revolution and the abolition of the french monarchy in august 1792… · 2017-12-15 · revolution...

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U Marie AntoinetteAs the queen consort of King LOUIS XVI of France, Marie Antoinette, b. Nov. 2,1755, d. Oct. 16, 1793, aroused hostile passions that helped lead to the FRENREVOLUTION and the abolition of the French monarchy in August 1792. Thedaughter of Maria Theresa of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, shemarried Louis in 1770. By 1774, when her husband became king, however, thebeautiful, spirited Marie Antoinette had withdrawn from the restraints ofFrench court etiquette and from her timid, aloof husband to a life of innocentbut frivolous pleasure. She enchanted her small circle of friends but createdthe image of an untrustworthy foreigner and prodigal spendthrift opposed tothe reforms proposed by the king’s ministers. Her life became temporarilymore dignified after the birth of her first son, Louis Joseph, in 1778, but herreputation worsened with the Affair of the Diamond Necklace (1 785-86; seeDIAMOND NECKLACE, AFFAIR OF THE).

Popular hatred of her in 1789 obscured the fact that she advocated royalcompromise with the revolutionary STATES-GENERAL she disliked so intenselyBravely suffering her family’s forced move to Paris and virtual imprisonmentin the Tuileries from October 1789, she played little part in her weakerhusband’s losing cause until initiating their abortive attempt to flee thecountry in 1791 (the Flight to Varennes). Having secretly aided Austria’scounterrevolutionary invasion of France, Marie Antoinette was executed byguillotine for treason.

A. Lloyd Moote

Bibliography: Bernier, Olivier, ed. and trans., The Secrets of Marie Antoinette(1985); Castelot, Andre, Queen of France: A Biography of Marie Antoinette(1957); Cronin, Vincent, Louis and Antoinette (1975); Enkson, C., To theScaffold (1991); Furneaux, R., The Last Days of Marie Antoinette and LouisSixteenth (1990); Haslip, Joan, Marie Antoinette (1988); Hearsey, John E. N.,Marie Antoinette (1972); Mayer, Dorothy Moulton, Marie Antoinette: The TragiQueen (1968).

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Jean Sylvain Bailly

Born in Paris, Bailly was the son of Jacques Bailly, a supervisor of the Louvre. As a child he was origina y

intended for a career in the arts, but he became deeply attracted to science, particularly astronomy. An

excellent student with a “particularly retentive memory and inexhaustible patience”, he calculated an

orbit for the next appearance of Halley’s Comet (in 1759), and correctly reduced Lacaille’s observations

of 515 stars. For such achievements he was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences in

1763.

The Revolution interrupted his studies. Elected deputy from Paris to the Estates-General, he was electec

president of the Third Estate (5 May 1789), led the famous proceedings in the Tennis Court (20 June),

and - immediately after the storming of the Bastille - became the first mayor of Paris under the newly

adopted system of the Commune (15 July 1789 to 16 November 1791). One of his actions in this positiol

was to secure, with others, and in the face of threats and ridicule, the passage of a decree of 27

September 1791 (confirmed on 30 November of the same year), which declared Jews to be French

citizens, with all rights and privileges. This decree repealed the special taxes that had been imposed on

the Jews, as well as all the ordinances existing against them.

The dispersal by the National Guard, under his orders, of the riotous assembly in the Champ de Mars (1

July 1791) made him unpopular, and he retired to Nantes, where he composed his Mémoires d’un

témoin (published in 3 vols. by MM. Berville and Barrière, 1821—1822), an incomplete narrative of the

extraordinary events of his public life. Late in 1793, Bailly left Nantes to join his friend Pierre Simon

Laplace at Melun, but was there recognised, arrested and brought (10 November) before the

Revolutionary Tribunal at Paris. On 12 November he was guillotined amid the insults of a howling mob.

In the words of the 1911 Encyclopdia Britannica, “He met his death with patient dignity; having,

indeed, disastrously shared the enthusiasms of his age, but taken no share in its crimes.”

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Danton, Georges Jacques{dahn-tohn’}

Georges Jacques Danton, a dominant figure of the FRENCH REVOLUTION, waslong extolled as the personification of patriotism. More recently, he has beenneglected by historians, his venality seeming to be irrefutable. He was,however, occasionally great, usually magnanimous, and always dauntless.Born at Arcis-sur-Aube on Oct. 26, 1759, Danton was well educated andbecame a prosperous lawyer in Paris; yet he remained a man of the people andthe land. A big, broken-nosed man, mighty of voice, in 1789 he soon dominatedthe turbulent Cordeliers district, gaining notoriety by his defiance of themarquis de LAFAYETTE and the municipal council of Paris. Becoming an officialof the latter body in 1791, he played an important part in replacing it on Aug.10, 1792, by the revolutionary commune that overthrew the monarchy. Then, aminister of justice, he devoted himself to organizing the defense of Franceagainst invasion, demanding audacity in all things.

Elected to the National Convention in September 1792, Danton was soonattacked by the GIRONDISTS for embezzlement and for condoning the SeptemberMassacres of prisoners by the Paris mob. He countered these charges byproclaiming the unity of the republic and accusing his opponents of federalism.A regicide and an advocate of French expansion and of the adoption ofconscription and emergency forms of government, he was nevertheless morerealistic than doctrinaire in his goals. Controlling the Committee of PublicSafety from April to July 1793, he sought to reconcile antagonisms andfollowed a moderate policy. Superseded by Maximilien ROBESPIERRE, Dantonspent many weeks at his home in Arcis, but returned to Paris late in the year tourge a relaxation of Terror and “economy in human blood.” Branded as an“Indulgent,” and sadly comp(omised by fraudulent friends, he was arrested soonafter the Committee of Public Safety had destroyed Jacques Rene HEBERT andthe extreme left. After a dramatic appearance before the RevolutionaryTribunal Danton, with 14 others, went to the guillotine on Apr. 5, 1794.M. J. Sydenham

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Camille Desmoulins

Camille Desmoulins was born in Guise, in Picardy on March 2nd 1760. He was an accomplished stua-r

and became a lawyer in 1785 in Paris. He met Mirabeau and the two men became friends, both found 01

the philosophical movement of the Enlightment. Desmoulins was a good speaker and he was an

important voice of the French Revolution. When Louis XVI fired his very popular minister of finance,

Jacques Necker, Desmoulins screamed his disappointment to the Parisians crownd gathered in the

garden of the Palais Royal. This event made him famous in Paris as he was suddenly seen as a leader of

the Revolution.

Demoulins career in journalism started in November 1789. He published a paper called “Les Revolutions

de France et de Brabant” which counted 86 publications. His main subject was the denounciation of the

French aristocracy and the paper became very popular. Desmoulins also joined the Jacobins Club and

was opposed to the Girondists, and more particularly to Jean-Pierre Brisot.

In 1792, France was at war with Austria. At first, Desmoulins, like his friend Robespierre, opposed this

war. Then he changed his mind and joined the ideas of Dantori and Marat. After the downfall of the

Monarchy on August 10th, 1792 Desmoulins became the secretary of Danton, the Justice Minister. On

September 8th, 1792 he was elected deputy in the National Convention and belonged to the

“Montagnards” group. He was close to Robespierre, however, he took some distance after the

condamnation of the Girondists group in October 1793. In December 1793, Desmoulins created a new

paper called “Le vieux cordeliers” where he denounced the extrem ideas of the “Enrages” and ask f

peace between partisans of the Revolution. Robespierre turned his back to Desmoulins as his

newspaper defended Danton’s opinions. Demoulins and Danton were arrested on March 31st, 1794.

Desmoulins was accused by the Revolutionary Tribunal of being a counter revolutionary. But the reason

of this sentence was his support to Danton. Desmoulins was beheaded, along side with Danton, on April

5th, 1794.

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Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves RochGilbert du Motier{Iah-fuh-yet’, mah-ree’ zhoh-zef pohi eev rohk zheel-bair’ dih moh-tyay’,mar-kee’ duh}

The French general the marquis de Lafayette, called the hero of two worlds,was prominent in both the AMERICAN REVOLUTION and the FRENCHREVOLUTION. Born on Sept. 6, 1757, to a noble family in the Auvergne, hedefied the French authorities in 1777 by crossing the Atlantic to offer hisservices to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia. He was a friend of GeorgWashington, who became his model, and served under him at the Battle of theBrandywine and at Valley Forge. In 1779 he went to France to expedite thedispatch of a French army, but he returned to distinguish himself again atYorktown (1781). Brave in battle and staunch in adversity, Lafayette wonenduring popularity in America, and his fame did much to make liberal idealsacceptable in Europe.

As discontent in France mounted, Lafayette advocated the convocation of theStates-General in 1789. He became a deputy and proposed a model Declarationof Rights. Elected commander of the National Guard on July 15, 1789, heappeared gallantly with his troops at the Festival of Federation on July 14,1790, to celebrate the apparent coming of age of a free and united community.However, Lafayette proved unable to fulfill the promise of his youth. Althoughhe had enormous potential power as a mediator, he had neither a realisticpolicy of his own nor the flexibility to support the more practical comte deMIRABEAU. Despised by the court as a renegade aristocrat whose bourgeoisarmy was unable to protect the royal family, he was also hated by the populacefor trying to suppress disorder, especially after he fired on a crowd in Paris inJuly 1791.

In 1 792, as an army commander, Lafayette made a futile attempt to save themonarchy and then deserted to the Austnans, who promptly imprisoned him asa dangerous revolutionary. Released in 1797 at Napoleon Bonaparte’sinsistence, Lafayette was allowed to return to France in 1 799. In 181 5 he wasone of those who demanded NAPOLEON l’s abdication.

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All rights reserved.

In 1824, Lafayette made a triumphant tour of the United States. By then hL

home, La Grange, was a place of pilgrimage for liberals throughout the won .

When the July Revolution of 1830 occurred, he was again called on to commarn

the National Guard, to identify the monarchy of LOUIS PHILIPPE with the ideah

of 1789. He died in Paris on May 20, 1834; his name continues to signify

freedom.

Bibliography: Bemier, Olivier, Lafayette: Hero of Two Worlds (1983);

Buckman, Peter, Lafayette: A Biography (1977); Gerson, Noel B., Statue in

Search of a Pedestal: A Biography of the Marquis de Lafayette (1976);

Gottschalk, Louis R.., Lafayette Comes to America (1935; repr. 1974),

Lafayette Joins the American Army (1937; repr. 1974), Lafayette and the

Close of the American Revolution (1942; repr. 1974), Lafayette between the

American and French Revolution (1950; repr. 1974), Lafayette in the Frenc

Revolution, through the October Days (1969), and Lafayette in the French

Revolution: From the October Days through the Federation (1973); Horn,

Pierre, Marquis de Lafayette (1989); Idzerda, Stanley J., et aL, eds., LafayettE

in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers,1776-1 790, 4 vols. (1977-81).

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‘Lou.is Xvi, King of FranceLouis XVI, grandson and successor of Louis XV as king of France, was neitherinterested in politics nor capable of dealing with the FRENCH REVOLUTION,which engulfed his reign. Absorbed in family life, eating, hunting, andmechanical arts (he was a skilled locksmith), he allowed a mounting financialcrisis to culminate in the destruction of the once powerful absolute monarchyand French aristocratic society, and he lost his own life to the revolution.

Born on Aug. 23, 1754, to the Dauphin Louis and Maria Josepha of Saxony, Louisbecame heir to the French throne on his father’s death in 1765. In 1770 hemarried the Austrian archduchess MARIE ANTOINti it, and in 1774 he succeedechis grandfather to the throne.

Louis’s first fateful act as king was to restore the political power of thereactionary PARLEMENTS, which Louis XV had virtually abolished in 1771. Thenew king appointed (1774) the fiscal reformer Baron TURGOT ascontroller-general of finance but dismissed (1776) him in the face ofparlementary opposition. Jacques NECKER, the next director of finances,floated huge loans, but he too was dismissed (1781) when his reform effortsincurred the courtiers’ hostility. French participatIon (1778-83) on the rebelside in the American Revolution increased the government’s debts and fueleddemands for liberty at home.

After the failure of Charles CALONNE, controller-general from 1783 to 1787,to steer tax reform past a royally appointed Assembly of Notables, Louis gavein to the popular demand for an elected STATES-GENERAL to discuss thefinancial crisis. When it met in 1789 the king’s indecisiveness over votingprocedure and lack of a royal reform program allowed revolutionarymiddle-class delegates to dominate events and declare themselves a NationalAssembly. When Louis halfheartedly summoned troops against the assembly, aParisian mob stormed the BASTILLE (July 14), signaling the beginning ofviolent revolution.

In October 1789 a mob forced the royal family to leave Versailles for Paris,where they were housed in the Tuileries palace. Although Louis had publiclyaccepted the revolutionary changes, he remained under suspicion because ‘of

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footdraggiflg on revolutionary legislation. An abortive attempt to flee Fran(the so-called Flight to Varennes, June 179 1) and popular fear of Louis’scollusion with the Austrians and Prussians, who invaded France in 1792, led toa mob uprising against the monarchy in August 1792. A republic was declaredon September 21. Evidence that Louis had intrigued with the Austrians wasused in his trial for treason in December. He was condemned by a complicated,close multiple vote in the republic’s Convention and executed by guillotine onJan. 21, 1793.

A. Uoyd Moote

Bibliography: Cobban, Alfred, A History of Modem France, vol. 1, rev. ed.(1963); Cronin, Vincent, Louis and Marie Antoinette (1975); Fay, Bernard,Louis XVI; Or the End of a World, trans. by Patrick O’Brian (1968); Furneaux,Rupert, The Last Days of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI (1971); Jordan, DavidP.., The King’s Trial (1979); Padover, Saul K., The Life and Death of Louis XVI,rev. ed. (1963); Vovelte, Michel, The Fall of the French Monarchy, 1787-1792,trans. by S. Burke (1984).

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Marat, Jean Paulmah-rah’}

One of the most notorious figures of the FRENCH REVOLUTION, Jean PaulMarat, b. Boudry, Switzerland, May 24, 1743, later became a symbol of theradical aspirations of his era. After studying medicine in France, Holland, aiBritain, he settled in Paris to become physician (1777-83) to the guards of 1king’s brother the comte d’Artois (later CHARLES X). Moderately successful adoctor, Marat tried without great success to win wider fame from hisphilosophic and scientific writings. The Revolution enabled him to emerge amaster of vituperative journalism, and from September 1789 his newspaper:L’Ami du Peuple (“The Friend of the People”), denounced deputies, ministers,finally the king himself. It called for innumerable executions and the prompappointment of a temporary dictator. He was often compelled to go into hidiand twice was forced to seek refuge in England. Marat became immenselypopular in Paris, however, for his compassion for the poor and his concern fcsocial justice were real; and, unlike many of those whom he denounced, heremained independent and incorruptible.

Marat was partly responsible for the beginning of the prison massacres ofSeptember 1 792. He was elected a deputy for Paris to the National Conventiwhere his cadaverous appearance and theatrical conduct excited both horrorand derision. His importance nevertheless increased as events justified hisprophecies. He was never a formal member of a political group, but hissympathies lay with the radical JACOBINS. The more-moderate GIRONDISTStried to discredit Maximilien ROBESPIERRE and Paris by associating them witMarat. in the spring of 1793, in an attempt to cleanse the convention ofconspirators, the deputies dispatched him to the Revolutionary Tribunal forinciting “patriots.” His acquittal and reinstatement (April 24) preceded hisgreatest personal triumph-the purging of the convention by insurrection onJune 2. But on July 13, 1793, he was stabbed to death in his bath by CharlottCORDAY, a young supporter of the Girondists. Marat’s assassination wasexploited by the Jacobins, thereby helping to lay the groundwork for the Reigrof Terror.

M. J. Sydenham

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Mirabeau, Honore Gabriel Riqueti, 0Comte de{mee-rah-boh’, oh-nohr-ay’ gah-bree-eI’ ree-ke-tee’}

Honore Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, b. Mar. 9, 1749, was one of theablest leaders of the FRENCH REVOLUTION. He was a powerful orator whosepolicies were based on both serious study and hard experience. His personal Ibefore the revolution, however, had been so scandalous that he was neverwholly able to overcome doubts about his motives.

In 1 789, Mirabeau entered the STATES-GENERAL as a delegate for the thirdestate (commons), the nobility having rejected him. There he fought for thefusion of the three estates into a single assembly, his most famous actionbeing his open defiance of King LOUIS Xvi’s attempt (June 23, 1789) to closethe session after the third estate had proclaimed itself the National AssembiAlthough he opposed both absolutism and aristocratic privilege, he believedstrongly in constitutional parliamentary monarchy and consequently sougV”ceffect a sound distribution of power between the king, the assembly, andelectorate. Frustrated in this attempt by the assembly’s tendency tomonopolize power and by its refusal to allow deputies to become ministers,Mirabeau tried (1 790) to achieve his purpose by surreptitious dealings with tcourt. However, the marquis de LAFAYETTE thwarted his efforts; althoughMirabeau accepted payment to advise the court, his increasingly desperateplans were wasted on the evasively obdurate king.

When Mirabeau died, worn out by overwork, on Apr. 2, 1791, he was widelymourned as a stalwart champion of the people. His body was placed in thePantheon, but it was removed a few years later, after evidence of his dealing5with the king had come to light.

M. J. Sydenham

Bibliography: Valentin, Antonina, Mirabeau, Voice of the Revolution, trans. by EW. Dickes (1948); Welsh, 0. J. G., Mirabeau (1951).

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Sieyes, Emmanuel. Joseph{see-ay-es’}

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, b May 3, 1748, d. June 20, 1836, a clergyman andrevolutionary theorist, contributed both to the beginning and to the ending ofthe FRENCH REVOLUTION. He was a canon at Chartres when his pamphletQu’est-ce que le tiers etat? (What is the Third Estate?) appeared in January1789, asserting that the commoners (the third estate)—and not the privilegednobles and clergymen--should lay the foundations of a new order in France.This classic statement of the revolutionary doctrine of the sovereignty of thenation was immensely influential, and as a deputy for Paris, Sieyes was alsoprimarily responsible for the decree (June 17, 1789) establishing the NationalAssembly as a sovereign body. He was nevertheless alarmed by the assembly’streatment of the church and by the development of democracy; although hebecame a regicide deputy in the National Convention (1792-95) and a memberof the Council of Five Hundred (1795-99), he remained a shadowy figure until1799. Then, after becoming a member of the DIRECTORY, he used his position toarrange the coup d’etat of 18-19 Brumaire (November 9-10), by which he,Pierre Roger Ducos, and Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory andprovisional consuls. As Bonaparte consolidated his own authority, Sieyes wasrelegated first to the Senate and then to retirement. After exile in Belgium(1815-30), he returned to Paris.

M. J. Sydenham

Bibliography: Forsyth, Murray, Reason and Revolution (1987); Thompson, J. M.,Leaders of the French Revolution (1929; repr. 1962).


Robespierre, Maximilien{roh-bes-pee-air’}

Maximilien Marie Isidore Robespierre, b. Arras, May 6, 1758, d. July 28, 1794,is regarded by many historians as the most significant figure in the FRENCHREVOLUTION. A small man with a weak voice, fiercely concerned with firstprinciples, he only gradually won recognition in the National Assembly(1789-91). Although later labeled an atrocious tyrant, he then advocatedhumanitarian reforms such as the abolition of capital punishment. Anuncompromising democrat, he opposed the restriction of the franchise becausehe believed that goodness and good sense were to be found only in the commonpeople. After King LOUIS XVI fled in 1791, Robespierre showed superb politicalskill; eschewing both premature republicanism and conservative reaction, herecreated the fragmented JACOBIN Society, which became his stronghold.There, excluded from the Legislative Assembly (1791-92) by his own decreeagainst reelections, he continued to speak out. He condemned the frenzy forwar with Austria.

Justified by events when the French army suffered reverses in the war andconcluding that the king and the GIRONDISTS were betraying the Revolution,Robespierre promoted the republican revolution of Aug. 10 1792; in Septembeihe was named a deputy for Paris to the National Convention. Althoughrelentlessly attacked as a potential dictator, he justified the SeptemberMassacres of imprisoned nobles and clergy as inevitable and demanded theexecution of the king as a political necessity. Believing unanimity to beimperative, he prompted the proscription of the Girondists in June 1793.

Robespierre’s election to the Committee of Public Safety in July 1793 heraldeda new era of repression; after September he became the principal spokesmanfor Terror. Believing that ruthless revolutionary government is legitimatewhen the community is endangered, he eliminated the factions of Jacques ReneHEBERT and Georges Jacques DANTON in 1794, centralized political justice inParis, and by the notorious Law of 22 Prairial expedited the work of therevolutionary tribunal. He also sought to promote social unity by acceptingprice controls and inaugurating the cult of the Supreme Being to check attacksupon Christianity and to stimulate patriotic virtue. When French military


victories made this regime seem superfluous, Robespierre was overthrownflarrested on July 27, (9 Thermidor), 1794, he attempted suicide but wasguillotined on the next day.

Always inclined to identify personal and political opposition ascounterrevolutionary conspiracy, Robespierre had an uncompromising vision olpolitical and social democracy. For him that vision was inseparable frompatriotism, and the question of whether the Terror he upheld was becoming ameans to a moral end remains unanswered.

M. J. Sydenham

Bibliography: Hampson, Norman, Life and Opinions of Maximilien. Robespiérre(1 974; repr 1988); Jordan, David, The Revolutionary Career of MaximilienRoberspierre (1985; repr. 1989); Rude, G. E., Robespierre: Portrait of aRevolutionary Dictator (1975); Schama, Simon, Citizens (1988); Thompson, J.M., Robespierre, 2 vols. (1935) and Robespierre and the French Revolution(1952).

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Maximilien Robespierre (1758-94) is regarded by many historians as the mostsignificant figure of the French Revolution. He instigated the Reign ofTerror against his opponents but was eventually overthrown and executed. (TBettmann Archive)

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