Home » History » Modern Scottish History » Scotland During The French Revolution (Part One)

Scotland During The French Revolution (Part One)

© Simon Hill

The revolution in France began in 1789 and news of the events gradually filtered through to the other countries of Europe who looked on nervously. Although the ideals of the French Revolution were inspirational for some, for the ruling elite they were an unequivocal challenge to their monopoly of power. The widespread fear and paranoia which permeated the ruling regimes of Europe at this time led to many embarking on policies of repression and Scotland was no exception.

The popularity of some of these new ideas, such as those expounded by Thomas Paine in his book 'The Rights Of Man' was a cause for serious concern according to the government. Debating societies and radical political associations sprang up across the country. More information was being made available to the people, in 1782 there had only been 8 newspapers but by 1790 there were 27 and most of them were intensely political.

One of the most important political associations that emerged during this period was the Scottish Association of the Friends of the People which was formed in April 1792. They included gentry, reformist Whigs and other middle class folk, who formed the leadership, and the working classes, who formed the mass of the membership. They intended to effect reform through peaceful political action and parliamentary reform.

Unfortunately the Kings Birthday riots in late 1792 shocked the loyalists and provided them with some ammunition against the reform movement. It was suggested that organisations such as the Friends of the People were spreading dangerous ideas amongst the lower classes and inciting them to riot. In fact it was difficult to explain the riots without mentioning the food and fuel shortages and the tightening of tax collection, not to mention generally deteriorating social conditions in urban areas.

The government was able to link the unrest to the reform movement and destroy it. In 1795 they introduced acts making it illegal to oppose the government verbally or to gather for protest in groups larger than three. The war with France provided a welcome distraction for the government and consequently they could charge protestors with treason. The reform movement had been crushed and did not really reappear as a major threat to the government until early in the 19th century, which I will look at next week.

The copyright of the article Scotland During The French Revolution (Part One) in Modern Scottish History is owned by . Permission to republish Scotland During The French Revolution (Part One) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.