Jacobins
The Jacobins were a group of radicalists who supported The French Revolution. Their leader was Maximilien de Robespierre, and they were in power of the French government from June of 1793 to July of 1794.
| Jacobin Club | |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Live free or die" (French: Vivre libre ou mourir) |
| Successor | Panthéon Club |
| Formation | 1789 |
| Type | Parliamentary group |
| Legal status | Inactive |
| Purpose/focus | Establishment of a Jacobin society * 1789–1791: abolition of the Ancien Régime, creation of a parliament, introduction of a Constitution and separation of powers * 1791–1795: establishment of a republic, fusion of powers into the National Convention and establishment of an authoritarian-democratic state |
| Headquarters | Dominican convent, Rue Saint-Honoré, Paris |
| Membership | Around 500,000Brinton, Crane (2011) [1930]. The Jacobins: An Essay in the New History. Transaction Publishers. p. xix. ISBN 9781412848107. Retrieved 16 April 2015. |
| Official languages | French |
| President | Antoine Barnave (first) Maximilien Robespierre (last) |
| Key people | Brissot, Robespierre, Duport, Marat, Desmoulins, Mirabeau, Danton, Billaud-Varenne, Barras, Collot d'Herbois, Saint-Just |
| Affiliations | All groups in the National Convention * Montagnards * Girondins * Maraisards |
Initially founded in 1789 by anti-royalist deputies from Brittany, the club grew into a nationwide republican movement, with a membership estimated at a half million or more.
Members of the Jacobins would often belong to mainly to the less prosperous section of the society (the working class). They included shopkeepers, artisans, cooks, shoemakers and daily wage workers.
They dressed differently by wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers.