September massacres (sep 2, 1792 – sep 7, 1792)
Description:
- A series of murderous riots and rampages that broke out in Paris.- The targets were city prisons. They house suspected counterrevolutionaries, royalist soldiers, members of the Swiss Guard, clergymen and former nobles
- The riots were precipitated by the Austro-Prussian invasion of France and their victory at Verdun.
- The violence saw between 1,100 and 1,400 people murdered. This prompted outrage in Britain and among moderate revolutionaries. It also fuelled another wave of new emigres.
- Politically, these riots were endorsed by radical Jacobins such as Robespierre, who justified them as a legitimate act, an expression of the will of the people.
Added to timeline:
Date:
sep 2, 1792
sep 7, 1792
~ 5 days