The Great Fear Facts & Worksheets

In late July and early August 1789, a wave of anxiety known as The Great Anxiety (French: la Grande Peur) enveloped the French countryside. Peasants and townsfolk organized and attacked manorial buildings out of fear that nobles would attempt to thwart the budding French Revolution (1789–1799). The discontent had a role in the August Decrees’ passing, which ended feudalism in France.

See the fact file below for more information on The Great Fear, or you can download our 29-page The Great Fear worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BACKGROUND

• Even though The Great Fear and the riots that accompanied it lasted only about three weeks, they enabled the way for some of the Revolution’s most significant developments. 
• The Great Fear, according to French historian Georges Lefebvre, may have been caused by a breakdown in communication brought on by unrest in Paris, high tensions sparked by food shortages and widespread unemployment, and worries about violent retaliation by the nobility and other foreign powers intended to undermine the populace.
• Other historians have contended that the intake of the hallucinogenic fungus ergot by the peasants may have been a contributing factor.

HUNGER AND DESPAIR

• Lefebvre quotes French critic Hippolyte Taine at the beginning of his 1932 book The Great Fear of 1789, which is still regarded as the ground-breaking work on the subject: “The people are like a man going up to his mouth in a pond of water: a little dip in the ground, or even a tiny ripple, causes him to lose his footing — he sinks and chokes” (Lefebvre, 6). 
• The fragile status of the French lower classes under the Ancien Régime is beautifully shown by Taine’s comment.
• Even in the best of circumstances, a bad crop may spell disaster for both farmers and employees in the industrial sector.
• Harvests had been unstable, and yields had changed drastically ever since the late 1760s. Harvests in France declined over time, hitting a low point in 1788 when July hailstorms destroyed many crops. An August drought killed much of the remainder, partly due to the Icelandic Laki eruption in 1783. This caused bread costs to soar for urban workers, and by 1789 the poorest were devoting up to 80% of their income to buying bread alone.
• Unemployment had increased dramatically, with 8-11 million people, or nearly one-third of the population, either unemployed or in need of various sorts of assistance. 
• The burden on resources was exacerbated by France’s fast-rising population, which had expanded by 2-3 million since 1770. 
• The inhabitants of La Caure simply addressed the population problem in one of their cahiers, or complaints, submitted to the Estates-General in 1789, stating, “The sheer number of our children makes us despair” (Lefebvre, 9).  
• While many individuals came to cities in search of work, many more fled to the countryside, trying to find work on farms. 
• By the late 18th century, however, many peasant estates were barely big enough to sustain a single family. 
• Many farmers were left with small and frequently infertile pieces of land as a result of the tradition of partitioning the property evenly amongst sons upon succession. 
• As a result, many landless peasants sought employment on the nobility’s vast farming estates. 
• Because these grand estates could often only provide work during the harvest season, laborers lived in abject poverty the rest of the year.
• Many of the landless and jobless individuals who invaded the countryside couldn’t find jobs, leading others to resort to begging. 
• These squatters would move from farm to farm, often in groups, begging for bread crusts or a place to sleep for the night. 
• While some farmers sympathized with them, many others were skeptical or even fearful of them.
• After being denied assistance, groups of vagrants were allegedly tearing down fences or setting fire to farmers’ fruit trees, while others were allegedly swarming cornfields and chopping off unripe stalks of corn, endangering another year’s harvest. 
• Some farmers fearfully wrote to neighboring cities, requesting the military to safeguard their farms, while others criticized the church for not providing for the poor with tithe money.
• Salt smugglers took advantage of the rural disarray by traveling from farm to farm, intimidating and scaring farmers into purchasing their illegal commodities. 
• These smugglers were frequently pursued by the gabelous, the despised tax collectors hired by the French government. 
• The gabelous were sometimes no more than thugs themselves, beating and robbing farmers accused of obtaining black market salt, occasionally taking them off to jail. 
• Meanwhile, as towns erupted in bread riots, townspeople sent expeditions out to farms, forcing farmers to sell them their wares.
• Farmers were unable to rely on police or troops due to the paralysis of royal power following the establishment of the National Assembly and the storming of the Bastille. 
• Many people began to arm themselves and sought one another for safety in the spring and summer of 1789. 
• Farmers had banded together to protect their communities by July, with some keeping watch for weeks at a period at highways or bridges. 
• Many of the stories of violence, however, were merely rumors.
• As accurate news from Paris became less frequent as a result of the revolutionary enthusiasm, rumors in the countryside grew more intense; one such yarn claimed of Lyons citizens battling off hundreds of brigands, including raiding Savoyards and freed galley slaves.
• Another story tells of a British squadron of vessels lurking in the channel, waiting for brigands to storm Le Havre and throw open the gates to them. 
• As the stories spread, many people searched for a more visible foe to blame, and they found it in the church and nobility.

PANIC AND REVOLT

• A period of peasant uprisings occurred in France in 1789. Already on edge from rumors of violent bandits, countryside peasants believed they were in danger as soon as the Estates-General had been summoned. 
• The breaking point was reached when an explosion wiped out the Chateau de Quincey, the residence of one of the region’s most despised landlords. 
• The peasants of Franche-Comté rose in revolt immediately after the disaster, attacking seigneurial estates and recovering the products they had paid in manorial dues. 
• Similar revolts erupted across the country as a result of the Great Fear, although it is widely acknowledged that the countryside revolts were comparatively bloodless, with few and far between killings.
• During the Great Fear, many French peasants believed they were acting on behalf of the king, who was perceived by some to be in favor of the Revolution. 
• Seigneurial properties were seized, and commodities were regained in the countryside, while dwellings of people suspected of opposing the king’s wishes were targeted in the towns. 
• The period was marked by mass hysteria and rumors, with tales of British and German mercenaries burning the countryside and witnesses claiming to have seen Artois return from Spain with an army at his back. 
• The brigands were thought to be British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger’s operatives, and some even suspected Queen Marie Antoinette was plotting to kill the monarch and replace him with Artois. 
• The sight of smoke from the peasants’ raids convinced other peasants that they were under attack by brigands, adding to existing fears.

END OF THE FEAR & LEGACY

• In early August, the National Assembly recognized that the situation with the panicked peasants needed to be addressed. To restore order, the Vicomte de Noailles suggested an extreme solution of abolishing the privileges of the nobility. 
• This resulted in the August Decrees being passed on the night of August 4, putting an end to feudalism in France and removing the Gallican Church’s power to collect tithes. 
• These decrees were a major achievement of the Revolution, along with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen that followed soon after. 
• The decrees also helped to calm the countryside, and by August 6, the Great Fear had mostly subsided.
• A significant number of peasants who had participated in the revolts were either arrested during the unrest or shortly thereafter. 
• While in some regions where the uprisings had naturally subsided, only a small number of people were convicted. In other areas such as Alsace, Hainault, and Franche-Comté, where the military had intervened, many peasants were executed or sentenced to hard labor as galley slaves.
• The Great Fear during the French Revolution remains a fascinating and perplexing moment in history. 
• While peasant revolts were not uncommon, the Great Fear was exceptional in its breadth and intensity, lasting for only three weeks but affecting significant portions of the towns and countryside in France. 
• The unrest was fueled by rumors and exaggerated stories, which transformed poor wanderers into dangerous brigands paid for by foreign powers.
• Despite the absence of any real threat, the panic caused by these rumors led to the abolition of a long-standing French institution.
• The distrust and bitterness brought by the Great Fear persisted beyond the event itself. Some members of the nobility and clergy became further disillusioned with the Revolution for the loss of their privileges. 
• The general fear and hunger still persisted in the aftermath of the unrest, and the threat of foreign intervention loomed. 

The Great Fear Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about The Great Fear across 29 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about The Great Fear. In late July and early August 1789, a wave of anxiety known as The Great Anxiety (French: la Grande Peur) enveloped the French countryside.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. The Great Fear Facts
2. Knowledge Check 
3. Words Collect 
4. Cause and Effects
5. The Revolution
6. True Or False
7. Factors
8. The Way It Is
9. Express Your Thoughts
10. Project Proposal 
11. Let’s Plant

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Great Fear?

The Great Fear was a period of widespread panic and unrest that occurred during the early stages of the French Revolution in 1789. It was characterized by rumors, paranoia, and the fear of counter-revolutionary plots.

What caused the Great Fear?

The Great Fear was triggered by a combination of economic hardship, political uncertainty, and social tensions. It was fueled by rumors of aristocratic plots, fears of famine, and the belief that foreign troops were advancing to suppress the revolution.

How did the Great Fear manifest?

During the Great Fear, peasants and urban workers reacted to their fears by arming themselves and forming local militias. They attacked aristocratic estates, destroyed legal records, and demanded economic and political reforms. There were instances of violence and chaos across rural areas of France.

What were the consequences of the Great Fear?

The Great Fear contributed to the escalation of the French Revolution. It led to the abolishment of feudal privileges, such as serfdom, as the nobility sought to calm the fears of the population. Additionally, it prompted the National Constituent Assembly to establish the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen to address the grievances of the people.

How did the Great Fear shape the course of the French Revolution?

The Great Fear intensified the revolutionary spirit and pushed the revolution towards more radical measures. It highlighted the discontent and social tensions within French society and further eroded the authority and power of the monarchy and nobility. The events of the Great Fear ultimately contributed to the dismantling of the old order and the establishment of a more egalitarian society in France.

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