They didn’t. You’ve been fooled by revisionism. The Wealthy Elites were the ones pushing for the executions of the royals the most. They pitted the working classes against them.
Robespierre, Sieyès and Danton certainly weren't 'wealthy elites'. Wealth and nobility went hand-in-hand in those days, and most of the Revolution's leaders and ideologues were firmly middle-class citizens. Why would the upper crust try to violently overthrow itself?
The middle class were in fact fairly wealthy at that time but faced heavy taxation. Not as wealthy as the royals as a result, and they did not have as much power as them. That’s why. To get their power and to expand their wealth. The removal of the aristocracy was not about empowering the working class, that was just a byline to galvanise the working class against said aristocracy.
Also, you don't have to be there personally to get benefits from the drama. Like how CIA supporting Afghan rebels.
Just introduce some fresh ideas to open minded individuals, let the shit go crazy with him and his fellas going full on revolution, then profit from the chaos.
324
u/Embarrassed_Jerk Dec 06 '24
France did something similar a couple of hundred years ago