History Main / ReignOfTerror

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted ten or fifteen years[[note]] depending on whether you consider Napoleon Bonaparte's 1799 coup d'état or his 1804 proclamation as emperor the true end[[/note]], but is remembered as its most infamous part, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or one death ''every fifteen minutes'', non-stop). Like most of its successors, the original Terror was justified as a necessity, in this case because France was about to be invaded by a coalition as the result of a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had at first opposed and then embraced, and was embroiled in civil war. To combat this, [[EmergencyAuthority emergency measures]] were called for and the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, elected the Committee of Public Welfare. The Committee submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month, but at the height of the Terror and during phases when the war did not go well, oppositional members of the Convention had to reckon with the possibility that they themselves would be expelled and compelled to make close acquaintance with "the republican razor". Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre was to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions were done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, were relegated to areas affected by civil war, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was relatively unaffected by it. But that aside, it was very successful in creating a general climate of fear, as pretty much anyone who did not follow the narrow path of Robespierre's circle had to worry about being hauled in front of a [[KangarooCourt revolutionary tribunal]], and that included people who had helped the republic through their actions[[note]]The reason for this paranoia was partly because of a number of betrayals, perceived and actual, on the part of ex-heroes such as Louis XVI, Mirabeau, Lafayette and Dumouriez, which paved the way for a climate of distrust.[[/note]]. The original Terror ended with the coup of 9 Thermidor II (27 July 1794) and was followed by the "White Terror" (''Terreur blanche'') of 1795, a campaign of violence and murder in the South-East of France directed against "Terrorists" and other perceived radicals. It was perpetrated mainly by Royalists, [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience whose party colour was white]], and was tied to social conflicts in the region. The "White Terror" of 1795[[note]]There were two more "White Terrors" in 1799 and 1815.[[/note]] resulted in at least 2000 deaths before the Thermidorian government finally took steps and put a stop to it.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The Galactic Empire's reign over the galaxy. In the EU it shows that they hunted down and stamped out anyone who would dissent against them, this included hunting entire alien races to extinction.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The Galactic Empire's reign over the galaxy. In the EU it shows that they hunted down and stamped out anyone who would dissent against them, this included killing entire races to extinction.

* In the ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone Twilight Zone]]'' episode "The Mirror", a South American revolutionary, modeled on UsefulNotes/FidelCastro, overthrows a dictator. The dictator tells him that his mirror "shows him his enemies." The revolutionary, looking in it through the course of the episode sees his former compatriots and kills them off. He's finally left alone, and just sees himself in the mirror; then, realizing the significance, he kills himself.
** Which teaches us all the FantasticAesop "Don't look into cursed mirrors."
*** Or as the writers probably intended, "paranoia is self-destructive" and "it's LonelyAtTheTop".
*** It's left up to the audience to decide whether the mirror was really cursed or if it was all part of the dictator's paranoia.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted ten or fifteen years[[note]] depending on whether you consider Napoleon Bonaparte's 1799 coup d'état or his 1804 proclamation as emperor the true end[[/note]], but is remembered as its most infamous part, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or one death ''every fifteen minutes'', non-stop). Like most of its successors, the original Terror was justified as a necessity, in this case because France was about to be invaded by a coalition as the result of a a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had at first opposed and then embraced, and was embroiled in civil war. To combat this, [[EmergencyAuthority emergency measures]] were called for and the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, elected the Committee of Public Welfare. The Committee submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month, but at the height of the Terror and during phases when the war did not go well, oppositional members of the Convention had to reckon with the possibility that they themselves would be expelled and compelled to make close acquaintance with "the republican razor". Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions was done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, was relegated to areas affected by civil war, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was relatively unaffected by it. But that aside, it was very successful in creating a general climate of fear, as pretty much anyone who did not follow the narrow path of Robespierre's circle had to worry about being hauled in front of a [[KangarooCourt revolutionary tribunal]], and that included people who had helped the republic through their actions[[note]]The reason for this paranoia was partly because of a number of betrayals, percieved and actual, on the part of ex-heroes such as Louis XVI, Mirabeau, Lafayette and Dumouriez, which paved the way for a climate of distrust[[/note]]. The original Terror ended with the coup of 9 Thermidor II (27 July 1794) and was followed by the "White Terror" (''Terreur blanche'') of 1795, a campaign of violence and murder in the South-East of France directed against "Terrorists" and other perceived radicals. It was perpetrated mainly by Royalists, [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience whose party colour was white]], and was tied to social conflicts in the region. The "White Terror" of 1795[[note]]There were two more "White Terrors" in 1799 and 1815.[[/note]] resulted in at least 2000 deaths before the Thermidorian government finally took steps and put a stop to it.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted ten or fifteen years[[note]] depending on whether you consider Napoleon Bonaparte's 1799 coup d'état or his 1804 proclamation as emperor the true end[[/note]], but is remembered as its most infamous part, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or one death ''every fifteen minutes'', non-stop). Like most of its successors, the original Terror was justified as a necessity, in this case because France was about to be invaded by a coalition as the result of a a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had at first opposed and then embraced, and was embroiled in civil war. To combat this, [[EmergencyAuthority emergency measures]] were called for and the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, elected the Committee of Public Welfare. The Committee submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month, but at the height of the Terror and during phases when the war did not go well, oppositional members of the Convention had to reckon with the possibility that they themselves would be expelled and compelled to make close acquaintance with "the republican razor". Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions was done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, was relegated to areas affected by civil war, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was relatively unaffected by it. But that aside, it was very successful in creating a general climate of fear, as pretty much anyone who did not follow the narrow path of Robespierre's circle had to worry about being hauled in front of a [[KangarooCourt revolutionary tribunal]], and that included people who had helped the republic through their actions[[note]]The reason for this paranoia was partly because of a number of betrayals, percieved and actual, on the part of ex-heroes such as Louis XVI, Mirabeau, Lafayette and Dumouriez, which paved the way for a climate of distrust and paranoia[[/note]]. The original Terror ended with the coup of 9 Thermidor II (27 July 1794) and was followed by the "White Terror" (''Terreur blanche'') of 1795, a campaign of violence and murder in the South-East of France directed against "Terrorists" and other perceived radicals. It was perpetrated mainly by Royalists, [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience whose party colour was white]], and was tied to social conflicts in the region. The "White Terror" of 1795[[note]]There were two more "White Terrors" in 1799 and 1815.[[/note]] resulted in at least 2000 deaths before the Thermidorian government finally took steps and put a stop to it.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted ten or fifteen years[[note]] depending on whether you consider Napoleon Bonaparte's 1799 coup d'état or his 1804 proclamation as emperor the true end[[/note]], but is remembered as its most infamous part, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or one death ''every fifteen minutes'', non-stop). Like most of its successors, the original Terror was justified as a necessity, in this case because France was about to be invaded by a coalition as the result of a a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had at first opposed and then embraced, and was embroiled in civil war. To combat this, emergency measures were called for and the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, elected the Committee of Public Welfare. The Committee submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month, but at the height of the Terror and during phases when the war did not go well, oppositional members of the Convention had to reckon with the possibility that they themselves would be expelled and compelled to make close acquaintance with "the republican razor". Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions was done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, was relegated to areas affected by civil war, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was relatively unaffected by it. But that aside, it was very successful in creating a general climate of fear, as pretty much anyone who did not follow the narrow path of Robespierre's circle had to worry about being hauled in front of a [[KangarooCourt revolutionary tribunal]], and that included people who had helped the republic through their actions. The original Terror ended with the coup of 9 Thermidor II (27 July 1794) and was followed by the "White Terror" (''Terreur blanche'') of 1795, a campaign of violence and murder in the South-East of France directed against "Terrorists" and other perceived radicals. It was perpetrated mainly by Royalists, [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience whose party colour was white]], and was tied to social conflicts in the region. The "White Terror" of 1795[[note]]There were two more "White Terrors" in 1799 and 1815.[[/note]] resulted in at least 2000 deaths before the Thermidorian government finally took steps and put a stop to it.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted ten or fifteen years[[note]] depending on whether you consider Napoleon Bonaparte's 1799 coup d'état or his 1804 proclamation as emperor the true end[[/note]], but is remembered as its most infamous part, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or one death ''every fifteen minutes'', non-stop). Like most of its successors, the original Terror was justified as a necessity, in this case because France was about to be invaded by a coalition as the result of a a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had at first opposed and then embraced, and was embroiled in civil war. To combat this, emergency measures were called for and the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, elected the Committee of Public Welfare. The Committee submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month, but at the height of the Terror and during phases when the war did not go well, oppositional members of the Convention had to reckon with the possibility that they themselves would be expelled and compelled to make close acquaintance with "the republican razor". Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions was done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, was relegated to areas affected by civil war, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was relatively unaffected by it. But that aside, it was very successful in creating a general climate of fear.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted 15 years, but is remembered as the most infamous part of the revolution, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or one death ''every fifteen minutes'', non-stop). The original Terror came as a result of a wartime necessity. France was about to be invaded by a coalition, resulting from a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had opposed, and was enthralled in civil war and to combat this, the public ''asked'' for emergency measures. The Committee appointed by the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month. Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions was done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, was relegated to areas affected by civil war, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was completely unaffected by it.

* The third ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' takes place during this time, for France. It even has some French aristocrats flee their nation in one episode. Edmund nearly gets executed for trying to reenact the Scarlet Pimpernell.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined'' "Collaborators"

** Technically the actual Reign Of Terror only began with the HorusHeresy. Before that the government while brutal and authoritarian tended to avoid the excesses and extremes that are the norm afterwards.

* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' has the Committee of Public Safety taking over the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny People's Republic of Haven]] which is modeled exactly on the historical French government, although it has parallels to Soviet Russia as well. It comes to a rather decisive and pointed end when the last surviving leader of the Committee is [[spoiler:[[BoomHeadshot shot in the head]] by Admiral Thomas Theisman]]. He and a handful of others [[spoiler:then restore the ''true'' Republic, under a Constitution that hadn't seen the light of day in two centuries]]. It is awesome.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted 15 years, but is remembered as the most infamous part of the revolution, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or four deaths every ''hour'', non-stop). The original Terror came as a result of a wartime necessity. France was about to be invaded by a coalition, resulting from a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had opposed, and was enthralled in civil war and to combat this, the public ''asked'' for emergency measures. The Committee appointed by the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month. Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions was done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, was relegated to areas affected by Civil War, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was completely unaffected by it.

Named after the Reign of Terror in TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted 15 years, but is remembered as the most infamous part of the revolution, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or four deaths every ''hour'', non-stop). The original Terror came as a result of a wartime necessity. France was about to be invaded by a coalition, resulting from a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had opposed, and was enthralled in civil war and to combat this, the public ''asked'' for emergency measures. The Committee appointed by the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month. Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire". While people think of the Terror as being filled with daily around-the-clock executions, the original Terror's executions was done in batches, and followed major victories on the warfront since the Committee was largely a war committee and did not attend to "backlog" of executions until immediate threats were handled. Most of the executions, outside of Paris, was relegated to areas affected by Civil War, insurrections and the borders, while the vast majority of France was completely unaffected by it.

* Given that it was blatantly based on TheFrenchRevolution, it's not surprising that this ends up happening to the country of Montaigne in ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'''s metaplot.

* ''Literature/LookToTheWest'' has a close analogue in its own version of TheFrenchRevolution, led by Jean-Baptiste Robespierre. He proclaims the "doctrine of continuous warfare," by which the Republic must be in a continuous state of war in order to terrify its people into submission. When [[FullCircleRevolution eventually overthrown]] by Jean de Lisieux, he is replaced by a regime which specifically rejects terror tactics and even the death penalty, but instead embraces TwoPlusTortureMakesFive.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' actually had an episode titled "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E8TheReignOfTerror The Reign Of Terror]]". [[CaptainObvious It was set during the Reign of Terror.]]

* In the ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone Twilight Zone]]'' episode "The Mirror", a South American revolutionary, modeled on FidelCastro, overthrows a dictator. The dictator tells him that his mirror "shows him his enemies." The revolutionary, looking in it through the course of the episode sees his former compatriots and kills them off. He's finally left alone, and just sees himself in the mirror; then, realizing the significance, he kills himself.

Named after the Reign of Terror in TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted 15 years, but is remembered as the most infamous part of the revolution, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or four deaths every ''hour'', non-stop). The original Terror came as a result of a wartime necessity. France was about to be invaded by a coalition, resulting from a war started by the "moderate" Girondins which the Jacobins had opposed, and was enthralled in civil war and to combat this, the public ''asked'' for emergency measures. The Committee appointed by the National Convention, elected by universal male franchise, submitted its actions to regular review and its services had to be renewed every month. Terror was described as the "state of siege" France was under and the response described by Robespierre is to "fight fire with fire".

->''"If virtue be the spring of a popular government in times of peace, the spring of that government during a revolution is virtue combined with terror: virtue, without which terror is destructive; terror, without which virtue is impotent. Terror is only justice prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country."''

->''""If virtue be the spring of a popular government in times of peace, the spring of that government during a revolution is virtue combined with terror: virtue, without which terror is destructive; terror, without which virtue is impotent. Terror is only justice prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country."''

->''"Terror is nothing more than justice. Swift, incorruptible justice."''

[[caption-width-right:224:''"The first maxim of your policy ought to be to lead the people by reason and the people's enemies by terror."'' --[[MaximilienRobespierre Robespierre]]]]

-->--'''MaximilienRobespierre'''

Named after the Reign of Terror in TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted 15 years, but is remembered as the most infamous part of the revolution, where 16,594 people were [[OffWithHisHead sent to the guillotine]] and at least 25,000 more were summarily executed (all in ''less than a year'', remember - that works out to something like 115 executions a day, or four deaths every ''hour'', non-stop).

Despite the {{Trope Namer|s}}, '''NoRealLifeExamplesPlease''' It would be too controversial.

* ''TabetopGame/{{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.

* ''TabetopGame/{{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 Greg Gardeners and their Final Blades: guillotines that trap the souls of their victims.

** ''TabetopGame/{{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 Greg Gardeners and their Final Blades: guillotines that trap the souls of their victims.