Pierre-Antoine Antonelle
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Antoine Antonelle (1747–1817) was a French journalist, politician, president of 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...

 and revolutionary. Although he came fom an aristocratic family, he was a strong supporter of the French Revolution
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...

, in Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....

 and Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

, and ultimately in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Called the single most influential figure of the French Revolution in Arles, Antonelle was heavily involved in the reunion of the Comtat Venaissin
Comtat Venaissin
The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short , is the former name of the region around the city of Avignon in what is now the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. It comprised roughly the area between the Rhône, the Durance and Mont Ventoux, with a small exclave located to the...

 with France and was one of the leading figures in Gracchus Babeuf's conspiracy of equals.

Early years

Antonelle was born to a wealthy aristocratic family in Arles. Antonelle's father died in December 1747, and therefor Antonelle was largely raised by his mother and the archbishop of Angoulême. The strict education he received is cited as one of the primary factors behind his later anticlericalism.
In 1762, Antonelle served as a cadet in the Armée, eventually reaching the rank of lieutenant and commanding his own regiment. He had little taste for army life, resigning in 1782.

Revolutionary period

Antonelle, heavily inspired by the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...

 was an early supporter of the French Revolution
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...

. He was the leader of the Monnaidiers, the name for the Arlesien partisans of the Revolution. He was the first elected mayor of Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....

 and as mayor adopted a series of anticlerical policies, including the expulsion of non-juring priests. While still mayor of Arles, Antonelle was sent to Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

 to facilitate the reunion of the Comtat Venaissin
Comtat Venaissin
The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short , is the former name of the region around the city of Avignon in what is now the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. It comprised roughly the area between the Rhône, the Durance and Mont Ventoux, with a small exclave located to the...

 with France. Afterwards, Antonelle was sent to Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 with orders to restore public order. Beginning in June 1791, Antonelle was forced to flee Arles for Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...

, when public opinion turned against the revolution.

In August of 1791, Antonelle was elected deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône to the Assemblée nationale législative
Legislative Assembly (France)
During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention.The Legislative...

, and soon became secretary to the body. He was sent to the Armée du Nord with orders to arrest the general La Fayette, but was detained in Mézières
Mézières
Mézières can refer to:People*Jean-Claude Mézières, French comic book artist*Rob De Mezieres, South African writer and director*Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières , French architect and theoretician*Philippe de Mézières Mézières can refer to:People*Jean-Claude Mézières, French comic book artist*Rob De...

 while La Fayette escaped.

After returning to Paris, Antonelle became president of 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...

 and became a member of the Revolutionary Tribunal
Revolutionary Tribunal
The Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....

. He refused to strongly condemn the Girondists, a move which was regarded with suspicion by Antonelle's Jacobin allies, and Antonelle was imprisoned until 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...

.

Shortly after being freed from prison, Antonelle sided with 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...

 during the insurrection of 13 Vendémiaire
13 Vendémiaire
13 Vendémiaire Year 4 is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris...

. After this, Antonelle largely retired from active political service to publish works on the theory behind the Revolution and on human rights. In November 1795, he became the editor in chief of Bulletin politique, the official journal of the Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...

. Antonelle was fired from the position after only ten days for refusing, and he moved on to become one of the principal contributors to the Journal des hommes libres.

In 1796, Antonelle was named one of the secret directors of the Conspiracy of Equals, but was acquitted, possibly due to the influence of Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799.-Early life:...

. Alongside Barras, Antonelle then founded the journal Démocrate constitutionnel. He supported the Coup of 18 Fructidor, but was nearly imprisoned again when Merlin de Thionville attempted to have Antonelle deported as an aristocrat. He was again elected deputy of the Bouches-du-Rhône, but the election was declared invalid the next day. Frustrated, Antonelle began to publish anti-government polemics and co-founded the Club du Manège. Shortly before Napoléon's coup d'état
18 Brumaire
The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...

, Antonelle was again elected to the Council of 500, but the election was again annulled. One week later, Antonelle was exiled to Charente-Inférieure
Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

.

Later life

After being exiled, Antonelle was regarded as a dangerous anarchist agitator and repeatedly denounced during the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

. As a result, he allied himself with Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...

 during the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon  – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...

, publishing a pamphlet titled Reveil d'un vieillard which advocated a constitutional monarchy. After spending some time in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, he retired to Arles where he inherited a large estate. Still popular in Arles, he became well known for his fair treatment of the farmers who worked his lands. Crowds greeted his public funeral ceremony in 1817, which was boycotted by local clergy due to his strong anticlericalism.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK