The Vendée: Civil War in Revolutionary France

In 1793, revolutionary France faced a new enemy: its own people. This episode explores the War in the Vendée, a brutal civil war that erupted when rural peasants, priests, and nobles rose against conscription and revolutionary religious reforms. Lucas and Luna trace the revolt from its spark in the village of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil to the shocking outcome at Savenay, where Republican forces crushed the insurgent army. They discuss the charismatic leader Henri de la Rochejaquelein, the guerrillas' stunning victories at Thouars and Fontenay-le-Comte, and the devastating scorched-earth tactics of General Turreau's infernal columns. The episode also confronts the Republic's deportation decrees and the Vendée's disputed death toll, which some historians have called genocide. Through firsthand accounts and nuanced debate, Lucas and Luna shed light on a chapter that complicates the Revolution's legacy of liberty, equality, and fraternity. #Vendée #FrenchRevolution #CivilWar #HenriDeLaRochejaquelein #Turreau #InfernalColumns #ReignOfTerror #Catholicism #Conscription #CounterRevolution #GuerrillaWarfare #France #18thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #RevolutionaryWars #CivilConflict #FrenchHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo