Marais (French Revolution)
During the French Revolution, the more moderate groups of revolutionaries in the National Convention were referred to as the Plaine (French la plaine = the plain) or Marais (French le marais = the swamp) .
Surname
The name "Plaine" was derived from the lower seat positions in parliament, in contrast to the mountain party , which occupied the higher seats. They were later called disparagingly "Marais" (swamp). Camille Desmoulins of the Cordeliers called the MPs who sat in the plane "party of the phlegmatic".
Members and alignment
The Marais was mostly made up of groups of commoners who had a liberal and republican attitude. They were all connected with the events of 1789, felt the revolution as their work and wanted the unity of all republicans. In its early days, it had around 400 members, more members than the rival mountain party.
Nevertheless, the group was very heterogeneous. Members included the Abbés Henri Grégoire and Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès . Also Boissy d'Anglas and Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès were leaders. Others moved to the mountain party camp in 1793, such as Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac , Georges Couthon , Pierre Joseph Cambon , Lazare Carnot . Most of them, however, manifested their opposition to Maximilien de Robespierre on the 9th Thermidor .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.historicum.net/themen/franzoesische-revolution/einfuehrung/geschichte/art/IV_Revolution/html/artikel/487/ca/889f372024/
