History Main / ReignOfTerror

Well, as soon as LesCollaborateurs have been judged, condemned, and executed, of course. And we need to take care of all the enemies and reactionaries within us who still wish to undermine the new regime. And I'm afraid quite a few of those people who fought for the revolution along with me have just been revealed to be [[WeAreStrugglingTogether traitors as well]]! I have no choice but to [[EmergencyAuthority seize more powers to deal with all the dangers which threaten our ideals]], create a [[SecretPolice special force]] charged to [[WitchHunt investigate those who would betray the revolution]], and [[KangarooCourt an extraordinary jury to condemn them quickly]].

* Happens in ''Manga/{{Apocalypse no Toride}}'' when the inmates revolt against and kill the guards and staff and the most vile of the delinquents take over. And they have no problem with throwing anyone who disagrees into the mass of zombies outside the prison walls.

* One country that Kino visits in ''LightNovel/KinosJourney'' replaced a tyrant king with the rule of majority. First the people voted to kill the king and his family, then his supporters and their family. Then anyone who disagreed with the majority. The country is left with one man after he and his wife voted to kill the third man, and then the wife died of an unrelated illness. (Having a doctor would have helped.)

The TropeNamer is the 1793-1794 events during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution.

The TropeNamer is the events during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution.

A subtrope of ThePurge. Compare and contrast with FullCircleRevolution, which has virtually no change in the way things are governed after the revolution. These revolutions are compatible in that a revolution can produce no real change even after ruthlessly slaughtering large chunks of the population, and indeed, after all this slaughter, people may be quite content to merely get back to the old ways. The Imperial variant is CrushingThePopulace, where you make sure no one will oppose you through sheer brutality.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has the nation of Galt, which broke away from Cheliax in a bloody revolution that hasn't let up in ''forty years''. This is not helped by the Grey Gardeners and their Final Blades: guillotines that trap the souls of their victims.

* ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' is set around the point where UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution was beginning to turn into the Reign of Terror, and the hero famously goes around rescuing condemned aristos from their fate at the blade of Madame ''La Guillotine'' (though the author does get some of the specific dates wrong and tends to exaggerate precisely how busy the guillotine was; the fact that she was a baroness may have had a little to do with it).

* ''{{VideoGame/Frostpunk}}'' features the opportunity to enact this trope in all it's chilling brutality in it's ''The Last Autumn'' scenario, where, facing strikes instigated by [[UngratefulBastard the workers you rescued early on]], you can either promote practical safety and efficiency in the face of the impending EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt or give in and appease them with bribes and power, culminating in ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin'' the Terror law]], the only one with a one-word name. As expected, regular executions become the norm.

* ''{{VideoGame/Frostpunk}}'' features the opportunity to enact this trope in all it's chilling brutality in it's ''The Last Autumn'' scenario, where, facing strikes instigated by [[UngratefulBastard the workers you rescued early on]], you can either promote practical safety and efficiency in the face of the impending EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt or give in and appease them with bribes and power, culminating in ''ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin'' the Terror law, the only one with a one-word name. As expected, regular executions become the norm.

This trope is for the aftermath of a revolution or rebellion, when the former leaders of the uprising [[FullCircleRevolution find themselves in power]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters and may become tyrants themselves]], while the ideals that led to the revolution are forgotten by the populace and buried under bloody infighting between former allies.

* ''VideoGame/Frostpunk'' features the opportunity to enact this trope in all it's chilling brutality in it's ''The Last Autumn'' scenario, where, facing strikes instigated by [[UngratefulBastard the workers you rescued early on]], you can either promote practical safety and efficiency in the face of the impending EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt or give in and appease them with bribes and power, culminating in ''ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin'' the Terror law, the only one with a one-word name. As expected, regular executions become the norm.

* ''VideoGame/Frostpunk'' features the opportunity to enact this trope in all it's chilling brutality in it's ''The Last Autumn'' scenario, where, facing strikes instigated by [[UngratefulBastards the workers you rescued early on]], you can either promote practical safety and efficiency in the face of the impending EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt or give in and appease them with bribes and power, culminating in ''ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin'' the Terror law, the only one with a one-word name. As expected, regular executions become the norm.