The Girondists (in French Girondins, and sometimes Brissotins or "Baguettes") were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1 1791 to September 1792. During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the Constitutional and legislative assembly 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 The Girondists were a group of individuals who held certain opinions and principles in common rather than an organized political party, and the name was at first informally applied because the most brilliant exponents of their point of view were deputies from the Gironde. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral Gironde (Gironda is a common name for the Gironde Estuary - sound where merge the mouths of the Garonne river and of the Dordogne river - and for
These deputies were twelve in number, six of whom—the lawyers Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, Marguerite Élie Guadet, Armand Gensonné, Jean Antoine Laffargue de Grangeneuve and Jean Jay, and the tradesman Jean François Ducos—sat both in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud ( May 31, 1753 – October 31, 1793) was a French Orator and revolutionary. Marguerite-Élie Guadet ( July 20 1753 &ndash June 17 1794) was a French political figure of the Revolutionary period. Armand Gensonné ( August 10 1758 &ndash October 31 1793) was a French politician During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1 1791 to September 1792. During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the Constitutional and legislative assembly In the Legislative Assembly, these represented a compact body of opinion which, though not as yet definitely republican, was considerably more advanced than the moderate royalism of the majority of the Parisian deputies. Republicanism is the Ideology of governing a nation as a Republic, with an emphasis on Liberty, Rule of law, Popular sovereignty The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city
Associated with these views was a group of deputies from elsewhere, of whom the most notable were Thomas Paine, the Marquis de Condorcet, Claude Fauchet, M. Thomas Paine (January 29 1737 &ndash June 8 1809 was an English Pamphleteer, Revolutionary, radical, Inventor, and Intellectual Claude Fauchet may refer to Claude Fauchet (historian (1530-1601 French historian Claude Fauchet (revolutionist (1744-1793 French bishop D. A. Lasource, Maximin Isnard, the Comte de Kersaint, Henri Larivière, and, above all, Jacques Pierre Brissot, Jean Marie Roland and Jérôme Pétion, elected mayor of Paris in succession to Jean Sylvain Bailly on November 16, 1791. Maximin Isnard ( November 16 1755 - March 12 1825) French revolutionist, was a dealer in perfumery at Draguignan when he Armand-Guy-Simon de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint, in short Armand de Kersaint ( July 29, 1742 &mdash December 4, 1793 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 Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière ( February 18, 1734 &ndash November 15, 1793) Jean-Marie Roland was a French manufacturer in Lyon "Pétion" redirects here For the Haitian head of state see Alexandre Pétion. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Jean-Sylvain Bailly ( September 15, 1736 &ndash November 12, 1793) was a French astronomer and Orator, one of Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 1791 ( MDCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
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Rise of the Girondists
Madame Roland, whose salon became their gathering-place, exercised a powerful influence on the spirit and policy of the Girondists; but such party cohesion as they possessed they owed to the energy of Brissot, who came to be regarded as their mouthpiece in the Assembly and in the Jacobin Club. Marie-Jeanne Roland de la Platiere, better known simply as Madame Roland and born Marie-Jeanne Phlipon ( March 17, 1754 &ndash November A salon is a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through The Jacobin Club was the largest and most powerful political club of the French Revolution. Hence the name "Brissotins", coined by Camille Desmoulins, which was sometimes substituted for that of "Girondins", sometimes closely coupled with it. Lucie Simplice Camille Benoist Desmoulins ( March 2, 1760 &ndash April 5, 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played These first came into use strictly as party designations after the assembling of the National Convention (20 September 1792), to which a large proportion of the deputies from the Gironde who had sat in the Legislative Assembly were returned. Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Both names appeared as terms of opprobrium in speeches by the orators of the Jacobin Club, who freely denounced "the Royalists, the Federalists, the Brissotins, the Girondins and all the enemies of the democracy" (FA Aulard, La société des Jacobins, Recueil de documents (6 volumes, Paris, 1889, etc. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system François Victor Alphonse Aulard ( July 19, 1849 - October 23, 1928) was a French Historian of the Revolution and Napoleon , V. 531)).
In the Legislative Assembly, the Girondists represented the principle of democratic revolution within and of patriotic defiance to the European powers without. Patriotism is commonly defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country They were all-powerful in the Jacobin Club, where Brissot's influence had not yet been ousted by Robespierre, and they did not hesitate to use this advantage to stir up popular passion and intimidate those who sought to stay the progress of the Revolution. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (maksimiljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃swa maʁi izidɔʁ də ʁɔbɛspjɛʁ ( 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) They compelled the king in 1792 to choose a ministry composed of their partisans—among them Roland, Charles François Dumouriez, Étienne Clavière and Joseph Servan de Gerbey; and it was they who forced the declaration of war against Habsburg Austria. Charles François Dumouriez ( January 25, 1739 &ndash March 14, 1823) was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars Étienne Clavière ( January 27, 1735 - December 8, 1793) was a Swiss -born French Financier and politician of Habsburg Monarchy (alternatively Habsburg Empire) refers to the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor In all this there was no apparent line of cleavage between La Gironde and The Mountain. The Mountain (in French La Montagne) refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group whose members called Montagnards and Girondists alike were fundamentally opposed to the monarchy; both were democrats as well as republicans; both were prepared to appeal to force in order to realize their ideals; in spite of the accusation of "federalism" freely brought against them, the Girondists desired as little as the Montagnards to break up the unity of France. The Mountain (in French La Montagne) refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group whose members called A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing Yet from the first the leaders of the two parties stood in avowed opposition, in the Jacobin Club as in the Assembly.
Temperament largely accounts for the party dividing line. The Girondists were radicals, doctrinaires and theorists rather than men of action; they initially encouraged the armed petitions which resulted, to their dismay, in the émeute of June 20; but Roland, turning the ministry of the exterior into a publishing office for tracts on the civic virtues, while in the provinces riotous mobs were burning the châteaux unchecked, is more typical of their spirit. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. For other senses of this word see Château (disambiguation. A château (plural châteaux) is a Manor house or residence They did not share the ferocious fanaticism or the ruthless opportunism of the future Montagnard organisers of the Reign of Terror. 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 As the Revolution developed, the Girondists trembled at the anarchic forces they had helped to unchain, and tried in vain to curb them. Anarchy (from αναρχία anarchía, "without ruler " may refer to any of the following "Absence of government a state of lawlessness The overthrow of the monarchy on 10 August 1792 and the September Massacres of 1792 occurred while they still nominally controlled the government, but the Girondists tried to distance themselves from the results of the September massacres. Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year September Massacres were a wave of Mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution.
Fall of the Girondists
The crisis of the Girondists' fate followed swiftly. They proposed the suspension of the king and the summoning of the National Convention; but they had only consented to overthrow the monarchy when they found that Louis XVI was impervious to their counsels. Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre Once the republic was established, they were anxious to arrest the revolutionary movement which they had helped to set in motion[1]. As Daunou shrewdly observes in his Mémoires, they were too cultivated and too polished to retain their popularity long in times of disturbance, and were therefore the more inclined to work for the establishment of order, which would mean the guarantee of their own power. Thus the Girondists, who had been the radicals of the Legislative Assembly, became the conservatives of the Convention[2]
But they were soon to have practical experience of the fate that overtakes those who attempt to arrest in mid-career a revolution they themselves have set in motion. For opposition to all forms of government social hierarchy or authority see Anarchism. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined The ignorant populace, for whom the promised social millennium had by no means dawned, saw in an attitude seemingly so inconsistent obvious proof of corrupt motives, and there were plenty of prophets of misrule to encourage the delusion: orators of the clubs and the street corners, for whom the restoration of order would have meant a return to obscurity. A millennium (pl millennia) is a period of Time equal to one thousand Years (from Latin la mille, thousand and la annum Moreover, the Septembriseurs—Robespierre, Danton, Marat and their lesser satellites—realised that not only their influence but their safety depended on keeping the Revolution alive[3]. Georges Jacques Danton ( October 26, 1759 &ndash April 5, 1794) was a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution Robespierre, who hated the Girondists, whose lustre had so long obscured his own, had proposed to include them in the proscription lists of September 1792; The Mountain Club to a man desired their overthrow. Not to be confused with prescription and other meanings of proscription.
The crisis came in March 1793. The Girondists, who had a majority in the Convention, controlled the executive council and filled the ministry, believed themselves invincible. A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of Government Public administration, sometimes led by a minister, but usually a senior Their orators had no serious rivals in the hostile camp; their system was established in the purest reason. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking But the Montagnards made up by their fanatical, or desperate, energy and boldness for what they lacked in talent or in numbers. This was especially fruitful because while the largest groups in the convention were the Jacobins and Brissotins, uncommitted delegates accounted for almost half the total number. The Jacobins' rhetoric had behind them the revolutionary Commune, the Sections (mass assemblies in districts) and the National Guard of Paris, and they had gained control of the Jacobin club, where Brissot, absorbed in departmental work, had been superseded by Robespierre. The Paris Commune during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1789 until 1795 and especially from 1792 until 1795 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 And as the motive power of this formidable mechanism of force they could rely on the native suspiciousness of the Parisian populace, exaggerated now into madness by famine and the menace of foreign invasion. The Girondists played into their hands. At the trial of Louis XVI the bulk of them had voted for the "appeal to the people", and so laid themselves open to the charge of "royalism"; they denounced the domination of Paris and summoned provincial levies to their aid, and so fell under suspicion of "federalism", though they rejected Buzot's proposal to transfer the Convention to Versailles. François Nicolas Léonard Buzot ( March 1, 1760 &ndash June 18, 1794) was a French politician and leader of the French Revolution Versailles (vɛʀsaj in French) formerly de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important They strengthened the revolutionary Commune by decreeing its abolition, and then withdrawing the decree at the first sign of popular opposition; they increased the prestige of Marat by prosecuting him before the Revolutionary Tribunal, where his acquittal was a foregone conclusion. The Revolutionary Tribunal (Tribunal révolutionnaire was a Court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution
In the suspicious temper of the times this vacillating policy was doubly fatal. Marat never ceased his denunciations of the faction des hommes d'Etat ("faction of the men of the State"), by which France was being betrayed to her ruin, and his cry of Nous sommes trahis! ("We are betrayed!") was re-echoed from group to group in the streets of Paris. The Girondists, for all their fine phrases, were sold to the enemy, as Lafayette, Dumouriez and a hundred others—once popular favourites—had been sold.
The hostility of Paris to the Girondists received a fateful advertisement by the election, on 15 February 1793, of the ex-Girondist Jean-Nicolas Pache (1746 - 1823) to the mayoralty. Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Jean-Nicolas Pache (1746 – November 18, 1823) was a French Politician. Pache had twice been minister of war in the Girondist government; but his incompetence had laid him open to strong criticism, and on 4 February 1793 he had been superseded by a vote of the Convention. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This was enough to secure him the suffrages of the Paris electors ten days later, and the Mountain was strengthened by the accession of an ally whose one idea was to use his new power to revenge himself on his former colleagues. Pache, with Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, procureur of the Commune, and Jacques René Hébert, deputy procureur, controlled the armed organisation of the Paris Sections, and prepared to turn this against the Convention. Pierre Gaspard Chamette ( 1763 - April 13, 1794) was a French politician of the Revolutionary period. Jacques René Hébert ( November 15, 1757 &mdash March 24, 1794) was editor of the extreme radical newspaper Le Père Duchesne The abortive émeute of 10 March warned the Girondists of their danger, but the Commission of Twelve appointed on 18 May, the arrest of Marat and Hébert, and other precautionary measures, were defeated by the popular risings of 27 and 31 May, and, finally, on 2 June 1793, François Hanriot with the National Guards purged the Convention of the Girondists. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common François Hanriot (1761 – July 28, 1794) was a French leader and street orator of the Revolution. Isnard's threat, uttered on 25 May, to march France upon Paris had been met by Paris marching upon the Convention hastily. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors.
In Thomas Flanagan's novel "Year of the French," George Moore says that the Girondists "prided themselves upon their oratory, and doubtless it is their oratory that they will be remembered. Of these circumstances the first may be said to have defended their weakness, and the second may serve as their epitaph. Here lie, headless, certain high-minded public figures. They spoke well. " (page 55) George Moore just thinks that the Girondists are elaborate figureheads.
Girondists and the Terror
The list drawn up by Hanriot, and endorsed by a decree of the intimidated Convention, included twenty-two Girondist deputies and ten members of the Commission of Twelve, who were ordered to be detained at their lodgings "under the safeguard of the people". Some submitted, among them Gensonné, Guadet, Vergniaud, Pétion, Birotteau and Boyer-Fonfrède. Others, including Brissot, Louvet, Buzot, Lasource, Grangeneuve, Larivière and Bergoing, escaped from Paris and, joined later by Guadet, Pétion and Birotteau, set to work to organise a movement of the provinces against the capital. This attempt to stir up civil war determined the wavering and frightened Convention. A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state On 13 June 1793 it voted that the city of Paris had deserved well of the country, and ordered the imprisonment of the detained deputies, the filling up of their places in the Assembly by their suppleants, and the initiation of vigorous measures against the movement in the provinces. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
The excuse for the Terror that followed was the imminent peril of France, menaced on the east by the advance of the armies of the First Coalition, on the west by the Royalist insurrection of La Vendée, and the need for preventing at all costs the outbreak of another civil war. The First Coalition ( 1792 – 1797) was the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain Revolutionary France. The War in Vendée ( 1793 to 1796) was a Civil war in Vendée between Royalists and Republicans during the French The assassination of Marat by Charlotte Corday only served to increase the unpopularity of the Girondists and to seal their fate. Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont ( July 27, 1768 – July 17, 1793) known to history as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the On 28 July 1793 a decree of the Convention proscribed, as traitors and enemies of their country, twenty-one deputies, the final list of those sent for trial comprising the names of Antiboul, Boilleau the younger, Boyer-Fonfrêde, Brissot, Carra, Duchastel, the younger Ducos, Dufriche de Valazé, Duprat, Fauchet, Gardien, Gensonné, Lacaze, Lasource, Lauze-Deperret, Lehardi, Lesterpt-Beauvais, the elder Minvielle, Sillery, Vergniaud and Viger, of whom five were deputies from the Gironde. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The names of thirty-nine others were included in the final acte d'accusation, accepted by the Convention on 24 October 1793, which stated the crimes for which they were to be tried as their perfidious ambition, their hatred of Paris, their "federalism" and, above all, their responsibility for the attempt of their escaped colleagues to provoke civil war. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
The Girondists on Trial
The trial of the twenty-one, which began before the Revolutionary Tribunal on 24 October 1793, was a mere farce, the verdict a foregone conclusion. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common On 31 October they were borne to the guillotine in five tumbrils, the corpse of Dufriche de Valazé -- who had killed himself -- being carried with them. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse The guillotine ( pronounced /ˈgijətin/ or /ˈgɪlətin/ in English in French was a device used for carrying out executions by Decapitation. They met death with great courage, singing the refrain Plutôt la mort que l'esclavage.
Of those who escaped to the provinces the greater number, after wandering about singly or in groups, were either captured and executed or committed suicide, among them Barbaroux, Buzot, Condorcet, Grangeneuve, Guadet, Kersaint, Pétion, Rabaut de Saint-Etienne and Rebecqui. Jean-Paul Rabaut Saint-Étienne (November 14 1743 - December 5 1793 was a French revolutionary. Roland had killed himself at Rouen on 15 November 1793, a week after the execution of his wife. Rouen (ʁwɑ̃ in French) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Among the very few who finally escaped was Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai, whose Mémoires give a thrilling picture of the sufferings of the fugitives. Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai ( June 12, 1760 - August 25, 1797) was a French novelist playwright journalist politician and Incidentally they prove, too, that the sentiment of France was for the time against the Girondists, who were proscribed even in their chief centre, the city of Bordeaux. ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate
Girondists as Martyrs
The survivors of the party made an effort to re-enter the Convention after the fall of Robespierre on July 27, 1794, but it was not until 5 March 1795 that they were formally reinstated. Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a On October 3 of the same year (11 Vendémiaire, year III) a solemn fête in honour of the Girondist "martyrs of liberty" was celebrated in the Convention. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Vendémiaire was the first Month in the French Republican Calendar. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force
Further reading
Of the special works on the Girondists Lamartine's Histoire des Girondins (2 volumes, Paris, 1847, new edition 1902, in 6 volumes) is rhetoric rather than history and is untrustworthy; the Histoire des Girondins, by A. Gramier de Cassagnac (Paris, 1860) led to the publication of a Protestation by J. Guadet, a nephew of the Girondist orator, which was followed by his Les Girondins, leur vie privée, leur vie publique, leur proscription et leur mort (2 volumes, Paris, 1861, new edition 1890), with which compare Alary, Les Girondins par Guadet (Bordeaux, 1863); also Charles Vatel, Charlotte Corday et les Girondins: pièces classées et annotées (3 volumes, Paris, 1864 - 1872). Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont ( July 27, 1768 – July 17, 1793) known to history as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the
- A new addition to this theme is Prof. Leigh Ann Whaley's book, Radicals-Politics and Republicanism in the French Revolution (2000), Sutton Publishing, Gloucestershire, which has elicited several pungent reviews, some of which are noted in this text via direct link citations. Supplementary reading that helps separate the Jacobins from the Girondins (but are not specific works about the Girondins):
- Schama, Simon. Citizens - A Chronicle of the French Revolution. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1989,(hardcover; ISBN 0-394-55948-7).
- Scott, Otto. Robespierre, The Fool as Revolutionary - Inside the French Revolution. Windsor, NY, The Reformer Library, 1974 (softcover; ISBN 9-781887-690058)
- Loomis, Stanley. Paris in the Terror. New York, NY, Dorset Press, 1964 (hardcover; ISBN 0-88029-401-9). This work relates in detail (1) the relationship of Charlotte Corday to the Girondins and the subsequent assassination of Marat and (2) the love-hate relationship between Danton and the Girondins.
See also
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Liberalism and radicalism in France do not form the same type of ideology 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 Please update as needed.
- Robert Sobel The French Revolution (1967)