1795-11-2 Directory Established

.1795-11-2: The Directory established in France after Thermidorian Reaction - HiPo > .

The Thermidorian Reaction had begun on 27 July 1794 in which the National Convention turned against the increasingly radical Jacobin leaders of the French Revolution. It ended the dominance of the Committee of Public Safety and resulted in the arrest and execution of Robespierre and 21 other leading members. Their executions were followed by a purge of other radicals in what became known as the White Terror.

Having alienated itself from the radical left-wing, the National Convention also faced threats from the right that culminated in a Royalist attack on 13 Vendémiaire. This uprising was put down by Napoleon Bonaparte with ‘a whiff of grapeshot’. Prior to the Royalist uprising, the National Convention had ratified a new constitution known as the Constitution of the Year III. This established a bicameral legislature and a five-man Directory that wielded executive power. Although it survived for four years, the Directory was generally unsuccessful at dealing with the domestic problems facing France. Even the numerous military victories against foreign enemies were not enough to secure much support. In response the Directory used the Army to repress its opponents, which only fuelled the opposition further and gave the Army increasing power within France.

By 1799 even the government realised that it could not continue for much longer. On 9 November, Napoleon launched the coup of 18 Brumaire. This replaced the Directory with the Consulate and effectively brought the French Revolution to an end, ten years after it began.

...

The Thermidorian Reaction (Réaction thermidorienne or Convention thermidorienne, "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespierre on 9 Thermidor II, or 27 July 1794, and the inauguration of the French Directory on 2 November 1795.

The "Thermidorian Reaction" was named after the month in which the coup took place and was the latter part of the National Convention's rule of France. It was marked by the end of the Reign of Terror, decentralization of executive powers from the Committee of Public Safety and a turn from the radical Jacobin policies of the Montagnard Convention to more conservative positions. Economic and general populism, dechristianization, and harsh wartime measures were largely abandoned, as the members of the Convention, disillusioned and frightened of the centralized government of the Terror, preferred a more stable political order that would have the approval of the affluent. The Reaction saw the Left suppressed by brutal force, including massacres, as well as the disbanding of the Jacobin Club, the dispersal of the sans-culottes, and the renunciation of the Montagnard ideology.

Buttonwood Agreement → NYSE, May 17 1792

.17th May 1792: Buttonwood Agreement → New York Stock Exchange - HiPo > .

In March and April 1792, barely a year after the creation of the Bank of the United States, a financial panic rocked confidence in the fledging American economy. Easy credit, combined with rampant speculation by bankers such as William Duer and Alexander Macomb, led to an unsustainable rise in the price of securities that inevitably plummeted. Without any safeguards in place, and at a time when securities were often bought and sold in auction houses with unpredictable prices and high commissions, public confidence in the market plummeted.

In the midst of the panic of 1792, a group of 24 brokers and merchants met to discuss possible regulations in an attempt to restore trust in the securities business. On 17 May they met again to sign the Buttonwood Agreement, named after the buttonwood tree in New York City’s Wall Street where they traditionally met to conduct their trades.

The Buttonwood Agreement was significant for two regulatory reasons. Firstly, the brokers guaranteed that they would not try to undercut each other by setting a fixed floor commission rate of 0.25%. This reduced the risk of manipulative pricing and competition between brokers. Secondly, the signatories agreed to only ever trade with each other, closing the system to outsiders who might be less scrupulous. With the knowledge that every broker operated by the same rules, they could trust that the market prices were fair and that deals would be honored. These original New York stockbrokers traded from the Tontine Coffee House at 82 Wall Street before moving to their first dedicated trading space in 1817.

Europe - 1750 Map

1750 Map of Europe > . 

Firefighting in 18th-Century

.18th-Century Firefighters Let Some Buildings Burn - ToSc > .

A History of Firefighting - HiGu > .

We take it for granted in the UK that if a fire breaks out, you can call firefighters, and they will try to put it out and save lives. In the 18th century, that wasn't guaranteed. If your building didn't have a fire mark, they might just let it burn. The reason: fire insurance, and fire insurance companies.

Firefighting ➼

Highland Clearances, 1750+

The Highland Clearances (Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal, the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in the period 1750 to 1860.

In the first phase, clearance resulted from agricultural improvement, driven by the need for landlords to increase their income (many landlords had crippling debts, with bankruptcy playing a large part in the history). This involved the enclosure of the open fields managed on the run rig system and the shared grazing. Especially in the North and West of the region, these were usually replaced with large-scale pastoral farms stocked with sheep, on which much higher rents were paid, with the displaced tenants getting alternative tenancies in newly created crofting communities, where they were expected to be employed in industries such as fishing, quarrying or the kelp industry. The reduction in status from farmer to crofter was one of the causes of resentment from these changes.

The eviction of tenants went against dùthchas, the principle that clan members had an inalienable right to rent land in the clan territory. This was never recognised in Scottish law. It was gradually abandoned by clan chiefs as they began to think of themselves simply as commercial landlords, rather than as patriarchs of their people—a process that arguably started with the Statutes of Iona. The clan members continued to rely on dùthchas. This different viewpoint was an inevitable source of grievance. The actions of landlords varied. Some did try to delay or limit evictions, often to their financial cost. The Countess of Sutherland genuinely believed her plans were advantageous for those resettled in crofting communities and could not understand why tenants complained. A few landlords displayed complete lack of concern for evicted tenants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances .
Highland Clearances 1815+ ..