Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne

Lore & Background

Billaud-Varenne was born in La Rochelle, the son of a lawyer. Educated at Oratorian schools in Niort and Juilly, he became a professor before leaving in 1785 after a comédie strained his relationship with the school. He then moved to Paris, married, and bought a position as a lawyer. In early 1789 he published a three-volume work on the Despotisme des ministres de la France and an anti-clerical text, 'The Last Blow Against Prejudice and Superstition.' He joined the Jacobin Club and became a violent anti-Royalist orator, linked to Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois. After the flight to Varennes, he published a pamphlet demanding a federal republic. On the night of 10 August 1792, he met with Danton and others during the attack on the Tuileries Palace, and was later elected a deputy-commissioner of the Paris Commune. He was accused of being an accomplice in the September Massacres.

Reader's Guide

Billaud-Varenne's significance lies in his central role during the first part of the French Revolution, particularly as a militant member of the Committee of Public Safety. He was instrumental in shaping the Reign of Terror, proposing the Law of 14 Frimaire that centralized authority, and defending the Terror with uncompromising rhetoric. His break with Robespierre over ideological conflicts regarding centralization of power led to his key part in Robespierre's downfall on 9 Thermidor, an act he later regretted. After Thermidor, he was part of the Crêtois, the last group of deputies from The Mountain. Arrested during the Thermidorian Reaction, he was deported to Cayenne without trial, married a black ex-slave named Brigitte, refused Napoleon's pardon, and died in Port-au-Prince in 1819. Despite his importance, he remains little studied or understood.

Did You Know?

• He was also known by the nicknames 'the Righteous Patriot' or 'the Tiger'.
• He proposed the Law of 14 Frimaire, which centralized surveillance and administration under the Committee of Public Safety.
• After deportation, he married a black ex-slave named Brigitte in Cayenne.
• He refused Napoleon's pardon and died in Port-au-Prince in 1819.