Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière (; 18 February 1734 – 10 November 1793) was a French inspector of manufactures in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and became a leader of the Girondist faction in the French Revolution, largely influenced in this direction by his wife, Marie-Jeanne "Manon" Roland de la Platière. He served as a minister of the interior in

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

's government in 1792.

Early life

Roland de la Platière was born and baptized on 18 February 1734 in Thizy, Rhône. He was a studious child, who received a thorough education. At the age of 18 years, Roland was offered the choice of becoming either a businessman or a priest. But he declined both offers and took up studying manufacturing, leading him to the city of

s. Two years later, a cousin and inspector of manufactures offered Roland a position in Rouen. He gladly accepted the job. Roland then was transferred to

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

, where he became an enthusiastic economist but soon became ill from overwork. He was then offered the less stressful job of lead inspector of

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

which was the third most important manufacturing province in France in 1781. Later that year he married Marie-Jeanne Phlipon, better known simply as

Madame Roland Marie-Jeanne "Manon" Roland de la Platière (Paris, March 17, 1754 – Paris, November 8, 1793), born Marie-Jeanne Phlipon, and best known under the name Madame RolandOccasionally, she is referred to as Dame Roland. This however is the except ...

, the daughter of a Parisian engraver. Madame Roland was just as involved in Jean-Marie's work as he was, editing much of his writing and supporting his political goals. For the first four years of their marriage, Roland continued to live in Picardy and work as a factory inspector. His knowledge of commercial affairs enabled him to contribute articles to the '' Encyclopédie Méthodique'', a three volume encyclopedia of manufacturing and industry, in which, as in all his literary work, he was assisted by his wife.

The Revolution

During the first year of the Revolution, the Rolands moved to

, where their influence grew and their political ambitions became clear. From the beginning of the Revolution, they affiliated with the liberal cause. The articles they contributed to the ''Courrier de Lyon'' came to the attention of the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ian press; although Roland signed them, it was Madame Roland who wrote them. The city then sent Roland to Paris to inform the Constituent Assembly of the critical state of the silk industry and to ask for relief of Lyon's debt. As a result, a correspondence began between Roland, Jacques Pierre Brissot and other supporters of the Revolution, whom he had met in Paris. The Rolands arrived in Paris during February 1791, and remained there until September. They frequented the Society of the Friends of the Constitution, entertaining deputies who later became leading Girondists, and taking an active part in the political landscape. Meanwhile, Madame Roland opened her first salon, helping her husband's name become better known in the capital. In September 1791, Roland's mission was complete and he returned to Lyon. By then, however, inspectorships of manufacture had been abolished, so the Roland family decided to move and make their new home in Paris. Roland became a member of the

Jacobin Club The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...

, and their influence continued to grow. Madame Roland's

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

becoming the rendezvous of Brissot, Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve,

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...

, and other leaders of the popular movement – especially François Nicolas Leonard Buzot. When the Girondins assumed power, Roland found himself appointed minister of the interior on 23 March 1792, displaying both his administrative ability and what the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (Eleventh Edition, 1911) characterized as "a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

brusqueness". His wife's influence on his declarations of policy was particularly strong in this period: as Roland was ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' excluded from the Legislative Assembly, these declarations were in writing, and so most prone to exhibit Madame Roland's personal beliefs. King Louis XVI used his

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

power to prevent decrees against ''

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s'' and the non-juring clergy. Madame Roland therefore wrote a letter addressing the royal refusal to sanction the decrees and the role of the king in the state, which her husband addressed and sent to the king. When it remained unanswered, Roland read it aloud in full council and in the king's presence. Judged inconsistent with a minister's position and disrespectful in tone, the incident led to Roland's dismissal. However, he then read the letter to the Assembly, which ordered it printed and circulated. It became a manifesto of dissatisfaction, and the Assembly's subsequent demand that Roland and other dismissed ministers be reinstated eventually led to the king's dethronement. After the insurrection of 10 August, Roland was reinstated as Interior Minister, but was dismayed by what he saw as the lack of progress made by the Revolution. As a provincial, he opposed the '' Montagnards'' who aimed at supremacy not only in Paris but in the government as well. His hostility to the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

prompted him to propose transferring the government to Blois; and his attacks on Robespierre and his associates made him very unpopular. After failing to seal the armoire de fer (iron chest) found in the Tuileries Palace, containing documents that indicated Louis XVI's relations with corrupt politicians, he was accused of destroying some of the evidence within. Finally, during the trial of the king, he and the Girondists demanded that the sentence should be decided by a poll of the French people rather than the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

. Two days after the king's execution, he resigned his office.

Death

Not long after he resigned as minister, the Girondins came under attack and Roland was denounced as well. Roland fled Paris and went into hiding; in his absence, he was sentenced to death. Madame Roland remained in Paris, where she was arrested in June 1793 and executed on 8 November. When Roland learned belatedly of his wife's imminent death, he wandered away from his refuge in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

and wrote a few words expressing his horror at the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

: "From the moment when I learned that they had murdered my wife, I would no longer remain in a world stained with enemies." He attached the paper to his chest, sat up against a tree, and ran a cane-sword through his heart on the evening of 10 November 1793.Siân Reynolds, ''Marriage and Revolution: Monsieur and Madame Roland'', Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 287–288.

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roland de la Platiere, Jean-Marie 1734 births 1793 deaths People from Thizy-les-Bourgs Girondins French interior ministers People of the French Revolution French politicians who died by suicide Suicides by sharp instrument in France 18th-century suicides