Pierre-Antoine Antonelle
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Pierre-Antoine Antonelle (17 July 1747 – 26 November 1817) was a French journalist, politician, president of 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 revolutionary. He was the first democratically elected mayor of Arles. Although he came from an aristocratic family, he was a strong supporter of the French Revolution, initially in the south of France, particularly Arles and Provence, and ultimately in Paris. Called the single most influential figure of the French Revolution in Arles, Antonelle was heavily involved in the reunion of the Comtat Venaissin with France and was one of the leading figures in Gracchus Babeuf's Conspiracy of the Equals.


Biography


Early years

Antonelle was born to a wealthy aristocratic family in Arles. Antonelle's father died in December 1747, and therefore Antonelle was largely raised by his mother and the archbishop of Angoulême. The strict education he received from the archbishop 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 was an early supporter of the French Revolution.
Adolphe Robert Adolphe Robert (17 January 1833, Melun – 23 December 1899, Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 r ...
, Gaston Cougny, ''Dictionnaire des parlementaires français de 1789 à 1889'', Paris, Bourloton, 1889, tome 1
pp. 77-78
/ref> He was the leader of the ''Monnaidiers'', the Arlesien partisans of the Revolution. He was the first elected mayor of Arles 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 (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
to facilitate the reunion of the Comtat Venaissin with France. Afterwards, Antonelle was sent to Marseille with orders to restore public order. Beginning in June 1791, Antonelle was forced to flee Arles for
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...
, when public opinion turned against the revolution. In August 1791, Antonelle was elected deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône to the Assemblée nationale législative, and soon became secretary to the body. He was sent to the Armée du Nord with orders to arrest the
general La Fayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
, but was detained in
Mézières Mézières may refer to: People * Alfred Jean François Mézières (1826–1915), French journalist, politician and historian of literature * Jean-Claude Mézières (1938-2022), French comic book artist * Rob De Mezieres, South African writer a ...
while La Fayette escaped. After returning to Paris, Antonelle became president of 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 became a member of the Revolutionary Tribunal. 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 The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...
. Shortly after being freed from prison, Antonelle sided with the National Convention during the insurrection of
13 Vendémiaire 13 Vendémiaire Year 4 in the French Republican Calendar (5 October 1795 in the Gregorian calendar) is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris. This battle was part of the ...
. 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 Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...
. Antonelle was fired from the position after only ten days, 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 Barras may refer to: Places * Barras, Cumbria, England * Barras, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France * Barras, Piauí, Brazil * Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Sete Barras, São Paulo, Brazil Other uses * Barras (surname) * Barras (market), a st ...
. Alongside Barras, Antonelle then founded the journal ''Démocrate constitutionnel''. He supported the
Coup of 18 Fructidor The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the Directory, the government of the French First Republic, with support from the French military. The coup wa ...
, but was nearly imprisoned again when
Merlin de Thionville Antoine Christophe Merlin (13 September 1762 in Thionville, Moselle (department), Moselle – September 1833 in Paris) was a member of several legislative bodies during the era of the French Revolution. He is usually called Merlin de Thionville ...
attempted to have Antonelle deported as an aristocrat. He was 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, Antonelle was elected to the
Council of 500 The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...
, but the election was again annulled. One week later, Antonelle was exiled to
Charente-Inférieure Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kilo ...
.


Later life

After being exiled, Antonelle was regarded as a dangerous anarchist agitator and repeatedly denounced during the First French Empire. As a result, he allied himself with Louis XVIII during the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...
, publishing a pamphlet titled ''Reveil d'un vieillard'' which advocated a constitutional monarchy. After spending some time in Italy, 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.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonelle, Pierre Antoine 1747 births 1817 deaths People from Arles French republicans Members of the Legislative Assembly (France) Members of the Council of Five Hundred 18th-century French journalists