Back Maximilien Robespierre Afrikaans Maximilien de Robespierre ALS Maximilien de Robespierre AN ماكسميليان روبسبيار Arabic روبيسپيير ARZ Maximilien Robespierre AST Maksimillian Robespyer Azerbaijani ماکسیمیلیان روبسپیر AZB Максімільен Рабесп’ер Byelorussian Максимилиан Робеспиер Bulgarian
Maximilien de Robespierre | |
|---|---|
 c. 1790, Musée Carnavalet | |
| Member of the Committee of Public Safety | |
| In office 27 July 1793 – 27 July 1794 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas-Augustin de Gasparin |
| Succeeded by | Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne |
| In office 25 March 1793 – 3 April 1793 Member of the Committee of General Defence | |
| President of the National Convention | |
| In office 4 June 1794 – 19 June 1794 | |
| Preceded by | Claude-Antoine Prieur-Duvernois |
| Succeeded by | Élie Lacoste |
| In office 22 August 1793 – 7 September 1793 | |
| Preceded by | Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles |
| Succeeded by | Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne |
| President of the Jacobin Club | |
| In office 7 August 1793 – 28 August 1793 | |
| In office 31 March 1790 – 3 June 1790 | |
| Deputy of the National Convention | |
| In office 20 September 1792 – 27 July 1794 | |
| Constituency | Paris |
| Deputy of the National Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 9 July 1789 – 30 September 1791 | |
| Constituency | Artois |
| Deputy of the National Assembly | |
| In office 17 June 1789 – 9 July 1789 | |
| Constituency | Artois |
| Deputy to the Estates General for the Third Estate | |
| In office 6 May 1789 – 16 June 1789 | |
| Constituency | Artois |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre 6 May 1758 Arras, Artois, Kingdom of France |
| Died | 10 Thermidor, Year II 28 July 1794 (aged 36) Place de la Révolution, Paris, France |
| Cause of death | Execution by guillotine |
| Political party | The Mountain (1792–1794) |
| Other political affiliations | Jacobin Club (1789–1794) |
| Alma mater | University of Paris |
| Profession |
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Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (French: [maksimiljɛ̃ ʁɔbɛspjɛʁ]; 6 May 1758 – 10 Thermidor, Year II 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognized as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard.[1][2][3] Additionally, he advocated for the right to petition, the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.[4][5][6] He was a radical Jacobin leader who came to prominence as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, an administrative body of the First French Republic. His legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual or perceived participation in repression of the Revolution's opponents, but is notable for his progressive views for the time.
As one of the prominent members of the Paris Commune, Robespierre was elected as a deputy to the National Convention in early September 1792. He joined the radical Montagnards, a left-wing faction. However, he faced criticism for purportedly trying to establish either a triumvirate or a dictatorship.[7] In April 1793, Robespierre advocated the mobilization of a sans-culotte army aiming at enforcing revolutionary laws and eliminating any counter-revolutionary elements. This call led to the armed Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793. On 27 July, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Public Safety.
Robespierre faced growing disillusionment among others due in part to the politically-motivated violence advocated by the Montagnards. Increasingly, members of the Convention turned against him, and accusations piled up on 9 Thermidor. Robespierre was arrested and taken to a prison. Approximately 90 individuals, including Robespierre, were executed without trial in the following days, marking the onset of the Thermidorian Reaction.[8]
A figure deeply divisive during his lifetime, Robespierre's views and policies continue to evoke controversy.[9][10][11] Academic and popular discourse persistently engage in debates surrounding his legacy and reputation.[12][13][14]
- ^ Moore 2007, pp. 24, 53, 217.
- ^ "Maximilien Robespierre | Biography, French Revolution, Reign of Terror, Facts, & Death | Britannica". 2 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^ Bosc, Yannick (March 2013). "Robespierre libéral". Annales historiques de la Révolution française (371): 95–114. doi:10.4000/ahrf.12688. ISSN 0003-4436.
- ^ O'Brien, James Bronterre (1837). The Life and Character of Maximilian Robespierre. Proving ... thaourt that Much Calumniated Person was One of the Greatest Men ... pp. 415–421. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Maximilien Robespierre". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^ Jordan 2013.
- ^ Doyle, William. The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Serna 2005, p. 370.
- ^ Mylonas, Nikos A., Is revolutionary violence justified? A re-examination of the Robespierre case, archived from the original on 7 April 2023, retrieved 21 January 2021
- ^ "Maximilien Robespierre, Master of the Terror by Scott McLetchie". Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ Gauchet, Marcel (2023). Robespierre – The man who divides us the most. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-23495-3. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ Mathiez 1927, pp. 63, 70.
- ^ Martin 2006, p. 224.
- ^ Peter McPhee, "The Robespierre Problem: An Introduction," H-France Salon, Vol 7 no, 14, 2015, page 9. online Archived 24 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine