Reign of Terror, also called the Terror, French La Terreur, period of the French Revolution from September 5, 1793, to July 27, 1794 (9 Thermidor, year II). With civil war spreading from the Vendée and hostile armies surrounding France on all sides, the Revolutionary government decided to make “Terror” the order of the day (September 5 decree) and to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution (nobles, priests, and hoarders). In Paris a wave of executions followed. In the provinces, representatives on mission and surveillance committees instituted local terrors. The Terror had an economic side embodied in the Maximum, a price-control measure demanded by the lower classes of Paris, and a religious side that was embodied in the program of de-Christianization pursued by the followers of Jacques Hébert.
The Reign of Terror was a violent period of the French Revolution, beginning at some point in 1793 and continuing until the fall of Robespierre in mid-1794. Stories and images of the Reign of Terror have come to dominate our perceptions of the French Revolution.
You can compare with Women, Violence and Urban Justice in Holland c. 1600-1838
