The Historical Association: The Terror and the French Revolution

This talk examines the Terror, the most notorious episode of the French Revolution, and revisits the way it has often been understood in Britain. Rather than treating it as a simple story of brutal revenge, the lecture explores the more complex realities behind the violence and the political upheaval of the 1790s.

Emeritus Professor William Doyle considers why the Terror happened, how it developed, who its victims were, and how it eventually came to an end. The talk also looks at why the Terror remains such a controversial subject among historians, making it a thought-provoking event for anyone interested in the French Revolution and modern European history.