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Why Napoleon Backed The Jacobins
- Napoleon allied with the Jacobins from conviction, patronage, and careerism combined.
- His political gamble tied his fate to Robespierre and led to imprisonment after Thermidor.
Napoleon In Forcae Prison
- Napoleon was jailed at the Forcae fortress but given books, visitors, and writing materials.
- He refused a breakout, saying 'it suffices to be innocent,' and waited for the inquiry to clear him.
Crisis Drove Jacobin Power
- The Jacobins rose by promising total war and radical reforms amid existential crisis.
- Their success militarily made the Terror tolerable until the crisis eased and public tolerance waned.