cover of episode 504. The French Revolution: War to the Death (Part 2)

504. The French Revolution: War to the Death (Part 2)

2024/10/16
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The Rest Is History

Chapters

The episode explores the complex motivations behind France's declaration of war on Austria in 1792, including internal political factions, economic pressures, and ideological crusades.
  • The Gironde faction's call for war against Austria in early 1792.
  • The fusion of classical and Christian ideologies in the revolutionary tradition.
  • The role of émigrés and the perceived threat from Austria.
  • Brissot's strategy to undermine the monarchy and force the king's exposure.
  • The impact of the Pilnitz Declaration and the growing sense of inevitability for war.

Shownotes Transcript

“You have shaken off the yoke of your despots, but surely this was not to bend the knee before a foreign tyrant…”

It’s January 1792, and one of the largest factions in revolutionary France, the Gironde, is calling for war against Austria. The French people’s hatred of Marie Antoinette has always fuelled suspicion of the Austrians, and at the same time, there has been constant, treacherous correspondence between the French royal family and their European cousins. And so, when one of the prominent members of the Gironde calls to arms in early 1792, little does he realise that the war he wants will haunt Europe for the next 25 years, totally redrawing its map, and costing millions of lives…

Join Tom and Dominic in part two of our second season of the French Revolution, as they dive into the first of many wars to come between Revolutionary France and its European rivals.


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Producer: Theo Young-Smith

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Editor: Ross Buchanan

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