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Portrait of Camille Desmoulins
Portrait of Camille Desmoulins

Lucie Simplice Camille Benoist Desmoulins (March 2, 1760 – April 5, 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1760 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an He was closely associated with Georges Danton. Georges Jacques Danton ( October 26, 1759 &ndash April 5, 1794) was a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution

Contents

Early life

Desmoulins was born at Guise, Aisne, in Picardy. Guise is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardie in northern France. Aisne (ɛn is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River. Picardy (Picardie is an historical Province of France, in the north of France. His father was lieutenant-general of the bailliage of Guise, and through the efforts of a friend obtained a scholarship for his son at the Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris. A bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a Bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the Sheriff 's functions were exercised by a privately appointed The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (sometimes nicknamed LLG) is a public Secondary school located in Paris, widely regarded as one of the most demanding in Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Entering the school, which Maximilien Robespierre and Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron also attended at the time, at fourteen, Desmoulins was an accomplished student. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (maksimiljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃swa maʁi izidɔʁ də ʁɔbɛspjɛʁ ( 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron ( August 17, 1754 &ndash 1802 was a French politician journalist representative to the National Assembly and It is here that his love for the classics, such as Cicero, Tactitus and Livy would prosper. [1]Destined by his father for the law, he was admitted as a lawyer of the parlement of Paris in 1785. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person This article is for the Ancien Régime institution For the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution see French Parliament. However, he did not do well, as he had a violent manner and a serious stammer. Stammer may refer to Stuttering or People Notker of St Gall "Notker the Stammerer" (840-912 Louis the Stammerer This prompted him to turn towards writing. His interest in public affairs led him to a career in politics.

In March 1789, Desmoulins was nominated deputy from the bailliage of Guise. He came to Laon as a commissioner for the election of deputies to the Estates-General. Laon (lɑ̃ is a city and commune in Picardie in northern France, préfecture (capital} of the Aisne department The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (Les États-Généraux de 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General As a spectator of the procession of the Three Estates on May 5, 1789, Camille wrote a response, an Ode aux Etats Generaux and later Mirabeau enlisted him to write for his newspaper, although it was ephemeral, for it was banned by royal decree on May 6, 1789. [2]

July 1789

Statue commemorating Desmoulins at the storming of the Bastille by Jean Boucher
Statue commemorating Desmoulins at the storming of the Bastille by Jean Boucher

Because of his lack of success at the law, he was living in Paris in extreme poverty. Jean Boucher is the name of Jean Boucher (artist (1870-1939 a French sculptor Jean Boucher (Canadian politician (b However, he showed enthusiasm for the political changes announced by the meeting of the Estates-General. According to his letters to his father, he watched with excitement the procession of deputies at the Palace of Versailles, and with indignation the events following the closing of the Salle des Menus to the deputies who had named themselves the National Assembly - leading to the Tennis Court Oath. The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal Château in Versailles, in France 's Île-de-France region The National Assembly of France is the lower legislative house under the French Fifth Republic. The Tennis Court Oath (serment du jeu de paume was a pivotal event during the French Revolution.

The sudden dismissal of Jacques Necker by King Louis XVI brought fame to Desmoulins. Jacques Necker ( September 30, 1732 &ndash April 9, 1804) was a French statesman of Swiss origin and finance List of Queens and Empresses of France Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre On July 12, 1789 he leapt on a table outside one of the cafés in the garden of the Palais Royal, and announced to the crowd the dismissal of the reformer. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A coffeehouse ( French / Portuguese: café; Spanish: cafetería; Italian: caffè Apparently losing his stammer due to the excitement, he addressed the passions of the public, calling them to ". . . take up arms and adopt cockades by which we may know each other,"[3] and adding:

"This dismissal is the tocsin of the St. Bartholomew of the patriots!" (meaning that a massacre of the partisans of reform was under preparation). A tocsin consists of a signal of Alarm given by the ringing of a bell, and hence any warning or danger signal The St Bartholomew's Day massacre ( Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy in French) was a wave of Roman Catholic Mob violence against the Huguenots Patriotism is commonly defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country

He adopted green as the color for rallying liberty and the masses followed, for he had become their leader. [4] Finally, after drawing two pistols from under his coat, he declared that he would not fall alive into the hands of the police who were watching his movements. He descended, embraced by the crowd.

Following Desmoulins, riots started throughout Paris. The mob, procuring arms by force on July 13, was partly organized as the Parisian militia, which was afterwards to be the National Guard. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary Citizens to provide defense emergency law enforcement or Paramilitary service The National Guard ( la Garde nationale) was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the Militias formed in each city in imitation of On July 14, the storming of the Bastille occurred. Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789.

The following day, Desmoulins began the most publicised phase of his writing career. In May and June 1789 he had written La France Libre, which his publisher had refused to print. The taking of the Bastille, however, was a sign of changing times, and, on July 18, Desmoulins's work was issued. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Considerably in advance of public opinion, it called explicitly for a republic, his sixth issue stating, ". A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its . . popular and democratic government is the only constituition with suits France, and all those who are worthy of the name of men. "[5] "La France Libre" also elaborately examined the rights of king, of nobles, of Roman Catholic clergy and of the people, it became instantly popular, securing Desmoulins a partnership with Honoré Mirabeau. The Divine Right of Kings is a general term that refers to the philosophy and ideas used to justify the authority and legitimacy of Monarchs in Medieval and The Nobility (la noblesse in France, in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period had specific legal and financial rights and Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. Honoré Gabriel Riqueti Comte de Mirabeau ( March 9, 1749 &ndash April 2, 1791) was a French writer popular orator and statesman It was immediately followed by a slander campaign from Royalist pamphleteers. The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty.

Through his support for a republic, even a democratic one, he was also a member of the Cordeliers Club, who were among the first revolutionaries to advocate republican government, for it had been associated for preserving liberty, which Camille always supported. [6]

Journalism

Bust by François Martin
Bust by François Martin

Exhilarated, he appealed to the lower orders by printing his Discours de la lanterne aux Parisiens which began with a quotation from the Gospel of John, Qui male agit odit lucem ("He that does evil hates light" John 3:20). The Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon Consequently, Desmoulins was dubbed "Procureur-général de la lanterne" ("The Lanterne Prosecutor"). The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law In this pamphlet, he argued that revolutionary violence was justified.

In November 1789, he began a career as a journalist with the first number of a weekly publication, Histoire des Révolutions de France et de Brabant, which ceased at the end of July 1791. The publication was extremely popular from its first to its last number - Camille became famous and was no longer poor. The Histoire des Révolutions is a measure of the ideas in circulation in revolutionary Paris, but it has drawn criticism for its extremely violent tone.

It was in "Revolutions de France et de Brabant" that scholars begin noting Camille as a “volatile” writer. As the Revolution progressed the French government suffered a great shortage of money and the country entered inflation, Desmoulins did not portray it in this light, however, and “painted a wholly erroneous picture of the situation. ” [7] Because of his inconsistencies, Camille’s friendship with important figures, such as Mirabeau and Malouet, suffered. Both men, fed up with Camille’s publishing and libels declared that Camille should be denounced and Malouet, “went so far as to ask that Camille be certified insane. ” Robespierre came to Camille’s rescue, defending his childhood friend and preventing his arrest. [8]

Desmoulins was influenced by the theorists of the Revolution - for some time before the death of Mirabeau in April 1791, he had begun his collaboration with Georges Danton (his associate for the rest of their lives). Georges Jacques Danton ( October 26, 1759 &ndash April 5, 1794) was a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution In July 1791, he appeared before the Paris Commune—the local government of Paris—as head of a group petitioning to depose the king. The Paris Commune during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1789 until 1795 and especially from 1792 until 1795 At the time, under the constitutional monarchy, such a request was dangerous; the gesture enhanced agitation in the city, and the frequent attacks to which Desmoulins had often been subject were followed by a warrant for the arrest of himself and Danton. A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is In Law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial Jurisdiction.

Danton briefly left Paris, while Desmoulins chose to remain and even to make occasional appearances at the Jacobin Club. The Jacobin Club was the largest and most powerful political club of the French Revolution. Upon the failure of this attempt to arrest him, Desmoulins published a pamphlet, Jean Pierre Brissot démasqué, which contained violent attacks. Jacques Pierre Brissot (15 January 1754 &ndash 31 October 1793 who assumed the name of de Warville, was a leading member of the Girondist movement during the It originated in a conflict between the two, and was followed in 1793 by a Fragment de l'histoire secrète de la Révolution (more usually known by the name Histoire des Brissotins), in which the Girondists, and especially Brissot, were subjected to a populist attack. The Girondists (in French Girondins, and sometimes Brissotins or "Baguettes" were a political faction in France within the Legislative Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the Elites " Populism may involve either a political philosophy urging social and political

Camille published this in response to Brissot calling for the dissolution of the Paris Commune and the Jacobins. [9] It violently attacked the Girondists and Brissot as enemies of the Revolution, resulting in many being arrested and guillotined and in the defacement of Brissot’s career. [10] Camille later regretted writing this. [11] This pamphlet illustrates the constant shift in opinions and friendship of those in the Revolution, because Brissot many times had defended the journals of Camille when he was threatened, almost acting “as a father guiding his son. ” [12] Brissot once warned Camille and said, “’You are young Camille Desmoulins, candor is on your lips…but you are often fooled by that very candor. ’”[13]

National Convention and clash with Robespierre

Desmoulins took an active part in the August 10 attack on the Tuileries Palace. The Palais des Tuileries was a royal Palace in Paris. It stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed Immediately afterwards, as the Legislative Assembly (France) crumbled and various factions and bodies contended for effective power over the country, he became secretary to Danton in the latter's role as the new Justice Minister. During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1 1791 to September 1792. This page is a list of French justice ministers. Under the Ancien régime, the French minister responsible for the judiciary was the Chancellor On September 8, he was elected a deputy for Paris to the new National Convention, where he remained largely in the background, remaining better known as a journalist. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the Constitutional and legislative assembly He was affiliated with The Mountain, and voted for the Republic and the execution of the king. The Mountain (in French La Montagne) refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group whose members called The First Republic in France, officially the French Republic (République française was proclaimed on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Desmoulins became close to Robespierre, and the Fragment de l'histoire secrète de la Révolution was very likely inspired by the latter. The success of the pamphlet did much to install the Reign of Terror and condemn the Girondin leaders to the guillotine. Saint justjpg|thumbnail|200px| Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just]] The Reign of Terror' (5 September 1793 &ndash 28 July 1794 or simply The Terror (la Terreur was The guillotine ( pronounced /ˈgijətin/ or /ˈgɪlətin/ in English in French was a device used for carrying out executions by Decapitation. This proved alarming to both Danton and its author.

In December 1793 the first number of the Vieux Cordelier was issued. The Cordeliers, also known as the Club of the Cordeliers and formally as the Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen comprised a populist At first it was directed against the Hébertists and their mission for dechristianization[14] (this was approved by Robespierre), but the third number supported Danton's idea of a Committee of clemency, which earned them Robespierre's epithet les indulgents. The Hébertists were the partisans of Jacques Hébert, the radical revolutionary journalist in the Legislative Assembly and National Convention during A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it This caused Robespierre to turn against Desmoulins, who took advantage of the popular indignation roused against the Hébertists to send them to death. Robespierre and Louis de Saint-Just then turned their attention to both the enragés (Jacques Roux's faction) and the indulgents. Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just ( August 25, 1767 &ndash July 28, 1794) usually known as Saint-Just, was a French revolutionary Les Enragés (literally "the Enraged Ones" were a radical group active during the French Revolution of 1789 opposed to the Jacobins. Jacques Roux ( 21 August 1752 &ndash 10 February[[ 794]] was the radical leader of the Enragés faction during the French Revolution

On January 7, 1794, Robespierre, who on a former occasion had defended Danton and Desmoulins in the National Convention, urged the burning of certain numbers of the Vieux Cordelier in a speech at the Jacobin Club (though he did not at this time condemn Desmoulins or Danton as individuals). Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Desmoulins replied using a quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau (who was widely perceived as the intellectual authority for all revolutionary gestures): "burning is not answering". The implied insult led to a bitter conflict. By the end of March, the Hébertists had been guillotined, while Danton, Desmoulins and other leaders of the moderates were placed under arrest. The guillotine ( pronounced /ˈgijətin/ or /ˈgɪlətin/ in English in French was a device used for carrying out executions by Decapitation.

Trial and execution

On March 31, the arrest warrant was signed and executed, and on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of April the trial took place before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor The Revolutionary Tribunal (Tribunal révolutionnaire was a Court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution On being asked his age, Desmoulins replied:

"I am thirty-three, the age of the "sans-culotte" Jesus, a critical age for every patriot" (this was false; he was in fact thirty-four). Sans-culottes ( French for "without Knee-breeches " was a term created around 1790 - 1792 by the French Aristocracy to describe the Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

The accused were prevented from defending themselves by a decree of the Convention. This, together with the false report of a spy (who charged Desmoulins' wife with conspiring in her husband's escape and plotting the "ruin of the Republic"), obtained for prosecutor Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville a death sentence after threatening the jury. In a political sense conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power Antoine Quentin Fouquier de Tinville (1746 &ndash 7 May 1795 was a French Lawyer during the Revolution and Reign of Terror periods A jury a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial Verdict (a finding of fact on a question officially submitted to them The verdict was passed in the accuseds' absence, and their execution was scheduled for the same day.

Desmoulins struggled before his death, allegedly tearing his clothes to shreds. Of the group of fifteen guillotined together (also including Marie Jean Hérault de Séchelles, François Joseph Westermann and Pierre Philippeaux), Desmoulins died third, and Danton last. Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles ( September 20, 1759 &ndash April 5, 1794) was a French politician during the time of the François Joseph Westermann ( September 5, 1751 &mdash April 5, 1794) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars and

Family

On December 29, 1790 Desmoulins married Lucile Duplessis, and among the witnesses were Brissot, Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve and Robespierre. Events 1170 - Thomas Becket: Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Lucile Duplessis (1770 &ndash April 13, 1794) was the daughter of Annette Duplessis and Claude Duplessis a Treasury official "Pétion" redirects here For the Haitian head of state see Alexandre Pétion. Their only child, Horace Camille, was born on July 6, 1792. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Horace was pensioned by the French government, and died in Haiti in 1825. A pension is a steady income given to a person upon Retirement, typically in the form of a guaranteed annuity. Haiti ( English: ˈheɪ·tiː or haɪ·ˈjiː·tiː French Haïti a·i·ti Haitian Creole:

Lucile was arrested a few days after her husband, and condemned to the guillotine on the basis of false charges. She displayed coolness and courage on the day of her death (April 13, 1794). Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Desmoulins in Popular Culture

Camille Desmoulins is one of the central characters in Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety. Hilary Mary Mantel CBE (born 1952 in Glossop, Derbyshire) is a British novelist short story writer and critic

Desmoulins is the central character in Tanith Lee's The Gods are Thristy.

Impacts

Camille’s lasting influence over the French Revolution and the Terror was his denouncement of Brissot and the Girondists[15], and his Vieux Cordelier that called for the earlier held principles of the Revolution and the Cordeliers Club[16]. Camille, as a significant journalist, illustrated the power of the newspapers during the Revolution and how easily they persuaded the passions of the people, especially the Parisian mobs. He also signifies the increasingly radical situation the Terror became, as group after group became denounced and seen as a threat to the goals of the Revolution.


See also

James Bartholomew Blackwell - Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-century revolutionary soldier. James Bartholomew Blackwell was born on Barrack Street in Ennis, Co


References

The Britannica gives the following references:

  1. ^ Simon Schama. Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (New York: Vintage Books, 1990), 380.
  2. ^ John Hartcup, “Camille Desmoulins” History Today, 1975 25(4): 238-245, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hia&AN=H001107739.01site=ehostlive, 16, Jan 2008, 238
  3. ^ Ibid 238.
  4. ^ Ibid 238.
  5. ^ Rachel Hammersley, “Camille Desmoulin’s ‘Le Vieux Cordelier;’ A Link Between English and French Republicanism” History of European Ideas 27 (2001), 124.
  6. ^ Ibid 120.
  7. ^ John Hartcup, “Camille Desmoulins,” 241.
  8. ^ Ibid 242.
  9. ^ David Andress, The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France, 168.
  10. ^ Ibid 229.
  11. ^ Gilchrist and W. J. Murray, The Press in the French Revolution: Selection of Documents taken from the Press of the Reovolution for the years 1789-1794, 19.
  12. ^ Leigh Whaley, “Revolutionary Networking 1789-1791,” Revolutionary Culture, Politics and Science, (Belfast: Queen’s University, 1996) 41-51, 46.
  13. ^ Ibid 47.
  14. ^ Rachel Hammersley, “Camille Desmoulin’s ‘Le Vieux Cordelier;’ A Link Between English and French Republicanism,” 115.
  15. ^ David Andress, The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France, 229.
  16. ^ Rachel Hammersley, “Camille Desmoulin’s ‘Le Vieux Cordelier;’ A Link Between English and French Republicanism,” 115.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

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