- Brunswick Manifesto (1792)
The Brunswick Manifesto was a proclamation issued by
Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick , commander of the Allied Army (principally Austrian and Prussian), on25 July 1792 to the population ofParis ,France during theFrench Revolutionary Wars . The Brunswick Manifesto promised that if the French royal family was not harmed, then French civilians would not be harmed. It was a measure intended to intimidate Paris, but rather helped further spur the increasingly radicalFrench Revolution .Background
On
20 April 1792 , Revolutionary France declared war on Austria; on28 April France invaded the Austrian Netherlands (present-dayBelgium ). The French invasion was beaten back in a matter of days. Prussia joined the war against France, and on30 July Austria and Prussia began an invasion of France, hoping to occupy Paris.Brunswick Manifesto
On
25 July , the Duke of Brunswick issued the Brunswick Manifesto. The manifesto promised that if the French Royal family was not harmed, then the Allies would not harm French civilians or loot. However, if acts of violence or acts to humiliate the French Royal family were committed, the Allies threatened not only that they would take vengeance on Paris, but also that many European nations promised to declare war on France. The manifesto was written primarily byLouis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Condé , the leader of a large corps of French émigrés in Brunswick's army, and intended to intimidate Paris into submission. On1 August news of the manifesto began sweeping through Paris. Many believed the Brunswick Manifesto was final proof that Louis XVI was collaborating with the Allies. Also on1 August , Prussian forces crossed theRhine nearCoblenz ; consequently, the French National Assembly ordered that citizens prepare for war.Impact
The Brunswick Manifesto, rather than intimidate the populace into submission, sent it into furious action and created fear and anger towards the Allies. It also spurred revolutionaries to take further action, organizing an uprising – on
10 August the Tuileries were stormed andSwiss Guard s protecting it were massacred by the mob. In late August and early September, the French were defeated in skirmishes with the Allied army, but on20 September the French triumphed in theBattle of Valmy . Following its defeat, the Prussian army withdrew from France.ee also
*
War of the First Coalition
*House of Bourbon References
*cite book|last=Connelly| first=Owen| year=2006| title=The wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon, 1792–1815| publisher=Routledge| isbn=0415239842
*cite book| first=Brian| last=Taylor| year=2006| title= The empire of the French : a chronology of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1792–1815| location=Stroud, United Kingdom| publisher=Spellmount|isbn=1862272549
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