Jeanbon Saint-André
Jeanbon Saint-André | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Jacques-Louis David | |
| Deputy in the National Convention | |
| In office 5 September 1792 – 26 October 1795 | |
| Constituency | Lot |
| 22nd President of the National Convention | |
| In office 11 July 1793 – 25 July 1793 | |
| Preceded by | Jacques-Alexis Thuriot |
| Succeeded by | Georges Danton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 February 1749 |
| Died | 10 December 1813 (aged 64) |
| Party | The Mountain |
Awards | Knight (1804) and Officer (1813) of the Legion of Honor Baron of the Empire |
Jeanbon Saint-André (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃bɔ̃ sɛ̃tɑ̃dʁe]; 25 February 1749 – 10 December 1813) was a French politician of the Revolutionary era.
Early career and role in the National Convention
[edit]He was born in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne), the son of a fuller. Although his parents were Protestants, Saint-André was raised by the Jesuits at Marseille, and got baptized, as required by law.[1] As a young boy, Saint-André had ambition to study the law, but his dream was crushed when the King prohibited Protestants and their children from getting involved in much of the public life, including getting the bar.[1] When Saint-André was about sixteen years old, he enrolled in the merchant marine, and became lieutenant several years later and shortly after, captain. In 1771, after three shipwrecks and the loss of all his savings, he abandoned this career.[2] Saint-André later turned Protestant, and became a prominent pastor in Southern France at Castres in 1773, and afterwards in Montauban in 1788. Saint-André studied theology in Geneva for three years, and married Marie de Suc in 1780.[3] Right before the outbreak of the French Revolution, tension between Protestants and Catholics caused Saint-André to flee. During this time, he drafted an article entitled, "Considérations sur l'organisation civile des Eglises protestantes" (Thoughts on the civil organisation of Protestants), which advocated for protecting Protestants' religious rights within France.[4] Saint-André later returned around December, 1790. He then found The Society of the Friends of the Constitution, and started his political career.[1] On 2 November 1792 Saint-André was elected president of the Jacobins.[5]
As a member of The Society of the Friends of the Constitution, Saint-André sat on The Mountain, led by Maximilien Robespierre. When King Louis XVI was found guilty of plotting against the Convention and France, he, along with many members of the Convention, voted for the King's execution. In September 1792, he opposed the punishment of the authors of the September Massacres.[6] In January 1793, Saint-André expressed his ideas in a speech called "Sur l'Education nationale," which demanded a variety of changes to the old Catholic-controlled education system.[7] Later that same year in June, when the Jacobins gained control of the Assembly Saint-André became a member of the Committee of Public Safety, and it was he who proposed Maximilien Robespierre for membership shortly afterwards.[8] In July 1793, Saint-André was elected President of the National Convention, and in his capacity, he announced the death of Marat.[9] That same month, Saint-André was sent on a mission to the Armies of the East fighting in the Revolutionary Wars.
While working with the Committee of Public Safety, Jeanbon Saint-André played a pivotal role in the restoration of the naval fleet. He was a former Huguenot pastor and merchant sea captain who was considered the Montagnards’ expert on naval affairs.[10] The Convention granted Saint-André an unlimited amount of power in order to preserve the fleet for the Republic, and to crush all forms of counter-revolutionary opposition.[11]
Reign of Terror
[edit]On the Committee of Public Safety, his main responsibility was the navy, which he took over from Bertrand Barère.[8][12] On September 20, 1793, Saint-André obtained a vote of one hundred million francs for constructing vessels; from September 1793 to January 1794, he reorganized the military harbours of Brest and Cherbourg, in the northwestern coast of France.[6] Saint-André noticed striking parallels between the situation in Brest and in the Committee's occupation of Toulon after its siege in late 1793. Toulon became the stigma of dishonor and treason due to its defection in 1793. The city of Toulon, in revolt against the National Convention, was under the control of a coalition of forces opposed to the republican regime in Paris, including French royalists and federalists along with the militaries of Britain, Spain, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia.[13]
In 1793, the Federalist Revolt against the National Assembly in the port city of Brest was partly linked to Jeanbon Saint-André as its citizens viewed the Navy divided between the two major clubs, the Montagnards and the Girondins.[14] He reported that the destruction of the French fleet was a form of conspiracy against the Republic.[11] His theory was clear: the parallels he was observing between the situations at Brest and Toulon were based on the conspiracy of ex-nobles and officers against the Republic, as well as the presence of British influence in both cities. Both problems contributed to the task set before Saint-André - achieving unity within the French Navy.[11] In response to the Quibéron mutinies, Jeanbon removed Captains Kerguelen, Thomas, Bonnefous, and Larichery from their positions.