Pierre Fatio (7 November 1662 – 6 September 1707) was a lawyer and politician in the Republic of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. His struggle against the dominance of the aristocracy in the Genevan government led to his execution on charges of conspiring against the State.

Family and education

He was born in Geneva into a

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

family. His father was François Fatio. His mother, Elisabeth, was the daughter of Léonard Chouet, councillor and general treasurer of the Republic of Geneva. Pierre Fatio was a cousin and contemporary of mathematician and inventor

Nicolas Fatio de Duillier Nicolas Fatio de Duillier (also spelled Faccio or Facio; 16 February 1664 – 10 May 1753) was a mathematician, natural philosopher, astronomer, inventor, and religious campaigner. Born in Basel, Switzerland, Fatio mostly grew up in the then- ...

. Pierre matriculated at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

in 1679 and again in 1685. He received a doctorate in law in 1686. He also studied at the universities of Geneva, Valence,

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. Back in Geneva, he established a successful law practice.

Political career

Elected to the Council of Two Hundred in 1688, he held several positions in government: lord of Saint-Victor and chapter in 1691, auditor in 1696 and lord of Peney in 1700. In 1705, his application for the Little Council was rejected in favor of his brother, Jacques-Francois, who did not have his experience in public affairs. This reflected the ruling Genevan aristocracy's distrust of Pierre Fatio's independent and non-conformist spirit.

Activism and execution

Though nominally a representative democracy ruled by an elected parliament, the Council of the Two Hundred (the "General Council"), political power in Geneva resided in practice in the Council of Twenty-Five (the "Little Council"), which chose its own members and was controlled by the patrician families. After his rejection by the Little Council, Fatio became a spokesman for the Genevan

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

in its struggle against the dominance of the patricians. Fatio declared that the political reality in the Republic of Geneva made a mockery of the notion that the democratically elected General Council was sovereign, since "a sovereign that never performs an act of sovereignty is an imaginary being". During the political troubles of 1707, Fatio proposed several democratizing reforms, including requiring that the General Council meet annually. However, this was rejected by the dominant faction of his own party, which regarded Fatio's positions as too extreme. Alleging his participation in a conspiracy to overthrow the government, the Little Council condemned Fatio to death. He was shot in the courtyard of the prison of the bishopric.

Influence

Among Fatio's bourgeois supporters was

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's grandfather, David Rousseau, who thereby lost his government employment. Fatio has been described by some historians as the "Swiss

Gracchus The Gracchi brothers were two Roman brothers, sons of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was consul in 177 BC. Tiberius, the elder brother, was tribune of the plebs in 133 BC and Gaius, the younger brother, was tribune a decade later in ...

". A commemorative plaque declaring him a "defender of citizens' rights" now marks the entrance to the ''Rue Jean Calvin'', in the historical center of Geneva.

References

External links