The French army had crowned a campaign of extraordinary successes by defeating the Austrians at Jemappes and pressing on to occupy a large swathe of Belgium and threaten Holland. For Britain, this changed everything: a French republic that spread across the North Sea coast meant the entire coastline facing Britain would be in Republican hands.
Mike Jay, A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine
biography, history, psychology