Augustin Robespierre
Encyclopedia
Augustin Bon Joseph de Robespierre (21 January 1763 – 28 July 1794) was the younger brother of French Revolution
ary leader, Maximilien Robespierre
.
He was born in Arras, the youngest of five children of the lawyer Maximilien-Barthelemy-François de Robespierre, and Jacqueline-Marguerite Carraut, the daughter of a brewer. His mother died when he was one-year old, and his grief-stricken father abandoned the family to go to Bavaria, where he died in 1777. He was brought up by an aunt and trained as a lawyer. Like his brother, he was a radical during the Revolution.
At the outset of the Revolution, he was prosecutor-syndic of Arras. In 1791, he was appointed Administrator of the département of Pas-de-Calais. In September 1792, he was elected to the National Convention
, where he joined his brother in The Mountain
and the Jacobin Club
.
Becoming Député-en-Mission to the Army of Italy
in 1794 he used his influence to advance Napoleon Bonaparte's career, after reading Napoleon's pro-Jacobin
pamphlet titled Le souper de Beaucaire
.
With the fall of Maximilien Robespierre in the coup d'état
of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794) those associated with him were subjected to a witch-hunt
-like series of attacks from the Thermidorian Reaction
. (Napoleon's relationship with Augustin led to Napoleon's imprisonment in Fort Carré
on 6 August 1794 until he was cleared two weeks later.)
Augustin was one of the five most famous victims of 9 Thermidor. He demanded to be arrested with his brother in the National Convention, saying "I am as guilty as him; I share his virtues, I want to share his fate. I ask also to be charged". After taking refuge in the Hôtel de Ville
, he tried to escape capture by leaping out of a window. He failed, however, breaking both his legs, and was guillotine
d on the same day as his brother.
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
ary leader, Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
.
He was born in Arras, the youngest of five children of the lawyer Maximilien-Barthelemy-François de Robespierre, and Jacqueline-Marguerite Carraut, the daughter of a brewer. His mother died when he was one-year old, and his grief-stricken father abandoned the family to go to Bavaria, where he died in 1777. He was brought up by an aunt and trained as a lawyer. Like his brother, he was a radical during the Revolution.
At the outset of the Revolution, he was prosecutor-syndic of Arras. In 1791, he was appointed Administrator of the département of Pas-de-Calais. In September 1792, he was elected to the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, where he joined his brother in The Mountain
The Mountain
The Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
and the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
.
Becoming Député-en-Mission to the Army of Italy
Army of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
in 1794 he used his influence to advance Napoleon Bonaparte's career, after reading Napoleon's pro-Jacobin
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
pamphlet titled Le souper de Beaucaire
Le souper de Beaucaire
Le souper de Beaucaire was a political pamphlet written by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1793. With the French Revolution into its fourth year, civil war had spread across France, in response to the government's decrees and radical oppression of counter-revolutionaries, through the use of capital punishment...
.
With the fall of Maximilien Robespierre in the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794) those associated with him were subjected to a witch-hunt
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
-like series of attacks from the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
. (Napoleon's relationship with Augustin led to Napoleon's imprisonment in Fort Carré
Fort Carré
Fort Carré is a 16th-century fort on the outskirts of Antibes, France. During the 17th century, the fort was redeveloped by the Marquis de Vauban.-History:...
on 6 August 1794 until he was cleared two weeks later.)
Augustin was one of the five most famous victims of 9 Thermidor. He demanded to be arrested with his brother in the National Convention, saying "I am as guilty as him; I share his virtues, I want to share his fate. I ask also to be charged". After taking refuge in the Hôtel de Ville
Hôtel de Ville, Paris
The Hôtel de Ville |City Hall]]) in :Paris, France, is the building housing the City of Paris's administration. Standing on the place de l'Hôtel de Ville in the city's IVe arrondissement, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357...
, he tried to escape capture by leaping out of a window. He failed, however, breaking both his legs, and was guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
d on the same day as his brother.