Revolutionary Crescendo

This chapter details events in Burke's life from 1793 to 1797. On 1 February 1793, France declared war on Britain. Nine days later, Pitt's government reciprocated with its own declaration of hostilities. Burke now regarded French territory as occupied by an austere republic that had substituted enthusiasm for the military virtues for a culture of sociability and politeness. Given the exigent circumstances afflicting the British Empire, Burke considered Fox's position as excessively indulgent towards France. For this reason, in his Observations on the Conduct of the Minority, composed between February and June 1793, he strove to detach Portland and his followers from the clutches of the Foxite Whigs.