Marguerite-Élie Guadet (, 20 July 1758 – 19 June 1794) was a French political figure of the
Revolutionary period.
Rise to prominence
Born in
Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938.
In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), in ...
,
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
,
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
, he had already gained a reputation as a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
by the time of the Revolution. In 1790 he was made administrator of the
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
, and in 1791 president of the criminal tribunal, being elected to the
Legislative Assembly as one of the group of deputies known subsequently as
Girondist
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 and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...
s.
As a supporter of the
monarchist
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
and
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
constitution of 1791 he joined the
Jacobin Club
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = Pa ...
, and here and in the Assembly became an eloquent advocate of all the measures directed against real or supposed traitors to the Constitution.
He strongly opposed the ministers of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
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 was largely instrumental in forcing the king to accept the Girondist ministry of 15 March 1792. He supported the policy of forcing Louis XVI into harmony with the Revolution, and moved (3 May) for the dismissal of the king's
non-juring confessor, for the banishment of all non-juring priests (16 May), for the disbandment of the royal guard (30 May), and the formation in Paris of a ''
camp des fédérés'' (4 June).
August insurrection and National Convention
Nevertheless, he remained a
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
, and, with
Armand Gensonné
Armand Gensonné (, 10 August 175831 October 1793) was a French politician.
The son of a military surgeon, he was born in Bordeaux, Gascony, and studied Law before the outbreak of the French Revolution, becoming lawyer of the '' parlement'' o ...
and
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud (; 31 May 1753 – 31 October 1793) was a French lawyer and statesman, a figure of the French Revolution. A deputy to the Assembly from Bordeaux, Vergniaud was an eloquent orator. He was a supporter of Jacques Pierr ...
, even addressed a letter to the king soliciting a private interview. Whatever negotiations may have resulted, however, were cut short by the
insurrection of 10 August. Guadet, who presided over the Assembly during part of the rebellion day, placed himself into strong opposition to the
insurrectionary Paris Commune, and it was on his motion that on 30 August the Assembly voted its dissolution – a decision reversed on the following day. In September, Guadet was returned by a large majority as deputy to the
National Convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...
.
At the trial of Louis XVI he voted for an
appeal to the people
Appeal to the People or An Appeal to the People was a document written by communists in Shōwa era Imperial Japan in Fuchu Prison. It was issued after their release on October 10, 1945, a month after the Surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945.
...
and for the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, but with a respite pending appeal. In March 1793 he had several meetings with
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In Augus ...
, who was anxious to bring about a ''rapprochement'' between the Girondists and
The Mountain
The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention.
They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...
during the
Revolt in the Vendée
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
, but he unconditionally refused to join with the man whom he held responsible for the
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''fédérés'', gua ...
.
Guadet was targeted during the fall of the Girondists, and his arrest being decreed on 2 June 1793, he fled to
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,[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 th ...]
d.
References
;Notes
;Sources
* In turn, it cites as references:
**
François Victor Alphonse Aulard
François Victor Alphonse Aulard (19 July 1849 – 23 October 1928) was the first professional French historian of the French Revolution and of Napoleon. His major achievement was to institutionalise and professionalise the practice of history i ...
, ''Les Orateurs de la législative et de la convention'' (Paris, 2nd ed., 1906)
**J. Guadet, ''Les Girondins'' (Paris, 1889)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guadet, Marguerite-Elie
1758 births
1794 deaths
People from Gironde
Girondins
Members of the Legislative Assembly (France)
Deputies to the French National Convention
18th-century French lawyers
French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution
Presidents of the National Convention