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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Life of Barras: Prince of the Republic

The Life of Barras: Prince of the Republic

Moloney, Robert

Paperback

Biographies General

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN13: 9798341390591
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Dec 25 2024
Pages: 290
Weight: 0.86
Height: 0.61 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
This work is a biographical account of the political career of Paul Barras, an aristocrat-turned-revolutionary who became a leading figure of the French Directory and who was instrumental in supporting the early career of Napoleon Bonaparte.

In command of military forces Barras played an important role during the siege of Toulon, the fall of Robespierre on 9 Thermidor, and the suppression of the royalist uprising on 13 Vendémiaire, while as Director Barras was instrumental in guiding the government between the forces of Jacobinism on the left and royalism on the right. While he and his colleagues were victorious with the Coup of 18 Fructidor against the rising threat of a restoration, the political apathy the Directors reigned over and did much to perpetuate led to his downfall and the end of the Directory with the Napoleonic Coup of 18 Brumaire.

The work covers the military and political career of Barras before, during, and after the French Revolution. The first chapters narrate his pre-revolutionary military career in India during the time of the American War of Independence and his actions during the early years of the revolution, which include a dangerous encounter with revolutionary violence at Avignon. The middle chapters cover his mission to the rebel city of Toulon, where Barras had his first fateful encounter with the young artillery officer Bonaparte, to his defence of the National Convention on 9 Thermidor and 13 Vendémiaire. The later chapters narrate his time as Director, a member of the executive body of the Republic, detailing his relationship to the 'Conspiracy of the Equals', his contribution to the anti-royalist Coup of 18 Fructidor, and his failed attempt to salvage his deteriorating political position during the months leading up to the Coup of 18 Brumaire. A final chapter surveys his final years in exile during the Napoleonic period and in retirement during the time of the Bourbon Restoration.

The accounts of the siege of Toulon and conflicts in Paris will be of particular interest to students of the military aspects of the French Revolution, while the discussion of the relationship between Barras and Bonaparte will be of interest to students of the Emperor. Meanwhile, the work also provides a continuous narrative account of the political history of the Directory, which will be helpful to those readers seeking a straightforward summary of this often neglected (and rather complicated) period of the French Revolution.

In an appendix, the work also includes some contemporary sources / accounts of the career of Barras that will be of interest in illuminating the reputation that the Director had amongst his fellow revolutionaries and royalist enemies.

This paperback version contains colour pictures.

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