16 Pluviose Year II: The National Convention, of the Republic of France, abolishes slavery in France and all its enclaves.
[added 6/21/2026]
The Reign of Terror continues: Member Maximilien Francois Marie Isidore de Robespierre, of the Committee of Public Safety of the Republic of France, delivers a speech to the National Convention on the “necessity of maintaining the Reign of Terror:
If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is baneful; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice; it is thus an emanation of virtue; it is less a principle in itself, than a consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing needs of the homeland.
[added 6/21/2026]
Subsequent Events:
References:
Reign of Terror – Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror
Robespierre’s Speech to the Convention, 18 Pluviose Year II / 5th February 1794 | The Historian’s Apprentice
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror
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