The Revolutionary government decided to make “Terror” the order of the day and to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution. In Paris a wave of executions followed. In the provinces, representatives on mission and surveillance committees instituted local terrors. During the Terror, the Committee of Public Safety, of which Maximilien de Robespierre was the most prominent member, exercised virtual dictatorial control over the French government. During the Reign of Terror, at least 300,000 suspects were arrested; 17,000 were officially executed, and perhaps 10,000 died in prison or without trial. Another effect was the Declaration of the Right of Man. The basic principle of the Declaration was that all “men are born and remain free and equal in rights” Specified as the rights of liberty, private property, the inviolability of the person, and resistance to oppression. All citizens were equal before the law and were to have the right to participate in legislation directly or indirectly no one was to be arrested without a judicial order. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech were safeguarded within the bounds of public “order” and “law.” The document reflects the interests of the elites who wrote it: property was given the status of an inviolable right, which could be taken by the state only if an indemnity were given; offices and position were opened to …show more content…
the Spanish colonies had a thriving class of creoles: men and women of European ancestry born in the New World. Simon Bolivar is a good example: his family had come from Spain generations before. Spain nevertheless appointed mostly native-born Spaniards to important positions in the colonial administration. No native Venezuelans were appointed from 1786 to 1810: during that time, ten Spaniards and four creoles from other areas served. This irritated the influential creoles who correctly felt that they were being ignored. Another cause was the Death of Charles the Third. In 1788, Charles III of Spain died and his son Charles IV took over. Charles IV was weak and indecisive and mostly occupied himself with hunting, allowing his ministers to run the Empire. Spain joined with Napoleonic France and began fighting the British. With a weak ruler and the Spanish military tied up, Spain's presence in the New World decreased markedly and the creoles felt more ignored than ever. After Spanish and French naval forces were crushed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Spain's ability to control the colonies lessened even