18. Maximilien Robespierre created the period of French history known as the Reign of Terror
The French Revolution became noted for its atrocities against the nobility and clergy of France, especially during the period of mass executions known as the Reign of Terror. During the period, wagons known as tumbrils rolled through the streets of Paris and other French cities, carrying the condemned to their appointment with the guillotine. In truth, the Reign of Terror was directed against the political adversaries of Robespierre and their supporters. Much of the condemnation directed towards Robespierre is now debated by scholars, though there is little question that during the time of the terror, roughly 1793 – 1794, he was one of the most feared and hated men in all of France. The wavering fortunes of the Revolutionary armies against England and Austria weakened his political position in early 1794, and his enemies succeeded in having Robespierre arrested for treason (shot through the jaw, whether by his enemies or in attempted suicide remains debated) and executed on the guillotine in July of 1794.