Marguerite-Élie Guadet
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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, Gironde,
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 Janu ...
, he had already gained a reputation as a lawyer 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 prefect ...
by the time of the Revolution. In 1790 he was made administrator of the Gironde, 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, 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 governm ...
, and, with Armand Gensonné 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 Pie ...
, 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 Nationa ...
. At the trial of Louis XVI he voted for an appeal to the people and for the death penalty, but with a respite pending appeal. In March 1793 he had several meetings with Georges Danton, who was anxious to bring about a ''rapprochement'' between the Girondists and The Mountain during the Revolt in the Vendée, 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'', gu ...
. Guadet was targeted during the fall of the Girondists, and his arrest being decreed on 2 June 1793, he fled to Caen, and afterwards hid in his father's house in Saint-Émilion. He was discovered and taken to Bordeaux, where, after his identity had been established, he 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.


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