After the Terror and the Rise of Napoleon

 

            After the fall of Robespierre and the removal of the Jacobins from the Convention, the French Revolution became more moderate in character.  Girondin delegates who had escaped Robespierre’s purging of the Convention returned as did a number of other moderates who had been in exile.  In general, political control returned to the middle class.

 

            Once order was restored, the Convention set about creating a new constitution more conservative and republican in nature.  Executive power was given to five men called the Directory and legislative power was given to two chambers:  the Council of Elders and the Council of Five Hundred.  However, the Convention still want to take care of their own interests so they decreed that two-thirds of the members in each chamber had to come from those already in the Convention.

 

            This decree led to an outbreak of more rioting as the Royalists had hoped to gain a majority in the coming elections.  Once again, France seemed on the brink of another wave of civil war and anarchy.  The National Guard, having about thirty thousand soldiers was prepared to remove the Convention from power.  The Convention was prepared to resist but did not have as many troops under its control.

 

           

Outnumbered, the Convention put control of its forces in the hands of Paul Barras.  Barras was former noble who had been part of the group that helped overthrow Robespierre but he was not a trained soldier.  Realizing that he was not well equipped for the task given to him, Barras gave control of his forces to a young artillery officer who he had seen in action during a siege on the town of Toulon in the south of France.

 

            This officer did not hesitate and ordered his troops to fire point-blank into the rebel mobs who wanted the members of the Convention removed. This incident injured or killed over 500 people and is known as the whiff of the grapeshot.  Napoleon’s bold actions saved the Republic and set the stage for his rise to power in France.  Napoleon’s actions earned him a spot as one of the five Directors and he was given command of the Army of the Interior.