74. The Storm Breaks

Last time, we looked at the developing impact of the French Revolution, but mostly from the French point of view. We saw how France slipped towards increasing violence in its politics and eventually into war. And then how, despite suffering many defeats, it also managed a surprising victory allowing it to launch a counter-invasion against its enemies.

This time, we see how Britain had to cope with developments that were similar to what happened in France, though less intense. And we see how the Pitt government reacted to them, both internally – with some pretty heavy-handed repression – and then externally - resisting being sucked into war on the continent.

Ultimately without success.

Illustration: Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie ca 1797

National Portrait Gallery 1237

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License