Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave (, 22 October 176129 November 1793) was a French politician, and, together with
Honoré Mirabeau
Honoré is a name of French origin and may refer to several people or places:
Given name
Sovereigns of Monaco
Lords of Monaco
* Honoré I of Monaco
Princes of Monaco
* Honoré II of Monaco
* Honoré III of Monaco
* Honoré IV of Monaco
* Honor ...
, one of the most influential orators of the early part of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
. He is most notable for correspondence with
Marie Antoinette in an attempt to set up a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
and for being one of the founding members of the
Feuillants.
Early life
Antoine Barnave was born in
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
(
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
), in a Protestant family. His father was an advocate at the ''
Parlement'' of Grenoble, and his mother, Marie-Louise de Pré de Seigle de Presle, was a highly educated
aristocrat. Because they were Protestants, Antoine could not attend local schools, as those were run by the Catholic church, and his mother educated him herself. Barnave was prepared for a career in law, and at the age of twenty-two made himself known by a speech pronounced before the local ''Parlement'', the ''Parlement du Dauphiné'', also known as ''Parlement de Grenoble'', on the
separation of political powers.
Dauphiné was one of the first of the
provinces of France to be touched by revolutionary ideals. After being heavily influenced by the
Day of the Tiles
The Day of the Tiles (french: Journée des Tuiles) was an event that took place in the French town of Grenoble on 7 June in 1788. It was one of the first disturbances which preceded the French Revolution, and is credited by a few historians as ...
(french: link=no, Journée des Tuiles) in
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
, Barnave became actively revolutionary. He explained his political position in a
pamphlet entitled ''Esprit des édits, Enregistrés militairement, le 20 mai 1788''. He was immediately elected deputy, with his father, to the
Estates General of Dauphiné, and played a prominent role in their debates.
Estates-General and Assemblies
A few months later he became better known, when the
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom o ...
convened in
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
on 5 May 1789, and Barnave was chosen to be a deputy of the
Third Estate
The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...
for his native province of Dauphiné.
He soon rose to prominence in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
, becoming the friend of most of the leaders of the party originating in the Third Estate, and formed with
Adrien Duport and
Alexandre Lameth the group known during the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
as "the
triumvirate
A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
". Together these three would later be principal figures in the formation of the
''Feuillants'', the breakaway party from the Jacobin Club dedicated to a moderate course supporting
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
. Barnave took part in the conference on the claims of the three orders, drew up the first address to king
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
, and supported the proposal of
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (3 May 174820 June 1836), usually known as the Abbé Sieyès (), was a French Roman Catholic '' abbé'', clergyman, and political writer who was the chief political theorist of the French Revolution (1789–1799); he also ...
that the Assembly should declare itself "National". Until 1791, he was one of the preeminent members of the club known later as the
Jacobin Club, of which he drew up the
manifesto and first rulebook.
Political views
![Antoine Barnave (buste)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Antoine_Barnave_%28buste%29.JPG)
Although a partisan of
political freedom, Barnave hoped to preserve revolutionary liberties together while maintaining the ruling
House of Bourbon. He felt that a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
would solve the problems facing France without being a complete upheaval of the government, although it does not mean that he was entirely in favor of the monarchy. Subject to the more radical forces, Barnave took part in the attacks on the monarchy, on the clergy, on
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
property, and on the provincial ''Parlements''. On several occasions, he stood in opposition to
Mirabeau
Mirabeau may refer to:
People and characters
* Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas
French nobility
* Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat
* Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...
. After the
storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...
, he saw the power of the masses as possibly leading to political chaos, and wished to avoid this by saving the throne. He advocated the suspensory veto, and the establishment of trial by jury in civil causes, but voted with the
Left against the system of two chambers.
His conflict with Mirabeau on the question of assigning to the king the right to make peace or war (from 16 to 23 May 1790) was one of the main episodes of the Assembly's mandate. In August 1790, after a vehement debate, he fought a
duel with
Jacques Antoine Marie de Cazalès, in which the latter was slightly wounded. About the close of October 1790, Barnave was called to the presidency of the Assembly. On the occasion of the death of Mirabeau, which occurred on 2 April 1791, Barnave paid a high tribute to his worth and public services, designating him the "
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
of oratory".
Being in favor of a new system of government, Barnave spoke passionately about terminating the powerful influence of religious authorities and allocating that role in government to the people of France. Passing the
Civil Constitution of the Clergy would lawfully impose Church adherence to the King and the nation of France by having the state pay them salaries for their service and holding popular elections for the priests and bishops. He strongly supported that government influence remain limited to the people and the King, not a single entity.
Barnave also advocated in favor of freedom of speech and the protection of private property. With the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...
, all citizens were entitled to the purchase and ownership of land or architectural assets that were not to be taken away or trespassed unless it became legally necessary. He said individuals had to possess the liberty to express what they feel and believe in, arguing that the voice of the French people was not to be silenced. The right to sole ownership of an acre of land or business would encourage financial, political, and societal progress.
Ideas for economic advancement
Decree of Lands
To Barnave, allocating the appropriated land of the
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
among the French people would help abate the economic burden and starvation in the country. Having land put up as collateral enables France to receive loans from foreign nations. The land would also become a source of food for the hungry through harvests. This encourages a system of production and sale to stimulate the economy. Barnave saw that the Church, being first estate, had great power and wealth. To him, the roles of the clergy, priests, and bishops resided on spreading the message of God and thus should not oppose providing His children with basic proprietary rights. He stood with the
Decree on Church Lands which provided each clergymen with no more than an annual income of 1200 livres while retaining ownership of his residency and lawn. He believed that laborers working this land would strengthen the role of France in the manufacturing sector and revitalize the quality and quantity of agricultural goods.
End of feudalism and taxation on the nobility
In 1789, Barnave was one of the key figures to advise
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
to work in unison with the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
in order to prevent riots that seek an anarchic form of government. He argued that the
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
had sparked a necessary change in politics. The
Constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
was a way to maintain an improved version of French tradition. However, the
nobility's special privileges provided by the
Feudal system
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...
were to be fully terminated. People of higher class had to adhere to the same laws and regulations as did any common citizen, so taxation would be equally applicable to them. Noblemen especially would contribute to tax revenue that will ameliorate France's national debt. Barnave was strongly in favor of making France into a country that allowed people unrestricted economic or entrepreneurial practices, enabling all citizens to take part in the offerings of commercial markets.
Slaves in Saint-Domingue
Barnave argued that successful political changes, incorporation of equal rights, and an inclusive government stem from successful financial progression. Without a sound economic state, France would not be able to compete with foreign powers, and the people would not have the opportunity to improve their lives or truly live freely.
Slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in
Saint-Domingue allowed the cultivation and sale of coffee and sugar to thrive. He opposed discrimination against any race but also understood how the
African slaves contributed to the only source of wealth France had at a moment of deep financial crisis. He advocated that
abolishing slavery was not an economically smart course of action.
From violence to compromise
After the
Storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...
, Barnave argued that violence led the citizens of France to their desired goals – the start of the Revolution and constitutional change. It was now time for people, despite their factions and distinct beliefs, to compromise and unite. Barnave advised the members of the National Assembly of the King's role in achieving this.
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
would enable
the new Constitution of France to pass smoothly, and cease the bloodshed by working alongside the people of France. The economy was too weak to sustain the costs of military action against foreign or domestic rivals.
Rise, fall, and execution
![AntoineBarnave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/AntoineBarnave.jpg)
When Louis XVI and the royal family were arrested after the
Flight to Varennes, Barnave was one of the three appointed to bring them back to Paris, together with
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve (, 3 January 1756 – 18 June 1794) was a French writer and politician who served as the second mayor of Paris, from 1791 to 1792.
Early life and work
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve was the son of a prosecutor at ...
and
Charles César de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg Marie-Charles-César de Faÿ, comte de la Tour-Maubourg (11 February 1757, at La Motte-de-Galaure, Drôme – 28 April 1831, in Paris) was a French soldier and politician during the French Revolution and the First French Empire. His father was Claud ...
. During the journey, he began to feel compassion for queen
Marie Antoinette and the royal family, and subsequently attempted to do what he could to alleviate their sufferings. In one of his most powerful speeches, he maintained the
inviolability of the king's person.
As the
Jacobin Club grew more radically in favor of a republic, Barnave and the other two members of the triumvirate broke away from it and formed the
''Feuillant'' political group on 18 July 1791. In July and August 1791, Barnave reached the height of his political prominence after 17 July 1791
Champ de Mars Massacre weakened the position of the
Jacobins.
The ''Feuillants'' began to lose political power by early autumn, when disagreements arose with the growing influence of
Jacques Pierre Brissot
Jacques Pierre Brissot (, 15 January 1754 – 31 October 1793), who assumed the name of de Warville (an English version of "d'Ouarville", a hamlet in the village of Lèves where his father owned property), was a leading member of the Girondins du ...
and his supporters, known as the
Girondists
The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly (France), Legislative Assembly and the National Convention ...
. After the ''Feuillants'' opposed war against the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, they were driven out of the Assembly. Barnave's public career came to an end, and he returned to
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
at the beginning of 1792. His sympathy for and relations with the royal family, to whom he had submitted a plan for a counter-revolution, and his desire to check the violence of the Revolution, brought on him suspicion of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
.
He was denounced on 15 August 1792 in the Legislative Assembly, arrested and imprisoned for ten months in Grenoble, then transferred to Fort Barraux (also called ''Fort Saint-Barthélémy''), near
Barraux
Barraux () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It includes the hamlets of Le Fayet, La Gache, and the 15th century fort, Fort Barraux.
Location
Barraux has the village of Chapareillan to the north; La Buissiere, Le Boiss ...
in the
Isère department, and in November 1793 to Paris (during the
Reign of Terror). On 28 November, he appeared before the
Revolutionary Tribunal
The Revolutionary Tribunal (french: Tribunal révolutionnaire; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. It eventually became one of the ...
. He was condemned for treason on the evidence of papers detailing his extensive clandestine correspondence with Marie Antoinette discovered in Louis XVI's ''
armoire de fer
L'armoire de fer (French: 'iron chest') in general refers to an iron chest used to house important papers. A notable and frequent use of the term refers to a hiding place at the apartments of Louis XVI of France at the Tuileries Palace where some ...
'' at the
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, f ...
. Barnave was
guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...
d the following day, as was
Marguerite-Louis-François Duport-Dutertre, former Minister of Justice.
Correspondence with Marie Antoinette
Along with
Jérôme Pétion and the
Marquis de Latour-Maubourg, Barnave had been sent on behalf of the National Assembly to escort the large
berline carriage, with the royal family within, from
Varennes
Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639.
Geography
Varennes-en-Ar ...
back to Paris. It was in this setting that Barnave first met queen Marie Antoinette. Though their initial interactions were marked by Barnave's shy attempts to avoid eye contact, the queen was soon able to charm the twenty-nine-year-old politician and earn his favor. On the journey back to Paris, the two were reported to have been seen conversing intently on several occasions within the carriage, and near the rest stops. Purportedly, the subject of these conversations included Barnave and the rest of the Feuillants' fervent belief that a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
was the most viable solution for ending the
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
with a minimum of further bloodshed.
Much evidence indicates that, because her closest friends, including
Count von Fersen, who had organized the flight from Paris, were absent,
Marie Antoinette was attempting to influence Barnave and his fellow ''Feuillants'' as a way to ensure her family's safety. She may also have dared to hope that it was still possible to reinstate some form of the former monarchy. Barnave was taken by the queen's charm and waited for her to call on him when she was in grave circumstances.
A few weeks later, in early July 1791, Marie Antoinette wrote to Barnave the first of a long series of cryptic letters. Referring to him by a code name, Barnave received his letters through an unknown similarly codenamed intermediary. Her instructions were that her letter be read while the intermediary stood by to accept a reply. He then would return both documents to the queen. She herself never wrote any of the letters; instead, she dictated them so as to avoid embarrassing, and possibly incriminating, documentation. Barnave pursued the Queen's support of furthering his political agenda of establishing a constitutional monarch. He believed that her support would improve the public opinion on the royal family by preventing her brother, the
Emperor of Austria
The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Hou ...
, from invading France and imposing upon it an
absolutist monarchical state of government that conflicted with the ideals of the French Revolution. However, as communication between the two increased, it became evident to Barnave that Antoinette had no intentions of working alongside him but was in fact attempting to emotionally manipulate him. Their conversations led to nothing more than rejection by the Queen and suspicions leading Barnave to be labeled as a traitor to the French and their cause for revolution.
Eventually, the entire series of letters were smuggled out of the
Tuileries
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...
to Count von Fersen who sent them to his sister in
Sweden where they remain today. The letters revealed that Barnave was confident of his influence in the National Assembly, especially in light of the
massacre at the ''Champ de Mars''.
Publications
Barnave's (posthumously published) ''Introduction à la rèvolution française'' anticipates in its sociology the work of
Auguste Comte; while at the same time pointing the way to the marxist concept of the
mode of production
In the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production (German: ''Produktionsweise'', "the way of producing") is a specific combination of the:
* Productive forces: these include human labour power and means of production (tools, ...
.
Barnave's argument, that “just as landed property is the basis of aristocracy and federalism, commercial property is the principle of democracy and unity”,
[Quoted in R Meek, ''Social Science and the Ignoble Savage'' (Cambridge 1976) p. 228] explicitly tied political relations to underlying differences in economic structures.
Notes
Further reading
*Andress, David. ''The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France'' New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005. pp. 38–70.
* Furet, François and Mona Ozouf, eds. ''A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution'' (1989), pp. 186–96
* Hardman, John. ''Marie Antoinette: The making of a French queen'' (Yale University Press, 2019.
* Linton, Marisa, ''Choosing Terror: Virtue, Friendship and Authenticity in the French Revolution'' (Oxford University Press, 2013).
* Linton, Marisa, 'Friends, Enemies and the Role of the Individual', in Peter McPhee (ed.), ''Companion to the History of the French Revolution'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), 263–77.
Primary sources
*Barnave's ''Œuvres posthumes'' were published in 1842 by
Bérenger (de la Drôme) in 4 volumes.
* Joseph Barnave and Emanuel Chill. ''Power, Property and History: Introduction to the French Revolution'' (1972), includes a translation of Barnave's ''Introduction to the French Revolution'' and a 74pp preface by Chill
*Heidenstam, Oscar Gustaf von, Marie Antoinette, Hans Axel von Fersen, and Joseph Barnave. 1926. The letters of Marie Antoinette, Fersen and Barnave. London: John Lane.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie
1761 births
1793 deaths
Politicians from Grenoble
Huguenots
Jacobins
Feuillants
Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France)
Mayors of Grenoble
French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution