In Paris the convention beamed. Feeling invincible, it thus announced its most ambitious stroke yet: the December 15, 1792, "Edict of Fraternity," decreeing "war on castles, peace for cottages," and promising fraternal aid to any nation wishing to recover its liberty. It stated wondrously, "the French nation proclaims the sovereignty of the people [in all cooperating regions]. . . . You are, from this moment, brothers and friends, all are citizens, equal in rights, and all alike are called to govern, to serve, and to defend your country.
France was no longer simply a great nation; this decree made it a revolutionary state abroad as well—the first in European history. World revolution was now its stated goal, republicanism its guiding star. With chilling precision, Brissot put it this way: "We cannot be calm until all Europe is in flames." But there were consequences for such ambition: As is so often the case, the newly "liberated" territories began to chafe under French rule, suggesting that one taskmaster had simply taken over for another. And by this stage, the rulers of Europe, angry and bewildered, no longer could stand idly by. Having little choice, they saw the convention's actions as the unmistakable sound of war against all monarchs.
-Jay Winik, The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World: 1788-1800
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