The Great Fear was a panic during the French Revolution that spread through rural areas. It all started with a conspiracy theory.

Research:
Davies, Alun. “The Origins of the French Peasant Revolution of 1789.” History, 1964, Vol. 49, No. 165 (1964). https://www.jstor.org/stable/24404527
Elster, Jon. “The Two Great Fears of 1789.” Prepared for the Conference on “Emotions and Civil War”, Collège de France June 10-11 2010. https://www.college-de-france.fr/media/jon-elster/UPL13205_LePillouerThe_two_great_fears_of_1789.pdf
Hill, Henry Bertram. “An Aftermath of the Great Fear.” The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Dec. 1950). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1875896
Kasal, Krystal. “Mapping out France's 'Great Fear of 1789' shows how misinformation spreads like a virus.” Phys.org. 8/28/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-france-great-misinformation-virus.html
Lefebvre, Georges. “The Great Fear of 1789; rural panic in revolutionary France.” Joan White, translator. Pantheon Books. 1973.
Lenharo, Mariana. “An abiding mystery of the French Revolution is solved — by epidemiology.” Nature. 8/27/2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02739-9
Mark, Harrison W. “Great Fear.” World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Great_Fear/
Markoff, John. “Contexts and Forms of Rural Revolt: France in 1789.” The Journal of Conflict Resolution , Jun., 1986, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jun., 1986), pp. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/174254
Pelz, William A. “The Rise of the Third Estate: The French People Revolt.” From A People's History of Modern Europe. Pluto Press. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1c2crfj.8
Tackett, Timothy. “Conspiracy Obsession in a Time of Revolution: French Elites and the Origins of the Terror, 1789-1792.” The American Historical Review , Jun., 2000, Vol. 105, No. 3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2651806
Zapperi, Stefano et al. “Epidemiology models explain rumour spreading during France’s Great Fear of 1789.” Nature. 8/27/2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09392-2

The Great Fear was a panic during the French Revolution that spread through rural areas. It all started with a conspiracy theory.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Davies, Alun. &ldquo;The Origins of the French Peasant Revolution of 1789.&rdquo; History, 1964, Vol. 49, No. 165 (1964). https://www.jstor.org/stable/24404527</li>
<li>Elster, Jon. &ldquo;The Two Great Fears of 1789.&rdquo; Prepared for the Conference on &ldquo;Emotions and Civil War&rdquo;, Coll&egrave;ge de France June 10-11 2010. https://www.college-de-france.fr/media/jon-elster/UPL13205_LePillouerThe_two_great_fears_of_1789.pdf</li>
<li>Hill, Henry Bertram. &ldquo;An Aftermath of the Great Fear.&rdquo; The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Dec. 1950). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1875896</li>
<li>Kasal, Krystal. &ldquo;Mapping out France's 'Great Fear of 1789' shows how misinformation spreads like a virus.&rdquo; Phys.org. 8/28/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-france-great-misinformation-virus.html</li>
<li>Lefebvre, Georges. &ldquo;The Great Fear of 1789; rural panic in revolutionary France.&rdquo; Joan White, translator. Pantheon Books. 1973.</li>
<li>Lenharo, Mariana. &ldquo;An abiding mystery of the French Revolution is solved &mdash; by epidemiology.&rdquo; Nature. 8/27/2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02739-9</li>
<li>Mark, Harrison W. &ldquo;Great Fear.&rdquo; World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Great_Fear/</li>
<li>Markoff, John. &ldquo;Contexts and Forms of Rural Revolt: France in 1789.&rdquo; The Journal of Conflict Resolution , Jun., 1986, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jun., 1986), pp. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/174254</li>
<li>Pelz, William A. &ldquo;The Rise of the Third Estate: The French People Revolt.&rdquo; From A People's History of Modern Europe. Pluto Press. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1c2crfj.8</li>
<li>Tackett, Timothy. &ldquo;Conspiracy Obsession in a Time of Revolution: French Elites and the Origins of the Terror, 1789-1792.&rdquo; The American Historical Review , Jun., 2000, Vol. 105, No. 3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2651806</li>
<li>Zapperi, Stefano et al. &ldquo;Epidemiology models explain rumour spreading during France&rsquo;s Great Fear of 1789.&rdquo; Nature. 8/27/2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09392-2</li>
</ul>

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The Great Fear was a panic during the French Revolution that spread through rural areas. It all started with a conspiracy theory.

The Great Fear of 1789

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