ABSTRACT
In June 1792, Joseph Woods was hopeful about abolition in Britain but he was becoming doubtful about events in France. In April, France had declared war on the Holy Roman Empire and now the Legislative Assembly was wielding ever greater power. Rumours of revolutionary plots and Royalist counter-plots swept Paris, reverberating in London. 'Being straitened for time', wrote Woods to Matthews, 'I must postpone all reflections upon Revolutions and counter-Revolutions, Plots, Riots and Rebellion, till a more convenient opportunity.' 1 In August, King Louis XVI was deposed. Massacres followed in September, and the National Convention declared France a Republic.
