French Revolutionary Wars 1792-1804

The reasons for France's aim to annex Switzerland was
a) to establish a buffer against the hostile monarchies of Prussia and Austria
b) to gain control of the key Alpine passes, and most importantly
c) to loot the country and to confiscate the gold reserves of the many prosperous
    Swiss towns and religious institutions

1. Die Rezeption der Französischen Revolution in den deutschen Staaten; 2. Deutsche Intellektuelle und der Ausbruch der Französischen Revolution; 3. Über das revolutionäre Demokratieverständnis während der „Grande Terreur“; 4. Deutsche Kritik an der Französischen Revolution; 5. Friedrich Schillers Rezeption der Ereignisse in Frankreich; 6. Die verschiedenen Einstellungen deutscher Intellektueller gegenüber der Revolution; 7. Christoph Martin Wieland über grundsätzlichen Unterschiede zu Frankreich; 8. Georg Forster und die Mainzer Republik; 9. Charakterisierung deutscher Intellektueller im Zuge der „Grande Terreur“; 10. Goethe und die Französische Revolution; 11. Zusammenfassung.

In publicaties over deze periode wordt vrijwel alleen vermeld dat in 1795  de Fransen ons land binnentrokken over de bevroren rivieren. Maar dat gebeurde niet zomaar. Op het moment dat de provincie Utrecht ingenomen werd, waren het Kromme Rijngebied en vrijwel het hele oostelijke deel van de provincie al leeggeroofd. Hoe kon dat terwijl de vijand nog niet was binnengetrokken? In dit artikel beschrijf ik wat zich in de maanden vóór de Utrechtse overgave allemaal afspeelde: het leed van de plaatselijke bevolking, de wanhoop van lokale bestuurders en de eindeloze colonnes Britse, Hessische en Hannoverse soldaten die door de provincie trokken en een spoor van vernieling en reddeloosheid achterlieten waarna op deze puinhopen de nieuwe Bataafse Republiek gebouwd kon worden. Dit is de eerste van drie grote artikelen van de auteur over de bevolking van de provincie Utrecht  in de oorlog van 1793-1795.

An unpublished undergraduate dissertation submitted in May 2019 for the BA (Hons) Military History course at the University of Kent. This dissertation scored a mark of 85, being noted as being 'almost publishable’ by the markers.


The study aims to explore the motivating factors behind why the British soldier enlisted, marched, and fought during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. An interdisciplinary approach combining sociology and psychology with military and social history, this study features original archival research into the discharge papers of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.


This study supports the findings of Edward J. Coss in 'All for the King's Shilling', arguing that the average British soldier enlisted out of economic necessity. Subsequently, this study goes against the ‘scum of the Earth myth’, refuting the idea that the British soldier of the late 18th century was a criminal drunkard who was forced into service. It further argues that the British soldier put up with the hardships of campaigning and the stresses of battle because of the concept of the 'primary group', in essence a desire not to let his comrades down. This is especially clear with regards to the soldier's motivation in combat. These conclusions have been drawn with reference to a myriad of primary sources, primarily from the National Archives and the archives of the National Army Museum. Such sources include the discharge papers of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, soldier's memoirs, letters, diaries, and journals.

This essay will read Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 poem, “Fears in Solitude,” in the context of letters, memoirs, pamphlets, prints and caricatures that were produced in Britain during the 1797-98 French invasion scare. The essay will explore the ways in which these written and visual products attempted to evoke, express and even suppress feelings of fear, anxiety and terror and aim to understand Coleridge’s “fears” in the context of these feelings. In particular, the essay will examine how Coleridge’s poem responds to the heightened alertness following the Fishguard landing in February 1797. In “Fears in Solitude” Coleridge is deeply ambivalent about his stance towards his own country and his attitude towards the French. Reviewers and scholars have long been debating the poem’s pro- or anti-war stance, and whether or not it is part of a contemporary alarmist discourse. Many broadsides, handbills and pamphlets published during this period warned about the horrors of a possible French invasion. They were funded by royalist associations with the sole aim of propagating fear across the nation. While these publications contributed to a widespread discourse of alarm, others, especially the visual culture of the period, challenged and ridiculed such fearmongering. Military and naval accounts and other first-hand narratives gave voice to the feelings pervading this time of psychological warfare, and explored the extent to which the horrors of war did come home intimately to affect the individual body and mind during this time. Read in the context of such contemporary texts, Coleridge’s poem emerges as an artistic discourse designed reflectively to manage his own and the nation’s fears instead of perpetuating the feeling itself.

Les études sur la théorie de la « démocratie représentative » sous le Directoire corrigent les défauts de l’ancienne thèse selon laquelle la Révolution française ne saurait résoudre l’énigme de l’opposition entre la « démocratie » et le « gouvernement représentatif », même théoriquement. Pierre-Antoine Antonelle en est l’un des personnages principaux, mais d’autres démocrates jouent aussi un rôle important. Le cas d’Antoine Français de Nantes de l’an VI est significatif car il adopte une stratégie discursive différente de celle d’Antonelle afin de promouvoir une vision démocratique de la constitution, de l’économie politique et du champ politique réunis sous la bannière ennemie du « gouvernement représentatif ». Pour convaincre l’opinion modérée et élargir le terrain de la « république démocratique », Français de Nantes tente de redéfinir et de radicaliser le terme « gouvernement représentatif » et donc de soutenir sa vision de la « démocratie » sans défendre le terme explicitement. Cet article a pour but de démontrer que le républicanisme de Français de Nantes, héritier à la fois des Lumières et de la Révolution, fournit une piste importante pour mieux comprendre la diversité des stratégies adoptées par les démocrates.

What did it mean to be an alien, and in particular an enemy alien, in the
interstate conflicts that occurred over the nineteenth century and that
climaxed in the First World War? In this ambitious and broad-ranging
study, Daniela L. Caglioti highlights the many ways in which belligerent
countries throughout the world mobilized populations along the member/
non-member divide, redefined inclusion and exclusion, and refashioned
notions and practices of citizenship. She examines what it meant to be an
alien in wartime, how the treatment of aliens in wartime interfered with
sovereignty and the rule of law, and how that treatment affected
population policies, individual and human rights, and conceptions of
belonging. Concentrating on the gulf between citizens and foreigners and
on the dilemma of balancing rights and security in wartime, Caglioti
highlights how each country, regardless of its political system, chose
national security even if this meant reducing freedom, discriminating
among citizens and non-citizens, and violating international law

Op 16 januari 1795 kwam er een einde aan het ancien regime van Oranje stadhouders en regenten in Utrecht. Het Franse revolutionaire leger trok de provincie binnen over de bevroren rivier de Lek. In de hoofdstad werd de vrijheidsboom gepland en de Oranjegezinde besturen van steden en dorpen werden vervangen door revolutionaire comités, al gebeurde dat niet zonder slag of stoot. Aan deze omwenteling gingen twee jaar strijd vooraf, die ook de bewoners van Utrecht bereikte. Wat merkten zij van de oorlog die al vanaf 1793 woedde in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden. En waarom was de provincie al leeggeroofd voor de eerste Franse revolutionair de Lek overstak.

Dit artikel is een compilatie van en uitbreiding op 2 eerdere artikelen van de auteur. In de artikelen over Noordoost- en Zuidoost-Utrecht wordt vooral de platelandsgeschiedenis beschreven. In dit artikel in het Jaarboek Oud-Utrecht worden vooral ook de gebeurtenissen in de stad Utrecht bijeengebracht.

The aim of this biography is to present the career of a mostly forgotten imperial and royal general of Hungarian origin, relying partly on the results of archival research and partly on Feldzeugmeister Kray’s published correspondence. The life course is presented in chronological order, but certain elements of the career are described in summarizing chapters. The author hopes that these latter parts will offer contributions to social history and culture history, too. The study of Kray’s military career can give answers to a number of hitherto unanswered or superficially answered questions. What factors shaped the promotion of a young, Hungarian-born, non-aristocratic officer in the imperial and royal army? What did he have to have in addition to/instead of the military merits in order to get into the empire’s military elite? Was it an advantage or a disadvantage in terms of promotions to be a Hungarian, or more precisely, to be of Hungarian origin? How could a high-ranking officer of the time ‘offer opportunities’ to his relatives? and finally, with respect to the peak of the career: how did the imperial and royal army and the highest command of the operations work during the French revolutionary Wars? The book endeavours to answer all these questions, and also outlines schemes to the understanding of a Hungarian military career with which the imperial and royal army, an important scene of integration within the Habsburg empire, can get closer to scholars studying the period but having little knowledge on military history. after reviewing the sources and the bibliography, the book presents the family background, the beginnings of the career during the seven years’ War (1756–1763), then its rising during the reign of Joseph II. Kray, born in the lesser noble layer but living in a town and having bourgeois virtues, excelled as a young officer with his courage, diligence and intelligence. His merits were appreciated by the ruler, too, and he was honoured by out-of-turn appointments several times. The real leap for Lieutenant colonel Kray came with the suppression of the Romanian peasant uprising in Transylvania, therefore the biography analyzes his deeds during the fight against the Horea-Closca revolt and its aftermath (1784–85), and also during the restoration of law and order when Kray completed his tasks with an impressively humane attitude and intelligence. This part in the book is followed by describing the role the colonel then major general had in the Turkish War (1788–1791), when his neatly rising general’s career was temporarily broken in two by his early retirement. an inspection might have been the reason for that, which was started against Kray and many of his fellow generals upon the grievance of some merchants in spring 1790. The next chapter presents Kray’s reactivation in 1793, then his operations at the imperial and royal army at the Low countries and the Rhine. The general acquired merits as one of the successful advance guard commanders of the main army in the War of the First coalition against revolutionary France (1792–1797). Kray excelled during the covering of the sieges of Condé and Valenciennes in spring 1793, in the Battle of Famars, and he occupied Marchiennes in a surprise attack on 30 October. These successes brought him fame and the rank of a lieutenant general. Kray took his share of the fights in the Low countries and at the Rhine in 1794 and 1795, and he was an important factor in archduke Charles victories in Germany in 1796. His enemies got acquainted with his name, and the French praised him for his military merits and chivalry, too. in the course of the year 1796 he gained independently significant victories against French forces, at Kircheip (19 june) and at Sulzbach (17 august). The events of the subsequent year illustrate the fluctuation of Kray’s carreer. His failure at Neuwied in 1797 was followed by a court martial investigation, which almost had fatal consequences on his further career, but eventually he was sentenced to only ten days of confinement and was reassigned to the Italian army. Later on, one can read about the unexpected rise of his career during the War of the second coalition (1799–1801) in two chapters. Lieutenant general Paul Kray, due to the sudden death of his superior, became the temporary commander-in-chief of the Italian army in 1799. He stopped the enemy’s offensive in the battles around Verona first (March 25–31, 1799) then he started a counter-attack and gained one of the shiniest victories of the imperial and royal army in the period over the French at Magnano on 5 April 1799, founding thus the further Italian successes of the Austrian-Russian allied armies lead by Suvorov and Melas. after only a three-week blockade, the large unit lead by Kray occupied the fort of Mantua on 31 july 1799. previously, the French could take the fort only after a seven-month-long blockade in 1796/97. Following the victory, Kray rushed his corps in a forced march to help suvorov, enabling thus the coalition to gain a decisive victory over the French at Novi. FZM Kray lead the right wing of the allied army in the battle. upon his successes in Italy, Feldzeugmeister Paul Kray was appointed to lead the imperial and royal army in Germany on 2 February 1800, replacing thus archduke Charles, emperor Francis’s younger brother at this position. The chapter gives a detailed analysis of the many reasons why Kray could not repeat the achievement of the previous year. Following the defeats at engen (3 May), Meßkirch (5 May) and Biberach (8 May), he withdrew the german army as far as ulm, from where, however, held his enemy, general Moreau, at bay for more than a month. He was eventually forced to retreat to the line of the river inn and to sign an armistice with the French on 15 july. Kray was dismissed on 28 august 1800, in a rather humiliating manner. His military career was thus over. The next part of the book presents the feldzeugmeister’s last years: Kray was busy paving the career of his only living son, Ferenc Kray, and developing the estate at Topolya which he had acquired upon his successes in Italy. in addition to discussing the career in chronological order, the book includes a thematic chapter which describes Kray’s efforts to be awarded different honours (Order of Saint Stephen and of Maria Theresa), estates and regiment ownership; and to help promoting his close or distant relatives. The chapter also describes the network of connections the Feldzeugmeister built up. During his career, Kray carefully smoothed the schooling and then the military career of his sons (Antal, János, Ferenc) and his other relatives. The written evidence of his actions survived in many of the documents of the Aulic War council, an office dealing with the officers’ personal matters among others. The biography does not follow chronology again in the chapter discussing the ‘Kray cult’, when presenting how famous and renowned the feldzeugmeister was in Hungary and in Europe. Following the suppression of the Horea-Closca revolt, Kray at once became a celebrated hero among the Transylvanian nobles, and upon his successes in 1799 he obtained Europe-wide fame, acknowledgement and press publicity. Hungary’s greatest poet of the time, Mihály Csokonai Vitéz payed tribute to him in a poem. Kray’s name, however, vanished almost  completely from Hungarian public awareness by the 20th century. Hungary gave excellent generals to the imperial army after 1711. count János Pálffy was first in the line, followed by the legendary Hussar general of the next generations, Ferenc Nádasdy. András Hadik can also be mentioned here, who is known for ransoming Berlin and for heading the War council later. József Alvinczy cannot be left out either: he fought two battles against napoleon at Arcole and at Rivoli. no up-to-date biographies are available on any of these men, therefore the book makes up for a significant shortcoming by presenting the life and military career of another man in this group, Feldzeugmeister Paul Kray.

The establishment of the republic in France was a world-shattering event that introduced a heretofore unknown break into the political order: after the United States, France became a republic, and in the Three Kingdoms the English, Scottish and Irish reformers regained hope that a democracy was possible. The historiography concerning Ireland at this precise moment of upheavals has for a long time held that the reformers were moderate constitutionalists, and that the Irish Catholics were under-politicized. In contrast with these assertions, a thorough re-examination of the available sources enables to propose another narrative of this pivotal moment between the fall of the French royalty and the beginning of the French Wars: the cosmopolitism that lies at the heart of the republican project – the “Atlantic Republic” – is a direct threat to the political and imperial British order, and perhaps more importantly republicanism becomes the impetus for an insurrection of all the discontents in Ireland.

Call for Papers
Globalized Peripheries
New Approaches to the Atlantic World 1680–1850
Date: July 5th–7th, 2018
Place: European University Viadrina
(Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany)

Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• The exchange and movement of goods and people across
the oceans
• Merchants and merchant networks
• Consumption and material culture
• (Proto-)Industrial production and development
• Theories of political economy
• (Religious) Minorities as agents of trade
• Gender from a global perspective
• Theoretical and methodological approaches to “Atlantic
History” and/or “centers” and “peripheries”
Although the conference has no specific regional focus, we explicitly invite papers focused on the following “peripheries” of the Atlantic World and/or its historiography:
• Central and Eastern Europe
• West and West Central Africa
• South Asia

Proposals of ca. 300 words as well as a short CV (max. 1 page) should be sent to: globalized-peripheries@europa-uni.de
by October 15th, 2017.

We only accept proposals sent electronically to this e-mail address. Feel free to contact us at this address should you have any further questions. Please also indicate if you would like us to consider your proposal for publication.
We look forward to receiving your proposals!
Klaus Weber, Jutta Wimmler, Anka Steffen & Torsten dos Santos Arnold
www.kuwi.europa-uni.de/globalized-peripheries

L’entrée en république de la France a constitué un événement mondial et introduit une rupture inédite dans l’ordre politique : après les États-Unis, la France devenait république, ce qui souleva de nombreux espoirs, notamment outre-Manche, dans les Trois Royaumes, où les réformateurs anglais, écossais et irlandais se plurent à imaginer une démocratie. L’historiographie concernant l’Irlande au moment de cette entrée en république a longtemps mis en avant le caractère modéré et constitutionnaliste des réformateurs et l’absence de politisation des catholiques. Pourtant, un examen attentif des sources permet de porter un autre regard sur la période cruciale entre la chute de la royauté en France et le début de la guerre entre la France et l’Angleterre : le cosmopolitisme intrinsèque de la République – la « République atlantique » – menace directement l’ordre politique et impérial britannique, surtout lorsque le républicanisme devient synonyme de conspiration en vue d’une insurrection de tous les mécontents irlandais.

The establishment of the republic in France was a world-shattering event that introduced a heretofore unknown break into the political order : after the United States, France became a republic, and in the Three Kingdoms the English, Scottish and Irish reformers regained hope that a democracy was possible. The historiography concerning Ireland at this precise moment of upheavals has for a long time held that the reformers were moderate constitutionalists, and that the Irish Catholics were under-politicized. In contrast with these assertions, a thorough re-examination of the available sources enables to propose another narrative of this pivotal moment between the fall of the French royalty and the beginning of the French Wars : the cosmopolitism that lies at the heart of the republican project – the « Atlantic Republic » – is a direct threat to the political and imperial British order, and perhaps more importantly republicanism becomes the impetus for an insurrection of all the discontents in Ireland.

“The choice between war and peace: the Austrian political crisis of August 1796,” in Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 42, 1992, pp. 229-263
This article publishes the previously unknown minutes of an Austrian Cabinet Meeting in August 1796, which reveals that the majority of the Cabinet, including Emperor Francis II, favored making peace at this time. The Foreign Minister and effective Prime Minister, Baron von Thugut, argued for delay, however, in order to consult with Austria's allies, England and Russia, before making peace. Due to military victories in Germany also in August 1796, peace was indeed delayed until Napoleon's advance on Austria from the South in 1797.

journal article published in Korean - 프랑스혁명과 1798년 국민개병제 법안

In pre-revolutionary Europe there was no mass conscription, widely regarded as an “instrument of tyranny.” However, as it became impossible to meet the military needs of France with volunteers, the National Convention issued the two decrees of 1793: the levee des 300,000 (in February) and the levee en masse (in August). It must be noted that each of these decrees was a one-off mobilization rather than a law advancing the establishment of a legal institution of military conscription, the first example of which is the loi Jourdan (or loi Jourdan-Delbrel) of 1798. The nascent French republic at war against the rest of Europe could maintain its forces because of the 1798 law of national conscription and the administrators’ pertinacious efforts to enforce it. Thus formed, the French revolutionary army became a symbolic figure during the 19th century as a “citizen army.” This article is an effort to enable reflections on this first legal institution of national conscription in Europe by introducing the reader to the mental world of politicians of the time, the parliamentary debate on the Jourdan Law, and its social impact.

L’entrée en république de la France a constitué un événement mondial et introduit une rupture inédite dans l’ordre politique : après les États-Unis, la France devenait république, ce qui souleva de nombreux espoirs, notamment outre-Manche, dans les Trois Royaumes, où les réformateurs anglais, écossais et irlandais se plurent à imaginer une démocratie. L’historiographie concernant l’Irlande au moment de cette entrée en république a longtemps mis en avant le caractère modéré et constitutionnaliste des réformateurs et l’absence de politisation des catholiques. Pourtant, un examen attentif des sources permet de porter un autre regard sur la période cruciale entre la chute de la royauté en France et le début de la guerre entre la France et l’Angleterre : le cosmopolitisme intrinsèque de la République – la « République atlantique » – menace directement l’ordre politique et impérial britannique, surtout lorsque le républicanisme devient synonyme de conspiration en vue d’une insurrection de tous les mécontents irlandais. The establishment of the republic in France was a world-shattering event that introduced a heretofore unknown break into the political order : after the United States, France became a republic, and in the Three Kingdoms the English, Scottish and Irish reformers regained hope that a democracy was possible. The historiography concerning Ireland at this precise moment of upheavals has for a long time held that the reformers were moderate constitutionalists, and that the Irish Catholics were under-politicized. In contrast with these assertions, a thorough re-examination of the available sources enables to propose another narrative of this pivotal moment between the fall of the French royalty and the beginning of the French Wars : the cosmopolitism that lies at the heart of the republican project – the « Atlantic Republic » – is a direct threat to the political and imperial British order, and perhaps more importantly republicanism becomes the impetus for an insurrection of all the discontents in Ireland.

The following is an attempt at explaining the forces and forms of the Counter-Revolutionary movements in Britain and the Habsburg Empire, which were triggered by the sudden and unexpected turns and developments of the French Revolution. By categorizing this movement in two: the intellectual Counter-Revolution and the political one, the paper aims to show that the British reaction belonged to the first category while Austrians, though not completely, conditioned by the specificities of their situation followed the second path.

This thesis examined the oft-overlooked experiences of Irishmen in the British Army during the French Revolutionary Wars. Militarisation as well as wider political, social and economic issues are examined through case studies of four Irish regiments in the British service. My research demonstrates that the Irish soldier in the British service was not a single identity but encompassed a range of personalities, loyalties, beliefs, traditions and motivations that combined to play an important role in the British war effort. Archives in Ireland, Britain and France were consulted. My research has received funding from the National University of Ireland Travelling Studentship, and the Society for the Study of French History.