The Republic of Mainz was the first
democratic state in the current
German territory
[The short-lived republic is often ignored in identifying the "first German democracy", in favour of the ]Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
; e.g. "the failure of the first German democracy after the First World War (the Weimar Republic)..." (Peter J. Burnell, ''Democracy Assistance: international co-operation for democratization'' 2000:131), or Ch. 3. 'The First Attempt at Democracy, 1918–1933', in Michael Balfour, ''West Germany: a contemporary history'', 1982:60 and was centered in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
. A product of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
, it lasted from March to July 1793.
Context
During the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, the
Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
and
Austrian troops that had invaded France retreated after the
Battle of Valmy, allowing the French revolutionary army to counterattack. The troops of
General Custine entered the
Palatinate in late September and occupied Mainz on 21 October 1792. The ruler of Mainz,
Elector
Elector may refer to:
* Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors
* Elector, a member of an electoral college
** Confederate elector, a member of ...
-
Archbishop Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal
Friedrich Karl Joseph Reichsfreiherr von Erthal (3 January 1719 – 25 July 1802) was prince-elector and archbishop of Mainz from 18 July 1774 to 4 July 1802, shortly before the end of the archbishopric in the ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss''.
F ...
, had fled the city.
Jacobin club
On the next day, 20 citizens of Mainz founded a
Jacobin club, the ' ( en, Society of the Friends of Liberty and Equality). Together with their filial clubs founded later in
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
and
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
, they promoted the
Enlightenment and the French revolutionary ideals of ' in Germany, aiming for a German republic to be established following the French model. Most of the founding members of the Jacobin club were professors and students of the
University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stud ...
, together with the university librarian,
Georg Forster
Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold ...
, some merchants and Mainz state officials. For some time the ecclesiastic was president of the club and editor of the ' ( en, Mainz National Newspaper).
Founding
By order of the
French 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 ...
, elections in the French-occupied territories west of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
were held on 24 February 1793.
[ ] 130 cities and towns sent their deputies to Mainz.
The first
democratically elected
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
on the territory of future Germany, called the ' ( en, Rhenish-German National Convention), met initially on 17 March 1793, in the
Deutschhaus building in Mainz (today the seat of the
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
state parliament). The convention declared the represented territory (which extended to
Bingen in the west and to
Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990) ...
in the south) to be free and democratic, and disclaimed any ties to the
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 ...
. The convention's president,
Andreas Joseph Hofmann, proclaimed the Rhenish-German Free State (german: Rheinisch-Deutscher Freistaat) from the balcony of the Deutschhaus. On 21 March 1793, it was decided to seek the accession of the Free State to France
and delegates (among them
Georg Forster
Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold ...
and
Adam Lux) were sent to
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 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. The French National Convention granted the request on 30 March.
End
Soon after, Prussian troops retook all the French-occupied territory except for the heavily fortified city of Mainz itself. After a long
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
in which much of the city was destroyed, Prussian and Austrian troops conquered the city on 22 July 1793. The republic ended, and the Jacobins were persecuted until 1795 when Mainz came under French control again.
Notes
Further reading
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainz, Republic
Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate
Republic of Mainz