LewRockwell By Matthew J.L. Ehret
Strategic Culture September 2, 2019
Long before the term “color revolution” ever existed as part of our geopolitical lexicon, the technique of directing violence-prone mobs towards the overthrow of their governments had been honed over centuries. Enflaming the rage of a mob and directing that rage towards the overthrow of established political structures only required money, propaganda and a few quality morality-free rhetoricians.
I was shocked to discover, upon reading the 2001-2002 studies published by historian Pierre Beaudry (Why France Did Not Have a French Revolution and Jean-Sylvain Bailly: The French Revolution’s Benjamin Franklin (1)), that the common narrative of the French Revolution is little more than British myth making that bears little to no resemblance to reality as it happened.
The World in 1789
The period was a ripe one in human affairs. The American Revolution’s success finalized at the 1783 Treaty of Paris had sent shockwaves of hope throughout the world. The idea that the long night of empire that had bled the Old World for eons could possibly end was electrifying. It was generally understood by all that for the annihilation of the hereditary order to occur beyond the 13 colonies, it would have to enter Europe through France. Although patriots from many nations across Europe assisted the Americans (including Russians, Germans, Polish and Irish) France had after all been the most supportive to the American Revolution’s struggle with thousands of French soldiers joining the fight under the Marquis Lafayette and vital financial, political and military aid provided throughout.