This may be more to do with the aftermath of the Revolution, but I'm wondering to what extent you'd agree with J. Keane's assertion that in terms of its foreign policy the Revolutionary Republic can be understood as an "imperial democracy", similar to 5th century BC Athens and the US from the late 20th century?

Thanks!

As I understand it, Marxist historians have traditionally interpreted the French Revolution as a class war between the aristocrats and the bourgeoise, which led to capitalism supplanting feudalism according to the traditional Marxist schema of historical progress. Is there academic consensus about the driving force of the French Revolution, its winners and losers, and its place in the longue durée?

David! It's been a pleasure interacting with you on twitter (I'm @historyofporn). So, in a shocking development, I am here to ask you about Marie Antoinette's love life. Of course Robert Darnton et. al. have doing their job of claiming that the torrid (and obscene) pamphlets and libels (fake news? too far?) against Marie Antoinette played a major role in inspiring the French public, especially the reading classes, to rise up against a Queen and a system they saw as so immoral and criminal. My question to you is if you find this "Underground" thesis convincing?

Hi David! Thank you again for responding to my invitation.

One thing I was always curious about: During the course of the Russian Revolution, at least some of the revolutionaries believed in a certain "script" underlying the revolution modeled on the French Revolution, i.e. they were for a time wary of the military because they tended to foresee a development akin to the rise of Napoleon, believing that because it happened in France, it was bound to happen in Russia too.

Were there any such "scripts" among the French revolutionaries like the Jacobins? And do you have any insight in how this influenced the interpretation of the French Revolution after it happened, e.g. did the revolutionaries in 1830 or 1848 study the revolution of 1789 and subsequent years as a model?

How has the image of Robespierre/the Jacobin changed throughout time? I understand the basic overreach->terror->reaction narrative but how did the left wing counternarrative develop (so that, for instance, a modern far left wing American political magazine would name itself "Jacobin")?

Thank you very much for doing this AMA, professor Andress! If I may ask, how big of a role did the narrative of the American Revolution play in the French one? Was it invoked often in the political debates and how was the French involvement viewed by the different sides and groups within France?

I was reading some of Thomas Babington Macaulay's essays and in one he attributes the Great Terror to the French Revolutionary leaders being so inexperienced at governing because the centralised French monarchy had denied French people the local governing institutions the American colonies had. This was not a view I've encountered in any modern histories of the Revolution I've read.

What's the modern historians take on this theory?

One thing that has always puzzled me. I read that one of the causes of the French Revolution was that the monarchy was running out of money, leading the king to call a parliament including commoners, and that started the Revolution. And, from memory, the king basically had no choice about this, his debts were very pressing.

But histories never seem to address how the financial problems eventually worked out. The subsequent events (eg invasion, the Great Terror) seem like things that would worsen economic problems.

So what happened to the money? How did France eventually acquire financial stability?

Behold, the most sophisticated and suave question I will ever ask in AskHistorians:

How much am I being led astray if I base my knowledge of the French Revolution on historyteachers' unmatchable "Revolution in France (Bad Romance)" song parody?

Also: Marie Antoinette is a powerful lightning rod, but she was not the only woman swept up in the Revolution--as a victim or as a fighter (for or against). How did contemporary media balance traditional ideas of women/femininity with women activists and less-polarizing aristocratic women as targets? Or--I'm not sure how far your "interpretation and narrative" knowledge extends past the Reign of Terror, apologies--what was the short/medium-term (19th century) legacy of these women in early feminist polemic?

Hi, Professor Andress. Would you characterize Hoche's planned expedition to Ireland in 1797 as an actual attempt to export the revolution, simple revenge for British interference in Brittany, or something else?

I have two other questions I thought of:

How would you generally characterize the perception of the Haitian Revolution among the French Revolutionaries? Haiti embraced the language and politics of the Revolution and yet this caused some heated discussion as far as I know. What were the general sentiments?

Also, in terms of discussion surrounding the rights of women, the best known figure is Olymp de Gauches but are there any other notable examples of women trying to intervene in French Revolutionary politics?

In 2015, I attended an IHR seminar with Colin Jones, in which he outlined some of his forthcoming work on Thermidor and the fall of Robespierre; one thing that caught my attention was his mention of a police informant and a police chief as some of the starting figures in his 24-hour narrative. How did the Revolutionary/Republican governments reform or expand the police service, and in what ways did they search for political dissidents in Paris and the rest of France?

HI! How does the contemporary, popular interpretation of the French Revolution influence what the average person thinks of the concept of a revolution in general? Is this interpretation skewed (in the US, France, Europe, world)? - If so, how did this “skew” come about and how has it affected the concept of revolutions collectively?

Hello! This is a little bit later period, but what are good books about reforms and society changes in Rhine Confederation during Napoleon time? Or just general history of Rhine Confederation.

There has been a debate among french politics (around the time they recognized the Armenian genocide) about the war in Vendée and if the action of the French Revolutionary armies are to be labeled or not as genocide. What is your opinion on this ?

How controversial is Robespierre his legacy and his deeds? I know there were some marxist historians in the 20th century who defended him and the purge but I don't know what the current consensus is. If there is a consensus, what are some views which deviate from that?

Thank you for spending your time with us here, professor. I'm curious whether there was any French reaction to the Nootka Crisis, or whether that was entirely subsumed by the early stages of the revolution itself.

I've read various accounts that suggest a Spanish-British conflict over Nootka and the northwest coast of North America (obviously, there were other reasons, but that was the flashpoint) seemed nearly inevitable had the revolution not intervened. I'm interested in your take on that matter.

Hi Prof. Andress, thank you for hosting this AMA!

What happened to the French armed forces during the revolution? Coming from a position of profound ignorance, I have no idea whether the military sided with the royalists / with the revolutionaries, and what changes it underwent in the immediate aftermath of revolution.

Many thanks!

Thanks for this. Can you recommend any good books on the revolution outside of Paris? Most treatments I've read take up the story in particular places at particular times as the action there 'hots up' for a while, but it'd be interesting to read something that keeps the focus there (either a particular city, region or a general survey) throughout.

Can it be said that the national awakening of the French Revolution and consequently, the Napoleonic Wars, were in part responsible for the later Age of Revolutions that saw uprisings, both successful and not, in Belgium, Romania, Greece and Poland?

Hi David! I just saw Hamilton, so I want to ask about Lafayette. As I understand it, he was very famous in France, but he never sought office or leadership on either side of the revolution, nor with Napoleon. I guess my question is, what were Lafayette's grievances with how the revolution progressed, and why did he never take a prominent role in guiding it?

This is not related to the French Revolution, but why I've always wondered why Louis Napoleon was held in such universal contempt (for e.g. Marxs farce comment)? Esp with regards to him being an "imposter " of his uncle when surely any of number of monarchs sought to emulate their ancestors?

(Btw isn't it great 8 November 2016 fell on 18 Brumaire)

Was the spectacularly coarse and provocative language of Jaques Hébert and similar writers a reflection of the everyday words of the sans-culottes and market-women, or was it scandalous even to them at first? What do you think was the reason so much of the pamphleteering against the royal family, and especially against the queen, was so vulgar? If this language was initially shocking but quickly came to be accepted, mimicked and even celebrated by the people, perhaps it served as practice that made it easier for them to accept other things like the shocking level of violence to come.

Hello thanks for doing this AMA! Previously in the 18th century it seemed like Prussia and Austria were rivals competing within the HRE. What made the French Revolution so potentially threatening to them that they were motivated to join forces to re-install the bourbons?

In french school, I was taught that Robespierre did some pretty terrible things. I understand views have changed allot on him. What did he really do? And if he did any good what was it?

Can we have some comments on the Flour Wars and how/if the deregulation of the grain market influenced the Revolution?

Hi how's it going bud? Just a quick one sine i'm not as intelligent as most here to ask a good question. Basically if the revolution never happened do you Napoleon would still have been able to rise to power if yes why? If no why?

Do French historians use "The Revolution" in the same way it is a trope in American history?

Have historiographic debates around the French Revolution affected actual revolutionary movements?

Mike Duncan mentions in his podcast revolutions that attempts has been made since the thermidorian reaction to separate the french revolution into 2 revolutions. The first being the so called "good" revolution starting in 1789 and the second "misguided" detour starting with the august 10th insurrection and ending with the fall of Robespierre.

Would you say that there is any merit to making such a distinction and what is the current academic consensus of this?

Thanks for this! I have several disconnected questions:

I heard a theory that there when the Armoire de fer was opened, there were compromising documents against Danton, but that it is a friend of his who transported the papers and that some "disappeared" during the transport. Is that a fringe theory or is there some historical elements hinting at this?

Next question: Valmy. Was it a genuine military victory or was it a bought success?

Last question: Are there good, unbiased sources on the casualties of the Terror among the clergy and nobility?

1. French Revolution is commonly percieved as a revolution of bourgeoise. What did peasants think about it? Was it assumed they're part of the people benefiting from revolution? Where their representatives present in the action?

2. Did people of the time think of emerging French republic as something similar to Netherland, Venice, Poland and other types of republic? Was French revolution percieved as unique only due to its villent and populist nature? Or was it seen as something completely new from the very beginning?

3. Can you recommend any iniffensive movies with a spirit of that era? Most movies jump to Napoleon and skip revolution itself.

Thanks!

What do you make of Schama's book (citizens), particularly his assertion that terror was at the heart of the revolution and was always going to lead to the Jacobin guillotine?

What is your opinion on the motivation of Robespierre at the time of the terror. My history professor indicated that he seemed to be a man who may have at times been genuinely concerned with the French people but devolved into a power monger. I've also heard theories that he went partially insane. I was just wondering how dedicated you think he was to his political vision in comparison to a man who was solely seeking to consolidate his own power.

Thanks!

The Irish rebellion 9f 1798 was inspired in part by the French Revolution. The French did send soldiers over to help in the rebellion, and provided a lot of military support, but I've always felt their participation was kind of lack-lustre.

Do you think so? If so, why? Wouldn't the French have loved the chance to weaken their historic enemy the UK?

Hey! I'm a huge fan of the The Terror.

What books would you recommend to someone who's familiar with the broad interpretations of the French Revolution but is still an amateur? And what books would you recommend that have been published in the last five years?

A recent history today article about Saint Just described the role of young, naive revolutionaries ultimately being devoured by the revolution, and there role in developing the terror. In your opinion, how much of the revolution was actually shaped by a few young hopefuls just trying to do the right thing or is it just a modern day interpretation (caused by cultural phenomenon like Les Mis )

Thanks for any response!

Did the revolution effectively end privilege in France? Over the course of the long century?