Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac
Encyclopedia
Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac (10 September 1755 – 13 January 1841) was a French
politician and journalist, one of the most notorious members of the National Convention
during the French Revolution
.
in Gascony
. The name Barère de Vieuzac, by which he continued to call himself long after the renunciation of feudal rights
on the 4 August abolition of feudalism, came from a small fief
belonging to his father, a lawyer
at Vieuzac. Barère's father, Jean Barère, was a procurator and a lawyer. His grandfather, Bertrand Barère, was a priest
, doctor of theology
, and vicar
. Barère’s mother, Jeanne-Catherine Marrast, was of old nobility. When Barère was a child, he went to a parish school, and when he and his siblings were of age, his brother, Jean-Pierre, became a priest. After finishing school, Barère attended a college before he began his career in revolutionary politics. He began to practice as a lawyer at the parlement
of Toulouse
in 1770, and soon earned a reputation as an orator, while his fame as an essayist led to his election as a member of the Academy of Floral Games of Toulouse
in 1788.
He married at the age of thirty. Four years later (1789), he was elected deputy by the estates of Bigorre
to the Estates-General
— he had made his first visit to Paris
in the preceding year. Barère de Vieuzac at first belonged to the constitutional
party, but he was less known as a speaker in the National Constituent Assembly
than as a journalist. His paper, the Point du Jour, according to François Victor Alphonse Aulard
, owed its reputation not so much to its own qualities as to the fact that the painter Jacques-Louis David
, in his sketch of the Tennis Court Oath
, showed Barère kneeling in the corner and writing a report of the proceedings for posterity.
, Barère joined the republican
party and the Feuillant
s, although he continued to keep in touch with the Duke of Orléans, whose natural daughter, Pamela, he tutor
ed. After the Constituent Assembly ended its session, he was nominated one of the judges of the newly instituted Cour de cassation
from October 1791 to September 1792.
Even though Barère was States-General in 1789 and judge of Constituent Assembly in 1791, his real career didn't begin until 1792, when he was elected to the National Convention
for the département of the Hautes-Pyrénées
. He participated to the Constitution Committee that drafted the Girondin constitutional project
and also became a member of the Committee of Public Safety in 1793. It turned out that Barère was extremely useful in reporting to the Convention the plans of the Committee.
His career took off when he presided over the trial of Louis XVI
— Barère was the presiding officer in the National Convention and he was the one who questioned the king. He voted with The Mountain
for the king's execution
"without appeal
and without delay", and closed his speech with a memorable sentence:
“the tree of liberty grows only when watered by the blood of tyrants.”
Appointed to the Committee of Public Safety
on 7 April 1793, he became involved in foreign affairs, and joined Robespierre's faction, the Jacobin Club
, playing an important part in the second Committee of Public Safety after 17 July 1793. He voted for the death of the Girondists at the beginning of the Reign of Terror
. He consequently became active in the power struggles between The Mountain and others, and became mediator to all.
After the execution of King Louis XVI, Barère began publicly speaking of his new found faith in "la religion de la patrie". He wanted everyone to have faith in the fatherland, and called for the people of the Republic to be good citizens and to have virtue. Barère focused on four aspects about "la religion de la patrie"; 1) the belief that a citizen would be consecrated to the fatherland at birth, 2) the citizen should then come to love the fatherland, 3) the Republic would teach the people virtues, 4) the fatherland would be the teacher to all. Barère went on to state that "the Republic leaves the guidance of your first years to your parents, but as soon as your intelligence is developed, it proudly claims the rights that it holds over you. You are born for the Republic and not for the pride or the despotism of families." He also said that since citizens were born of the Republic, they should love it above anything else, reasoning that eventually the love for the fatherland would become a passion in everyone and this is how the people of the Republic would be united.
Barère also urged further issues of nationalism and patriotism. He said, "I was a revolutionary. I am a constitutional citizen." He pushed for freedom of press, speech, and thought. Barère felt that nationalism was founded by immeasurable emotions that could only be awakened by participating in national activities such as public events, festivals, and through education. He believed in unity through "diversity and compromise."
In 1793 and 1794, Barère spoke of his doctrine 1) the teaching of national patriotism through an organized system of universal education; 2) the national widespread of patriotic devotion; 3) the concept that one owed his nation his services. Barère also stated that one could serve the nation by giving his labor, wealth, counsel, strength, and/or blood. Therefore, all sexes and ages could serve the fatherland. He outlined his new faith in the fatherland, which replaced the national state religion, Catholicism. Barère was trying to make nationalism a religion.
Besides being concerned for the fatherland, Barère believed in universal elementary education. He influenced what children in American schools now do today; that is say the pledge of allegiance
, alphabet
, and the teaching of the multiplication table
. Barère believed that the fatherland could educate all.
surged. Robespierre was put on trial in 1794 along with two others, Couthon
and Saint-Just
. Barère provided defense speeches for Couthon and St. Just, so they would be prepared on what to say at their trial. He also tried to help Robespierre on his speech, so he wouldn't be executed, but Robespierre was too virtuous. The National Convention asked Robespierre to identify others who were terrorists. Robespierre identified Billaud, Collot d'Herbois, and Barère as terrorists. After Barère found out Robespierre had condemned him as a terrorist, Barère pointed his finger at Robespierre to have him executed. Barère was the first to condemn Robespierre, so he, himself, would live.
Barère was also known to have attacked Maximilien Robespierre
by calling him "a pygmy
who should not be set on a pedestal". During the Thermidorian Reaction
(27 July 1794), after some initial hesitation, he drew up the report outlawing Robespierre.
Unfortunately, Barère was still questioned on the grounds of being a terrorist. Before Barère was sentenced to prison, "Carnot
defended him on the ground that [Barère] was hardly worse than himself." However, the defense proved ineffective. Nonetheless, in Germinal of the year III (21 March to 4 April 1795), the leaders of Thermidor decreed the arrest of Barère and his colleagues in the Reign of Terror, Jean Marie Collot d'Herbois and Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne
.
Barère was sentenced for his betrayal of King Louis XVI (by voting to execute him), for being a traitor to France, and for being a terrorist, and he was imprisoned on Oléron
, on his way for transportation
to French Guiana
. While Barère was in prison, he was very depressed and wrote his own epitaph because he thought he was going to die.
Barère was in prison for two years before the National Convention decided they were going to retry him for death by the guillotine. When Barère found out that he was being retried, someone helped him escape from prison and went to Bordeaux
, where he lived in hiding for several years.
In 1795, he was elected to the Directory
's Council of Five Hundred
, but he was not allowed to take his seat. Barère eventually returned to France and served Napoleon
. Under the First Empire
, he was used as a secret agent
by Napoleon, for whom he carried on a diplomatic correspondence.
Some time afterward, Napoleon placed Barère back in prison, but Barère escaped again. He became a member of the Chamber of Deputies
during the Hundred Days
, and he behaved as a royalist
in 1815. However, once the final restoration of the Bourbons
was achieved, he was banished from France for life "as a regicide
". Barère then withdrew to Brussels
, where he lived until 1830. He returned to France and served Louis Philippe under the July monarchy
until his death on 13 January 1841. He was the last surviving member of the Committee of Public Safety.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician and journalist, one of the most notorious members of the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Early career
He was born at TarbesTarbes
Tarbes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.It is part of the historical region of Gascony. It is the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, with 110,000 inhabitants....
in Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
. The name Barère de Vieuzac, by which he continued to call himself long after the renunciation of feudal rights
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
on the 4 August abolition of feudalism, came from a small fief
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
belonging to his father, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
at Vieuzac. Barère's father, Jean Barère, was a procurator and a lawyer. His grandfather, Bertrand Barère, was a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, doctor of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, and vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
. Barère’s mother, Jeanne-Catherine Marrast, was of old nobility. When Barère was a child, he went to a parish school, and when he and his siblings were of age, his brother, Jean-Pierre, became a priest. After finishing school, Barère attended a college before he began his career in revolutionary politics. He began to practice as a lawyer at the parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1770, and soon earned a reputation as an orator, while his fame as an essayist led to his election as a member of the Academy of Floral Games of Toulouse
Académie des Jeux floraux
Académie des Jeux floraux , or Collège de la gaie science , is the most ancient literary institution of the western world. It was founded in 1323 by Clémence Isaure as the Consistori del Gay Saber with the goal of encouraging Occitan poetry...
in 1788.
He married at the age of thirty. Four years later (1789), he was elected deputy by the estates of Bigorre
Bigorre
Bigorre is region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony...
to the Estates-General
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
— he had made his first visit to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the preceding year. Barère de Vieuzac at first belonged to the constitutional
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
party, but he was less known as a speaker in the National Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
than as a journalist. His paper, the Point du Jour, according to François Victor Alphonse Aulard
François Victor Alphonse Aulard
François Victor Alphonse Aulard was the first professional French historian of the French Revolution and of Napoleon.He was born at Montbron in Charente...
, owed its reputation not so much to its own qualities as to the fact that the painter Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David was an influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era...
, in his sketch of the Tennis Court Oath
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789...
, showed Barère kneeling in the corner and writing a report of the proceedings for posterity.
With the Girondists and The Mountain
After the flight of the king to VarennesFlight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution...
, Barère joined the republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
party and the Feuillant
Feuillant
Feuillant, a French word derived from the Latin for leaf, has been used as a tag by two different groups:*Feuillant *Feuillant ...
s, although he continued to keep in touch with the Duke of Orléans, whose natural daughter, Pamela, he tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
ed. After the Constituent Assembly ended its session, he was nominated one of the judges of the newly instituted Cour de cassation
Court of Cassation (France)
The French Supreme Court of Judicature is France's court of last resort having jurisdiction over all matters triable in the judicial stream but only scope of review to determine a miscarriage of justice or certify a question of law based solely on points of law...
from October 1791 to September 1792.
Even though Barère was States-General in 1789 and judge of Constituent Assembly in 1791, his real career didn't begin until 1792, when he was elected to the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
for the département of the Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées is a department in southwestern France. It is part of the Midi-Pyrénées region.-History:...
. He participated to the Constitution Committee that drafted the Girondin constitutional project
Girondin constitutional project
The Girondin constitutional project, presented to the French National Convention on February 15 and 16, 1793, by Nicolas de Caritat, formerly the Marquis de Condorcet, is composed of three parts:...
and also became a member of the Committee of Public Safety in 1793. It turned out that Barère was extremely useful in reporting to the Convention the plans of the Committee.
His career took off when he presided over the trial of Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
— Barère was the presiding officer in the National Convention and he was the one who questioned the king. He voted with The Mountain
The Mountain
The Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
for the king's execution
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
"without appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
and without delay", and closed his speech with a memorable sentence:
“the tree of liberty grows only when watered by the blood of tyrants.”
Appointed to the Committee of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
on 7 April 1793, he became involved in foreign affairs, and joined Robespierre's faction, the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
, playing an important part in the second Committee of Public Safety after 17 July 1793. He voted for the death of the Girondists at the beginning of the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. He consequently became active in the power struggles between The Mountain and others, and became mediator to all.
After the execution of King Louis XVI, Barère began publicly speaking of his new found faith in "la religion de la patrie". He wanted everyone to have faith in the fatherland, and called for the people of the Republic to be good citizens and to have virtue. Barère focused on four aspects about "la religion de la patrie"; 1) the belief that a citizen would be consecrated to the fatherland at birth, 2) the citizen should then come to love the fatherland, 3) the Republic would teach the people virtues, 4) the fatherland would be the teacher to all. Barère went on to state that "the Republic leaves the guidance of your first years to your parents, but as soon as your intelligence is developed, it proudly claims the rights that it holds over you. You are born for the Republic and not for the pride or the despotism of families." He also said that since citizens were born of the Republic, they should love it above anything else, reasoning that eventually the love for the fatherland would become a passion in everyone and this is how the people of the Republic would be united.
Barère also urged further issues of nationalism and patriotism. He said, "I was a revolutionary. I am a constitutional citizen." He pushed for freedom of press, speech, and thought. Barère felt that nationalism was founded by immeasurable emotions that could only be awakened by participating in national activities such as public events, festivals, and through education. He believed in unity through "diversity and compromise."
In 1793 and 1794, Barère spoke of his doctrine 1) the teaching of national patriotism through an organized system of universal education; 2) the national widespread of patriotic devotion; 3) the concept that one owed his nation his services. Barère also stated that one could serve the nation by giving his labor, wealth, counsel, strength, and/or blood. Therefore, all sexes and ages could serve the fatherland. He outlined his new faith in the fatherland, which replaced the national state religion, Catholicism. Barère was trying to make nationalism a religion.
Besides being concerned for the fatherland, Barère believed in universal elementary education. He influenced what children in American schools now do today; that is say the pledge of allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
, alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
, and the teaching of the multiplication table
Multiplication table
In mathematics, a multiplication table is a mathematical table used to define a multiplication operation for an algebraic system....
. Barère believed that the fatherland could educate all.
9 Thermidor, prison, and later life
After his 1793 and 1794 speeches on nationalism, patriotism, and education, the counter-revolution and White TerrorWhite Terror
White Terror is the violence carried out by reactionary groups as part of a counter-revolution. In particular, during the 20th century, in several countries the term White Terror was applied to acts of violence against real or suspected socialists and communists.-Historical origin: the French...
surged. Robespierre was put on trial in 1794 along with two others, Couthon
Georges Couthon
Georges Auguste Couthon a French politician and lawyer in the French Revolution. Couthon would befriend Robespierre and serve on the Committee of Public Safety with him from 30 May 1793 until his and Robespierre’s deaths in 1794...
and Saint-Just
Louis de Saint-Just
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just , usually known as Saint-Just, was a military and political leader during the French Revolution. The youngest of the deputies elected to the National Convention in 1792, Saint-Just rose quickly in their ranks and became a major leader of the government of the French...
. Barère provided defense speeches for Couthon and St. Just, so they would be prepared on what to say at their trial. He also tried to help Robespierre on his speech, so he wouldn't be executed, but Robespierre was too virtuous. The National Convention asked Robespierre to identify others who were terrorists. Robespierre identified Billaud, Collot d'Herbois, and Barère as terrorists. After Barère found out Robespierre had condemned him as a terrorist, Barère pointed his finger at Robespierre to have him executed. Barère was the first to condemn Robespierre, so he, himself, would live.
Barère was also known to have attacked Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
by calling him "a pygmy
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
who should not be set on a pedestal". During the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
(27 July 1794), after some initial hesitation, he drew up the report outlawing Robespierre.
Unfortunately, Barère was still questioned on the grounds of being a terrorist. Before Barère was sentenced to prison, "Carnot
Lazare Carnot
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot , the Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars, was a French politician, engineer, and mathematician.-Education and early life:...
defended him on the ground that [Barère] was hardly worse than himself." However, the defense proved ineffective. Nonetheless, in Germinal of the year III (21 March to 4 April 1795), the leaders of Thermidor decreed the arrest of Barère and his colleagues in the Reign of Terror, Jean Marie Collot d'Herbois and Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne
Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne
Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne , also known as Jean Nicolas, was a French personality of the Revolutionary period. Though not one of the most well known figures of the French Revolution, Jacques Nicolas Billaud Varenne was an instrumental figure of the period known as the Reign of Terror...
.
Barère was sentenced for his betrayal of King Louis XVI (by voting to execute him), for being a traitor to France, and for being a terrorist, and he was imprisoned on Oléron
Oléron
Île d'Oléron is an island off the Atlantic coast of France , on the southern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....
, on his way for transportation
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
. While Barère was in prison, he was very depressed and wrote his own epitaph because he thought he was going to die.
Barère was in prison for two years before the National Convention decided they were going to retry him for death by the guillotine. When Barère found out that he was being retried, someone helped him escape from prison and went to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, where he lived in hiding for several years.
In 1795, he was elected to the Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
's Council of Five Hundred
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred , or simply the Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France during the period commonly known as the Directory , from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the...
, but he was not allowed to take his seat. Barère eventually returned to France and served Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. Under the First Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, he was used as a secret agent
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
by Napoleon, for whom he carried on a diplomatic correspondence.
Some time afterward, Napoleon placed Barère back in prison, but Barère escaped again. He became a member of the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, and he behaved as a royalist
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
in 1815. However, once the final restoration of the Bourbons
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
was achieved, he was banished from France for life "as a regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
". Barère then withdrew to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, where he lived until 1830. He returned to France and served Louis Philippe under the July monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
until his death on 13 January 1841. He was the last surviving member of the Committee of Public Safety.