A Revolution In Trouble

Monarchs throughout Europe were concerned about the events that had taken place in France. The natural order that had existed for centuries had been disrupted. They worried that the same thing could happen in their own nations, and that their own thrones, and even their lives might be at risk.

To avoid the revolution spreading into their own nations, these monarchs joined together to fight against France. Soldiers were sent from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sardinia to fight against the revolutionaries in France.

This war made life very difficult in France. In order to fight these large armies, the new French government established a draft, and called up all men between the ages of 18 and 45 to fight for their liberties. This draft touched off a civil war in Western France, where royalists who had supported the king were angry that their sons had been forced to fight in a way that they did not support.

Within the National Convention, fierce debate and a growing divide among different political parties threatened to tear the young fragile government apart.