History Main / ReignOfTerror

* ''Series/GoodOmens2019'': A flashback takes place during the actual Reign of Terror. Aziraphale has been caught by the French revolutionaries and mistaken for an aristocrat because he refused to wear anything besides his upper-class British clothes. Oh, and the reason he was in France at all is [[SkewedPriorities because he really wanted some crepes]]. Crowley shows up to rescue him, at which point it is revealed that Aziraphale could have escaped at any time; he uses a miracle to switch clothes with the executioner, the executioner is dragged off to be executed, and Aziraphale and Crowley leave to find some crepes.

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.

[[quoteright:224:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Reign_of_Terror.jpg]]
[[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."'' --[[UsefulNotes/MaximilienRobespierre Robespierre]]]]

* 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, [[DrivenToSuicide he kills himself]]. It's left up to the audience to decide [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane whether the mirror was really cursed or if it was all part of the dictator's paranoia]].

* From VideoGame/CavesOfQud:

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, I have 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]].

* ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'' builds up to a depiction of the TropeNamer during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution; it's not enough to execute the aristocracy who were living lives of luxury while the vast majority of the population starved. Their extended families must also be rounded up and beheaded, and then anyone else who might be plotting against the new French Republic (such as the seamstress who is executed just before [[spoiler:Sydney Carton]], who dies never understanding the charges against her but hoping that her death will ensure the Republic's prosperity)... and, according to [[spoiler:Carton]]'s (hypothetical) final speech, many of the executioners will eventually find themselves on the other side of the guillotine's blade before the bloodshed exhausts itself and France finally lives up to the Revolution's ideals.

Finally, LaResistance has won, the revolution has occurred, and the tyrannous EvilOverlord has been deposed. This should be the end of TheEmpire, the establishment of a new era of freedom, peace, prosperity, and equality.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' "Collaborators"

-->--'''UsefulNotes/MaximilienRobespierre'''

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 those people who fought for the revolution along with me have just been revealed to be [[WeAreStrugglingTogether traitors as well]]! I have no choice, I have 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]].

* 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. 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.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' actually had a serial titled ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E8TheReignOfTerror The Reign Of Terror]]''. [[CaptainObvious Set during the Reign of Terror.]]

* As did ''Series/TheTimeTunnel'' .

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.

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.

* Katniss' killing of [[spoiler:President Coin]] in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' (at the end of the third book ''Mockingjay''), is intended to avert this, due to her being privy to some disturbing discussions [[spoiler:on the eve of the execution of President Snow]], up to and including [[spoiler:the idea of the "Revenge Games", which are basically the Hunger Games all over again in all but name]].

* 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. 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.

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

** Technically the actual Reign Of Terror only began with the Literature/HorusHeresy. Before that the government while brutal and authoritarian tended to avoid the excesses and extremes that are the norm afterwards.
** Even by the extreme standards of the imperium, there are periods and places which stand out. The most spectacular and wide-reaching of these was High Lord Goge Vandire's Reign of Blood (particularly notable for being an exercise in human ambition, megalomania and paranoia with no otherworldly involvement).

Finally, LaResistance has won, the revolution has occurred and the tyrannous EvilOverlord has been deposed. This should be the end of TheEmpire, the establishment of a new era of freedom, peace, prosperity and equality.

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 those people who fought for the revolution along with me have just been revealed to be [[WeAreStrugglingTogether traitors as well]]! I have no choice, I have 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]].

This trope is for the aftermath of a revolution or rebellion, when the former leaders of the uprising [[HeWhoFightsMonsters find themselves in power 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.

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.

* 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.)
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' has used something like that. it did not really occur after a revolution but after a war/reshaping of the world order. In the UC timeline the special forces Titans were established (who have become a prime example for a oppressive military in anime), and later in the A.D. timeline an even straighter example were the A-Laws which pretty much ruled the earth with an iron fist behind the scenes (and behind them, the innovators).

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Bane and his mercenaries isolate Gotham City from the rest of the world through a series of explosions and hold the city hostage with a nuclear bomb. The next day he assembles his army outside Blackgate, releases the prisoners, and starts a faux revolution. What follows is a 6-month Reign Of Terror where the entire city is thrown into chaos, with the main intent to target the wealthy and privileged for kangaroo courts where [[MortonsFork they're given a choice of death or exile. It doesn't matter what they pick.]]

* ''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]].
* The rule of The Citizen in ''[[Franchise/{{Mistborn}} The Hero of Ages]]'' has become this, leading to some of our heroes to attempt a FullCircleRevolution. [[spoiler: What they don't realize is that both sides are being influenced by the BigBad.]]

* Katniss' killing of [[spoiler:President Coin]] in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' (at the end of the third book ''Mockingjay''), is intended to avert this, due to her being privy to some disturbing discussions [[spoiler:on the eve of the execution of President Snow]].

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 [[TheEmpire Imperial]] variant is CrushingThePopulace where you make sure no one will oppose you through sheer brutality.

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 Empire variant is CrushingThePopulace where you make sure no one will oppose you through sheer brutality.

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 those people who fought for the revolution along with me have just been revealed to be [[WeAreStrugglingTogether traitors as well]]! I have no choice, I have to 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]].

Finally, LaResistance has won, the revolution has occurred and the tyrannous PresidentEvil has been deposed. This should be the end of TheEmpire, the establishment of a new era of freedom, peace, prosperity and equality.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted anywhere from five to fifteen years[[note]]depending on whether you mark the end of the revolution at 27 July 1794 (the Thermidorian Reaction, when the leftward momentum of the revolution permanently ended and the government began to focus on consolidation and stability), 9 November 1799 (the Coup of 18 Brumaire, when UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte seized control of the French government in a [[TheCoup coup d'état]]), the crowning of Napoleon as Emperor on in 1804, or some other point in between[[/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.

* The world during the latter half of the Tribulation in the Literature/LeftBehind series became this after Nicolae Carpathia was "resurrected" and declared himself god over all the earth. Citizens were required to bear the MarkOfTheBeast and to bow down before Carpathia's image three times a day or face punishment, which includes death. Sometimes citizens who do end up getting the mark also become executed. [[IllegalReligion All religions except for Carpathianism were illegal to practice]], and [[WithUsOrAgainstUs rebels that didn't align themselves with either God or Carpathia were also killed]]. Dissenters and critics against Carpathia's authority, even with the slightest infractions such as staring nervously at him and not addressing him by his proper title, were dealt very harshly.

Named after the Reign of Terror in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which lasted less than a year between 1793-1794 in a revolution which lasted anywhere from five to to to fifteen years[[note]]depending on whether you mark the end of the revolution at 27 July 1794 (the Thermidorian Reaction, when the leftward momentum of the revolution permanently ended and the government began to focus on consolidation and stability), 9 November 1799 (the Coup of 18 Brumaire, when UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte seized control of the French government in a [[TheCoup coup d'état]]), the crowning of Napoleon as Emperor on in 1804, or some other point in between[[/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.

* The Norsefire party in ''Film/VForVendetta'' engineered this, first through fear-mongering and inducing xenophobia in the populace, then by the spread of a horrific virus to throw everything into a panic, and then, when they had gained power, by means of a Gestapo-like organization devoted to removing any citizens who posed the slightest threat to the government. The whole plot is a [[SatireParodyPastiche pastiche]] of the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi reign]].

* ''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 the genocide of entire alien races.