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The Terror in the French Revolution
Classic Pamphlet
A natural reaction to the history of the French Revolution is to see it as a glorious movement for liberty which somehow ‘went wrong', ending in a nightmare of blood and chaos. This pamphlet explains what really happened, and why. It shows how the apparent achievements of the first two...
The Terror in the French Revolution
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The French Revolution and the Terror
Podcasted history
In this podcast Professor David Andress of the University of Portsmouth looks at how the French Revolution developed and the emergence of the Terror.
The French Revolution and the Terror
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Interpretations of the French Revolution
Classic Pamphlet
The French Revolution raises many questions not least: What sort of Revolution was it - one of "poverty" or "prosperity" ? a bourgeois revolution that overthrew feudalism? A national struggle for liberty, democracy, or "eternal Justice" ? or, again, a criminal conspiracy against the old social order? What did it...
Interpretations of the French Revolution
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Ending the French Revolution
Historian article
Malcolm Crook discusses why it was so difficult to end the most famous revolution of the eighteenth century and why it led to bloodshed and absolutism.
Ending the French Revolution
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The Origins of the French Revolution
The French Revolution
In this podcast Emeritus Professor William Doyle of the University of Bristol looks at the origins of the French Revolution.
The Origins of the French Revolution
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Recorded Webinar: Robespierre and Danton: Heroes of the French Revolution?
Article
One of the oldest myths of the French Revolution is the lethal rivalry between Robespierre and Danton: Robespierre the cold, bloodthirsty dictator who ruled France through Terror, versus Danton, the warm, humane, inspirational orator who wanted to stop Terror. Throughout the 19th century Robespierre was mostly depicted as a villain,...
Recorded Webinar: Robespierre and Danton: Heroes of the French Revolution?
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Women and the French Revolution: the start of the modern feminist movement
Historian article
Luke Rimmo Loyi Lego explores the role of women in the French Revolution, and how their challenges to traditional gender roles laid the foundations for the modern feminist movement.
The study of the French Revolution is often restricted to its impact on the Enlightenment ideas of influential men such as Rousseau,...
Women and the French Revolution: the start of the modern feminist movement
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Polychronicon 150: Interpreting the French Revolution
Teaching History feature
For most of the last two centuries, historical interpretations of the French Revolution have focused on its place in a grand narrative of modernity. For the most ‘counter-revolutionary' writers, the Revolution showed why modernity was to be resisted - destroying traditional institutions and disrupting all that was valuable in an...
Polychronicon 150: Interpreting the French Revolution
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Podcast Series: The French Revolution to the Fall of Napoleon
The French Revolution
In this set of podcasts we look at the origins and the development of the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon, the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo.
These podcasts feature: Professor David Andress, Emeritus Professor Malcom Crook, Emertius Professor William Doyle, Emeritus Professor Alan Forrest &...
Podcast Series: The French Revolution to the Fall of Napoleon
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Short course: The French Revolution | Sessions and resources
HA short course
Wrap-up discussion
You can now book for the wrap-up discussion session with course convener Paula Kitching. This will give you the opportunity to meet other participants and talk through the course content. This session takes place on Wednesday 17 December at 5pm, book via this link.
Post-course feedback
Now that we have...
Short course: The French Revolution | Sessions and resources
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Robespierre: a reluctant terrorist?
Article
After a revolution to remove the monarchy did the French revolutionaries create another leadership of power over ideals? William Doyle re-evaluates the reputation of the so-called architect of terror during the French Revolutionary years.
Two recent books reflect a seemingly endless fascination with the man whose downfall brought the end...
Robespierre: a reluctant terrorist?
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Bastille Day
4th July 2023
If you couldn’t get excited about the Coronation earlier this year perhaps the trigger for a revolution is more your thing?
If so, why not celebrate or commemorate Bastille Day with a little bit of French Revolution reading and listening. Collected here is one of our classic pamphlets as well...
Bastille Day
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Cunning Plan 109: teaching the French Revolution to Year 12
Teaching History feature
This edition of 'Cunning Plan' focuses on teaching Year 12 the French Revolution.
Cunning Plan 109: teaching the French Revolution to Year 12
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Story time? Investigating using stories about the French Revolution with Year 12
Teaching History article
Recognising a significant return to stories in the history classroom, Holliss and Carroll wanted to think carefully about what this meant for A-level history. While stories had always been present in their classrooms, they wanted to experiment with the methods of the ‘new storytellers’, building lessons, then sequences of lessons,...
Story time? Investigating using stories about the French Revolution with Year 12
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The Flight to Varennes
Historian article
On the night of 20 June 1791 a portly middle-aged man, dressed inconspicuously in brown, with a dark green overcoat and his hair covered by a grey wig, walked out of the Tuileries palace past the guards. For the past 12 nights the Chevalier de Coigny, dressed in a similar...
The Flight to Varennes
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The Rise & Fall of Napoleon
The French Revolution
In this podcast Professor Malcolm Crook of Keele University looks at the rise and fall of Napoleon.
The Rise & Fall of Napoleon
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Napoleon III and the French Second Empire
Article
The French Second Empire has been variously described as a precursor of Twentieth Century Fascism and a prime example of a modernising regime. Roger Price continues recents efforts to achieve a more balanced assessment by setting the regime within its particular social and political context. The origins of the Second...
Napoleon III and the French Second Empire
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It’s just reading, right? Exploring how Year 12 students approach sources
Teaching History article
Frustrated by the generic statements that her Year 12 students were making about sources, Jacqueline Vyrnwy-Pierce resolved to undertake a research project into how her students were approaching sources about the French Revolution. Fascinated by the research of American educational psychologist Sam Wineburg, Vyrnwy-Pierce decided to use Wineburg’s methods to find...
It’s just reading, right? Exploring how Year 12 students approach sources
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Counterfactual Reasoning: Comparing British and French History
Teaching History article
Year 8 use counterfactual reasoning to explore place and social upheaval in eighteenth-century France and Britain
Two linked motivations inspired Ellen Buxton's research study: she wanted pupils to make connections between British and French history and she wanted to explore the potential of counter-factual reasoning within a causation enquiry. It...
Counterfactual Reasoning: Comparing British and French History
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After the revolution: did Cromwell, Washington and Bonaparte betray revolutionary principles?
Historian article
This article examines the aftermath of three epoch-making periods of change – the English, American, and French Revolutions. A comparison of the trio of military commanders who gained power as a direct consequence of these upheavals reveals how the very political radicalism which brought them to power also threatened to...
After the revolution: did Cromwell, Washington and Bonaparte betray revolutionary principles?
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France during the reign of Louis XVI
Historian article
The system of Ancien Régime France was indeed archaic, to the extent that its nominal social structure not only contained remnants of the feudal system, like many European countries at that time, but was largely based on it. The extensive corruption inherent in this same system was such that those...
France during the reign of Louis XVI
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The Historian 21
The magazine of the Historical Association
3 Feature: Sick people, health and doctors in Georgian England - Roy Porter
7 Portfolio: The life and death of Colonel Blimp - Kevin Jefferys
10 Update: The French Revolution - Norman Hampson
24 Education Forum: Pushing for the past - Nicholas Reeves
The Historian 21
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The Historian 24
The magazine of the Historical Association
3 Feature: Napoleon and the French Revolution, Irvne Collins
10 Update: The Causes of the Second World War, Michael Dockrill
13 Education Forum: Time for Change at 'A' Level, John Fines
14 Museums: Working From Museums, Gail Durbin
18 Portfolio: Medieval Emperors and the English Kings, Dorothy Meade
The Historian 24
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HA News, Autumn 2025
Welcome to the spring 2025 edition of HA News magazine
Welcome to this packed autumn edition of HA News.
Alexandra Walsham unpacks the challenges, dilemmas and opportunities of AI in her President's Letter; and Abdul Mohamud lets us in on what got him into history.
We have reports on this year's awards evening and our annual conference, along with competition updates and winners. We also remember much-missed...
HA News, Autumn 2025
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The Resistable Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
Article
Malcolm Crook examines the remarkable ascent to power of Napoleon at the turn of the nineteenth century. The great Bicentenary of the French Revolution of 1789 may be drawing to a close, but that of Napoleon is about to commence. So now is an opportune moment to present a critical...
The Resistable Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
