Bastille Day

For John, BLUF:  Revolutions are very bloody and inefficient ways of settling differences over how an imperfect government will govern the People, who should be sovereign.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The French Revolution

From Quartz, by Mr Oliver Staley, edited by Jessanne Collins, and produced by Luiz Romero, 13 July 2018.

The article has a jumble of facts that flow from the French Revolution, some edifying and some not.

For instance:

• 16,594: Death sentences given to counter-revolutionaries during the Reign of Terror of 1793-94.
• Plus, up to 250,000 insurgents and 200,000 republicans met their deaths in the Vendée, a war which lasted from 1793-96.
• Plus, the millions who died in the Napoleonic Wars.

While a lot of people have a romantic vision of the French Revolution, it was a very bloody affair and resulted in a number of different Empires, Monarchies and Republics since.  Today we are on the Fifth Republic.

Regards  —  Cliff