Abstract
In a memoir to the Committee of Public Safety in the spring of 1793, the French foreign minister Lebrun queried whether the French Republic could—and should—eschew recourse to negotiation.2 His question concerned the very nature of the war that had begun in 1792. Was it in fact a revolutionary war, a war of ‘principles’, fought with the aim of liberating all the peoples of Europe, which thus made ‘the cannon the great negotiator’? Or was it a war to save the Republic, a war of ‘national defence’, in which case ‘the channel of negotiation represents a natural method’?3 The question of why the war was being fought and how it could be brought to an end came up repeatedly; with it came another question, that of the role of republican diplomacy in the wars of the Revolution.
Translated from the French by Sylvie Kleinman, revised, with additional material, by Godfrey Rogers.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Linda S. Frey and Marsha L. Frey, ‘The Reign of the Charlatans is Over: The French Revolutionary Attack on Diplomatic Practice’, Journal of Modern History 65 (1993): 706–744
Alphonse Aulard, ‘La diplomatie du premier Comité de Salut Public’, La Révolution française 18 (1890): 125–166
Jean-Paul Bertaud, ‘Voies nouvelles pour l’histoire militaire de la Révolution’, AHRF 219 (1974): 66–94.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Virginie Martin
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Martin, V. (2013). In Search of the ‘Glorious Peace’?. In: Serna, P., De Francesco, A., Miller, J.A. (eds) Republics at War, 1776–1840. War, Culture and Society, 1750–1850. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137328823_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137328823_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-46047-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-32882-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)