Jacques Roux

Jacques Roux was born on 21 August 1752 in Pranzac, a small village in the province of Angoumois, France. He was the son of Jean Roux, a farmer, and Marie-Anne Lavaud, a seamstress. He had two brothers and two sisters. ¹ He studied at the seminary of Angoulême and was ordained as a priest in 1776. He served as a vicar in several parishes in the region, where he gained a reputation for his charity and his eloquence. He was also interested in literature and philosophy, and read works by Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. ¹ In 1789, he moved to Paris to join the revolutionary movement that had erupted after the storming of the Bastille. He became a member of the Cordeliers Club, a radical political group that advocated for universal suffrage, popular sovereignty, and social equality. He also joined the Paris Commune, the revolutionary municipal government that challenged the authority of the National Assembly. ¹ Roux became one of the leaders of a faction known as the Enragés (the Enraged Ones), who expressed the grievances and demands of the poor and working-class people of Paris, known as the sans-culottes (the without breeches). He denounced the corruption, speculation, and hoarding that caused food shortages and inflation. He called for the abolition of private property, the redistribution of wealth, and the execution of traitors and enemies of the people. He also advocated for the rights of women, slaves, and religious minorities. ¹ He delivered fiery speeches at the sections (local assemblies) and at the National Convention (the legislative body that replaced the National Assembly in 1792). He also wrote pamphlets and manifestos that circulated among the masses. His most famous work was the Manifesto of the Enragés, which he presented to the Convention on 25 June 1793. In it, he declared: "Liberty is no more than an empty shell when one class of men can starve another with impunity. Equality is no more than an empty shell when the rich exercise their right to rob society by means of their wealth." ² He also criticized the Jacobins, the dominant political faction that led the Convention and controlled the Committee of Public Safety, the executive body that wielded dictatorial powers during the Reign of Terror. He accused them of being moderate and compromising with the enemies of the revolution. He opposed their policies of war, taxation, and conscription. He also denounced their leader, Maximilien Robespierre, as a tyrant and a hypocrite. ¹² Roux's radicalism and popularity made him a target of repression by the Jacobins. He was arrested several times on charges of conspiracy, sedition, and counter-revolution. He was also attacked by his former allies, such as Jean-Paul Marat, who accused him of being a false priest and a foreign agent. ¹² On 14 January 1794, he was informed that his case was going to be tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal, which usually sentenced its defendants to death by guillotine. Upon hearing this news, Roux pulled out a knife and stabbed himself several times in his cell at Bicêtre prison. He died from his wounds on 10 February 1794. He was 41 years old. He had no known grave. ¹² Roux's legacy is controversial. Some historians regard him as a visionary and a precursor of socialism and communism. Others view him as a fanatic and a demagogue who incited violence and anarchy. He is also seen as a symbol of the popular and radical dimension of the French Revolution, which was eventually suppressed by the Jacobins and the Thermidorian Reaction. ¹²