René Levasseur, (27 May 1747 – 17 September 1834) was a French surgeon and politician, who was a Montagnard deputy in 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 ...

during the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

Early life

Levasseur was a surgeon and man-midwife under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. He was disinherited by one of his uncles for his political radicalism.

National Convention

After 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Levasseur served on the municipal government of Le Mans in 1790 and the district government in 1791. In the 1792 election to the new

he won a seat representing the département of

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the ''Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It had ...

. At the 1793

trial of Louis XVI The trial of Louis XVI—officially called "Citizen Louis Capet" since being dethroned—before the National Convention in December 1792 was a key event of the French Revolution. He was convicted of high treason and other crimes, resulting in ...

, Levasseur voted in favour of his execution. He supported the creation of 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 ...

and was among the fiercest opponents of

Modérantisme During the French Revolution, modérantisme () or the faction des modérés (faction of the moderates) was the name the Montagnards gave to their relatively more moderate opponents, first the Girondins and then the Dantonists. Modérantisme was deno ...

, especially in the

insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 ), during the French Revolution, started after the Paris commune demanded that 22 Girondin deputies and members of the Commission of Twelve should be brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Jean-Paul Marat led the attack on the representatives i ...

, supporting the arrest of all

Girondins 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 ...

. He served in the

Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...

and his horse was shot from under him at the

Battle of Hondschoote The Battle of Hondschoote took place during the Flanders Campaign of the Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars, Campaign of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars. It was fought during operations surrounding the Siege of Dunkirk (17 ...

. He was tasked with restoring order in

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

and

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

, but was considered too moderate and

André Dumont André Dumont may refer to: * André Dumont (geologist) * André Dumont (politician) André Dumont (24 May 1764 at Oisemont – 19 October 1838 at Abbeville), was a French parliamentarian, a regicide, a deputy of the National Convention, Pres ...

was sent to assist him.

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

replaced him in November 1793 when disturbances erupted in

Gonesse Gonesse () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. The commune lies immediately north of Le Bourget Airport, and it is ...

. Levasseur voted for the

Law of 4 February 1794 The Law of 4 February 1794 was a decree of the French National Convention which abolished slavery in all French colonies. Background In 1789, the abolitionist '' Amis des noirs'' society was established in France. It was more radical than sim ...

, which abolished slavery in France. In 1794 he opposed the

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 August ...

ists and was sent to restore order in the département of

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

. He returned to Paris after the

Fall of Robespierre The Coup d'état of 9 Thermidor or the Fall of Maximilien Robespierre refers to the series of events beginning with Maximilien Robespierre's address to the National Convention on 8 Thermidor Year II (26 July 1794), his arrest the next day, and ...

, opposed the

Thermidorean 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 ...

, and took part in the

insurrection of 12 Germinal, Year III The insurrection of 12 Germinal Year III was a popular revolt in Paris on 1 April 1795 against the policies of the Thermidorian Convention. It was provoked by poverty and hunger resulting from the abandonment of the controlled economy after disma ...

, for which the Convention imprisoned him until the amnesty at its dissolution in 1795.

Later life

Levasseur returned to practising as a surgeon during 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 ...

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

and

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

(1795–1814). He went into exile 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: * ...

, returning to France for the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

(1815) and again after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830. He died in Le Mans. Four volumes of memoirs were published under his name (1829–1831) which were prosecuted for offending the monarchy and religion. At the trial, Achille Roche, putative editor of the memoirs, was regarded as the author.

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

read the memoirs for a planned history of the convention.

Legacy

Levasseur is commemorated in Le Mans by boulevard René Levasseur, and an obelisk in the main cemetery visited in 1943 by

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

. A bronze statue erected in 1911 was melted down in World War Two to reuse the metal. Sarthe departmental archives marked the 220th anniversary of the abolition of slavery with an exhibition on Levasseur.

References

Citations

Sources

;Primary: * ; * ; * ; * ;Secondary: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levasseur, Rene Deputies to the French National Convention 1747 births 1834 deaths People from Le Mans French surgeons 18th-century surgeons Regicides of Louis XVI