Jacobin more prominent in leading France, the period when war was declared on Austria and Prussia, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic created. In May 1793, the leaders of the Mountain faction led by Maximilien Robespierre succeeded in sidelining the Girondin faction and controlled the government until July 1794. Their time in government was characterized by high levels of political violence and for this reason the period of the Jacobin/Mountain government is also commonly referred to as the Reign of Terror. In October 1793, 21 prominent Girondins were guillotined. The Mountain-dominated government executed 17,000 opponents nationwide, purportedly to suppress the
Terror (politics) Terror (politics) Terror, is from the French "terreur", from Latin "terror" meaning "great fear", a noun derived from the Latin verb "terrere" meaning "to frighten", is a policy of political repression and violence intended to subdue political opposition. The term was first used for the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. Modern instances of terror include red terror or white terror. Before the late twentieth century, the term ""terrorism"" in the English language was often used interchangeably with ""terror"." Some contemporary writers use terrorism to refer to acts by groups with a limited political base or parties on the