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Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne
Jean Nicolas Billaud-Varenne was called the Straightforward. He was a staunch revolutionary. That his fiery speeches for liberty and equality could incite bloody massacres – as during the September Massacres – mattered little to him. Together with Collot d’Herbois, he served as the unofficial representative of the Parisian sans-culottes on the all-powerful Committee of Public Safety during the Year of Terror. He would bitterly regret his role in Robespierre’s downfall: because of his long support for the Incorruptible’s guillotine policy, he was deported to Guiana. He refused the amnesty offered by Napoleon and remained in America for the rest of his life. The steadfast republican died in 1819 in Port-au-Prince. Until the end, he regretted having spared the tyrants of Europe too much.
1756 - 1819
- April 23, 1756 · Born in La Rochelle, the son of a lawyer.
- 1778 · He completes his law studies in Poitiers and becomes a lawyer.
- 1789 · Billaud begins publishing revolutionary writings.
- August 10, 1792 · Together with Danton, Desmoulins, and others, he takes part in the storming of the Tuileries and becomes a leading member of the Paris Commune.
- September 1792 · As a member of the Commune, he supports the September Massacres. He becomes a deputy to the National Convention.
- September 6, 1793 · Elected to the Committee of Public Safety.
- July 1794 · Tensions increase within the Committee of Public Safety. Collot and Billaud-Varenne, unofficial representatives of the Parisian sans-culottes, lose Robespierre’s trust.
- July 26, 1794 · In the Jacobin Club, Collot d’Herbois and Billaud are attacked when they try to defend themselves against Robespierre’s accusations.
- July 27, 1794 · Billaud takes part in the fall of Robespierre. Shortly afterwards, he leaves the Committee of Public Safety.
- April 1, 1795 · The Convention orders Billaud’s deportation.
- July 1795 · Arrival in Guiana. He becomes a farmer there and marries a former slave.
- 1816 · Billaud leaves Guiana and moves to Haiti, where he receives a pension granted by President Alexandre Pétion until his death.
- June 3, 1819 · Death in Port-au-Prince (Haiti).
Quotes
People, you kill your enemies! You are only doing your duty.
Billaud-Varenne during the September Massacres, 1792.
Every people concerned for its liberty must beware even of the virtues of the men who hold high positions.
Billaud, spring 1794 (a reference to Robespierre).
The greatest mistake of the revolution in your country was not having sacrificed all the colonists to the very last one. In France, we made the same mistake with the Bourbons.
Billaud, addressing the President of Haiti, around 1817.
Le Moniteur
Primedi, 11 Thermidor, l'an 2 de la République Française, une et indivisible
Billaud and Collot are attacked on the evening of 8 Thermidor at the Jacobin Club.
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Jan Knupper 2025 | CCXXXIV
