2-323-291 - Historisk Bildbyrå/Mustang media/Heritage Images

Vendee rebel, French Revolution, 1793 (c1833). A kneeling man holds up his musket to an image of the Virgin and Child. The Vendee uprising occurred in the region of the same name in western France in 1793 after conscription was introduced by the government. After rioting broke out, the local populace organised itself into the 'Royal and Catholic Army'. They were initially successful against Republican troops sent to quell the revolt, but were eventually defeated as the government forces were reinforced. The reprisals against the population were brutal, with widespread massacres and atrocities.