvey minor slip up.

[@thejoker-wu1sp]

Lars Blesvik im a 80s baby too lol june 11th...i caught that too...

[@SpeedyXGunz]

I had to rewind the video because I thought I'd heard that, too. The date on screen is correct, but yeah, he did say 1972.

[@jeremywittler5023]

Good job love your work

[@nocfox3050]

"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you"

[@RelivingHistory1]

It truly is fascinating how much this seems to happen throughout history. As a Frenchman, it fills me with pleasure to see others like you are also interested in this era of history! I make first-hand account videos about historical moments, many of which are from the French Revolution, Robespierre, Louis XVI ect... (and all of its gruesome executions). If you have the time and are passionate about the subject, I’d love to know if you enjoy the videos I’ve made! Merci, all the best!!

[@RelivingHistory1]

Nietzsche perfectly worded this:)

[@jojo-xk8ri]

You should do one on Marquis De Lafayette!

[@gorviv529]

This was a good one. Complex. What would you say is Robespierre's legacy? This channel is awesome.

[@BlindCoyoteGod]

A Hero

[@ThoreHLackebo]

Indeed.

[@ashalaska3685]

quite possibly the subject of the biggest smear campaign of the century tbh

[@poriss2230]

No matter how much he is denounced today, it is undeniable that he was a powerful manifestation of the will of the people at that time. He had gone too far at the end, but the revolution would not have succeeded without such a formidable figure as him.

[@whaaat3632]

You think the French Revolution was successful?

[@trifurobert1349]

It s the basis of the modern world​@@whaaat3632

[@DutchDixon94]

Excellent episode!

[@Artur_M.]

One of the better episodes! If you want to make a video about another late 18th century revolutionary leader, who was as progressive as one could be in his times, but without being a bloody ruthless maniac, might I suggest Tadeusz Kościuszko. Also, getting back to the French Revolution specifically, a video about that sly fox Talleyrand would be awesome.

[@TDace25]

One of my favorite names in history. Powerful and Eloquent. Just rolls off the tongue

[@ednasadler3064]

An excellent presentation.

[@tompegorinno5141]

Maximilien Robespierre is absolutely my favorite French historical figure. I still have his books Virtue & Terror. Absolutely one of my favorite hero to villian figures I take notes from

[@user-yn7ux4fz6u]

Robespierre was never a villain Robespierre had very little control over the Terror. Outside Paris he had no direct control. Members of the Convention operated on their own authority and without reference to any central body. It was an anarchic process. Once it had begun it became very difficult to halt. To suggest that the Terror should end was to risk becoming its victim. Ironically it was as Robespierre attempted to curtail the Terror outside Paris that he fell from power. The reason Robespierre’s opponents gave for executing him in July 1794 was not his extremism but his moderation. Those who led the Thermidor plot against him were members of the Convention recalled from the areas in revolt who knew that they would have to account for their actions. Among them was Joseph Fouché who had been prominent in the de-christianization campaign and had carried out Massacres in Lyon. He would go on to become chief of police under Napoleon and the restored Bourbons.

[@user-yn7ux4fz6u]

For Fouché and others like him Robespierre became a convenient scapegoat. They could shrug off their part in the Terror and blame Robespierre alone. It was a convenient fiction and one that has influenced historians ever since. Robespierre has become the bloody handed dictator prefiguring twentieth century dictators such as Stalin and Hitler. As an historical analysis it lacks precision and is entirely unsupported by the evidence.

[@ritam768]

He was always the villain.

[@musicalneptunian]

Very ironic in the end. Another irony was that in Robespierre's Reign of Terror Thomas Paine, who had written the Rights of Man, was seen as anti-revolution [he wasn't anti it; he had written nuanced critiques of the revolution but of course in terror nuance goes down the toilet]. Paine was slung in jail and set for the guillotine. But someone forgot to put the 'X' on his cell door that marks someone for execution. So he lived and was in the end freed.

[@Arterexius]

A little side effect of the French Revolution was what happened in Denmark. It is no coincidence that France and Denmark gained their democracies around the same time. When news of what had occurred in France hit Denmark, protests slowly started to emerge and the King of Denmark back then immediatly recognized the threat against his life and decided that it wasn't worth it. After several years of negotiations, Denmark's Ground law which is a law that stands above everyone, no one are excused from it, was signed in the year 1849. *Grundloven* as it is known in Danish, is one of two keys that makes sure that Denmark cannot be overtaken by a dictator, nor can any communist party take over as no one are excused from it. The still reigning monarchy is the secondary part. When I say still reigning, it's more of reigning by law than by power. Our monarchy's only real power is to deny the composition of a newly elected government. This government then has to re decide on which politicians it has to consist of and once again they have to present it to the reigning monarch, which today is Queen Margrethe the 2nd. The only major other thing she can do, is to refuse to sign a newly elected law, but doing so can cause the monarchy to be disbanded by the parliament. This is though not preferable as the ground law and the monarchy are interconnected. Losing one of them can easily make the other illegitimate and cause either a communist party or a dictator to take control.

[@sydhenderson6753]

I assume there was an interim law in the fifty years before 1849?

[@feetgoaroundfullflapsC]

To Punish The Oppressors Of Humanity Is Clemency To Humanity; To Forgive The Oppressors Is Barbarity. -Robespierre.

[@ashalaska3685]

I mean he's not wrong

[@christopherbrasher433]

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. His story really helps to reaffirm that old saying.

[@thefool8750]

Woah, that ending was brutal. What thrives in violence ends in violence, I suppose.

[@3olision]

“First week of September 1972 ...” Once again, Simon reads his dates wrong.

[@pikehk]

That was great I must have missed this one the first time around

[@galileoshift8330]

amazing details unmentioned in other biographies/history french revolution: articulate no fluff well done thanks