- Also called:
- Brissotin
- Date:
- c. September 1791 - c. June 1793
Girondin
-
Who were the Girondins in France?
The Girondins were a loosely organized group of republican politicians, many from the Gironde département, who were prominent in the French Revolution from 1791 to 1793. They consisted of lawyers, intellectuals, and journalists, and were supported by business people.
Initially, the Girondins were critical of the court and advocated for war to unite the country. By the spring of 1792, they reached the height of their power, but their influence declined as more radical groups rose.
The Girondins opposed the Montagnards in the National Convention, disagreeing on economic and social equality. The Girondins favored economic liberalism and decentralization, while the Montagnards, supported by the Parisian working class, wanted a centralized government. The Girondins were blamed for army defeats and, after a popular uprising in Paris, 29 Girondin deputies were arrested in June 1793.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
When and why did the Girondin political group form?
The Girondins were a loose group of republican politicians, many from the Gironde département, who rose to prominence in the Legislative Assembly from October 1791 to September 1792. They were intellectuals and journalists who gained support from business people and financiers.
Initially, the Girondins were critical of the court. They advocated for measures against émigrés and anti-Revolutionary priests. Led by Jacques-Pierre Brissot, they supported war to unite the people and reached peak power in spring 1792, when war was declared against Austria. Their decline began after the monarchy's overthrow on August 10, 1792, as more radical groups took control of the Revolution.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What beliefs or ideas did the Girondins support during the French Revolution?
The Girondins, emerging as critics of the court, were a group of republican politicians during the French Revolution who played a significant role in the Legislative Assembly. They were composed of lawyers, intellectuals, and journalists who garnered support from businessmen, merchants, industrialists, and financiers.
The Girondins held political views that did not fully embrace economic and social equality. They favored economic liberalism, rejecting government control over trade and prices, and leaned on the départements to counter the influence of Paris. They advocated for war against Austria to unite the people behind the Revolution. However, their reluctance to adopt emergency measures and address the economic demands of Parisian workers led to their downfall.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did the Girondins differ from the Jacobins?
The Girondins and Jacobins were both political groups during the French Revolution, but they had distinct differences. The Girondins, who were more moderate, drew support from the upper classes and provincial cities. They hesitated to take decisive action and didn't address the economic demands of Parisian workers.
The Jacobins, however, were more radical and had the backing of the Parisian working class. They were led by figures like Maximilien Robespierre and were known for their egalitarianism and violence. The Jacobins favored a centralized government in Paris, while the Girondins supported decentralization. These differences led to the Girondins being purged from the National Convention, with many leaders executed during the Reign of Terror.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What role did the Girondins play in the government of Revolutionary France?
The Girondins, emerging as critics of the court, gained influence in the Legislative Assembly (1791-1792) during the French Revolution. They advocated for war to unite the people and briefly entered the government in the spring of 1792, with members like Étienne Clavière and Jean-Marie Roland becoming ministers.
However, their reluctance to embrace radical measures and address the economic needs of Parisian workers led to their downfall. Opposition from the Montagnards and a popular uprising resulted in the arrest of Girondin deputies in June 1793. Their failure to respond to the demands of the Parisian workers ultimately led to their demise, with many being guillotined during the Reign of Terror.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What happened to the Girondins and how did their influence end?
The Girondins, emerging as critics of the court, gained influence in the Legislative Assembly (1791-1792) during the French Revolution, advocating for war to unite the people. They reached their peak in spring 1792 but declined as more radical groups rose.
The Girondins opposed the Montagnards in the National Convention, differing on the role of Paris and popular demands. They were branded as "federalists" for trying to reduce Paris's influence and were blamed for army defeats in spring 1793.
A popular uprising in Paris led to the arrest of 29 Girondin deputies on June 2. Many escaped to organize uprisings, but these failed. During the Reign of Terror, 21 arrested Girondins were guillotined on October 31, 1793. After the Montagnards fell in 1794, some deputies who protested the purge of the Girondins were rehabilitated.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Girondin, a label applied to a loose grouping of republican politicians, some of them originally from the département of the Gironde, who played a leading role in the Legislative Assembly from October 1791 to September 1792 during the French Revolution. Lawyers, intellectuals and journalists, the Girondins attracted a following of businessmen, merchants, industrialists, and financiers. Historians have disagreed about whether they truly constituted an organized group, and the term “Girondins” was rarely used prior to 1793. Their opponents often called them Brissotins, after their most prominent spokesman, Jacques-Pierre Brissot.
The Girondins first emerged as harsh critics of the court. Through the oratory of Pierre-Victurnien Vergniaud and Brissot, the Girondins inspired the measures taken against the émigrés and anti-Revolutionary priests in October and November of 1791. From the end of 1791, under the leadership of Brissot, they supported foreign war as a means to unite the people behind the cause of the Revolution.
The Girondins reached the height of their power and popularity in the spring of 1792. On April 20, 1792, the war that they urged was declared against Austria. Earlier, on March 23, two of the group entered the government under King Louis XVI: Étienne Clavière as finance minister and Jean-Marie Roland as interior minister. Roland’s wife, Mme Jeanne-Marie Roland, held a salon that was an important meeting place for the Girondins. But throughout the summer they vacillated in their position toward the existing constitutional monarchy, which was coming under serious attack. The storming of the Tuileries Palace on August 10, 1792, which overthrew the monarchy, took place without their participation and marks the beginning of their decline, as more radical groups (the Paris Commune, the Parisian working class, and the Jacobins under Maximilien Robespierre) came to direct the course of the Revolution.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
From the opening of the National Convention in September 1792, the Girondins united in opposition to the Montagnards (deputies of the left, mainly newly elected from Paris, who headed the Jacobin dictatorship of 1793–94). The antagonism between the two groups was partly caused by bitter personal hatreds but also by opposing social interests. The Girondins had strong support in provincial cities and among local government officials, while the Montagnards had the backing of the Paris sansculottes (extreme radical revolutionaries). In the ensuing struggles the Girondins were characterized by political views that stopped short of economic and social equality, by economic liberalism that rejected government control of trade or prices, and, most clearly, by their reliance on the départements as a counterbalance to Paris. Their efforts to reduce the influence of the capital led the Montagnards to brand them as advocates of “federalism” who sought to destroy the unity of the newly formed republic. The trial of Louis XVI (December 1792–January 1793) left the Girondins, some of whom opposed the king’s execution, open to the charge of royalism.
The Girondins were held responsible for defeats suffered by the army in the spring of 1793 and were made more unpopular by their refusal to respond to the economic demands of the Parisian workers. A popular rising against them in Paris, beginning on May 31, ended when the Convention, surrounded by armed insurgents, ordered the arrest of 29 Girondin deputies on June 2. The fall of the Girondins was caused by their reluctance to adopt emergency measures for the defense of the Revolution and to provide for the economic demands of the Parisian workers, policies that the Montagnards carried out.
Many of the Girondins escaped to the provinces in the summer of 1793 to organize “federalist” uprisings against the Convention. These failed largely for lack of popular support. When the ruling Montagnards instituted the Reign of Terror, 21 of the arrested Girondins were tried, beginning on October 24, 1793, and were guillotined on October 31. After the fall of the Montagnards in 1794, a number of deputies imprisoned for protesting the purge of the Girondins returned to the Convention and were rehabilitated.