Michel Mathieu Lecointe-Puyraveau
Encyclopedia
Michel Mathieu Lecointe-Puyraveau (13 December 1764 – 15 January 1827) was a French
politician.
(Deux-Sèvres
), he was elected deputy for his département to the Legislative Assembly
in 1792, where he made himself known for his harsh stances against the moderates. He was elected to the National Convention
in the same year, voting in favor the capital punishment
for King Louis XVI
, with the possibility of appeal to the people
.
His association with the Girondist
s nearly involved him in their fall of May-June 1793, despite Lecointe-Puyraveau's extreme Republicanism - he had placed his position in peril after publicly accusing Jean-Paul Marat
for having instigated the September Massacres
, and even called him "demented
", but had not voted in favor of his prosecution. At the precise moment of the Girondists' proscription
, Lecointe-Puyraveau was representative on mission to the Vendée
, and, back in Paris
during the Reign of Terror
, remained an inconspicuous presence in the face of the Committee of Public Safety
.
which brought down Maximilien Robespierre
, but protested against the establishment of the Directory
, and continually pressed for severer measures against the émigré
s, and even their relatives who had remained in France.
He was secretary and then president of the Council of Five Hundred
, and under the French Consulate
a member of the Tribunate. Lecointe-Puyraveau took no part in public affairs under the First French Empire
, but was Lieutenant General
of police for south-east France during the Hundred Days
.
After the 1815 battle of Waterloo
he took ship from Toulon
, but the ship was driven back by a storm and he narrowly escaped a disastrous shipwreck at Marseille
. After six weeks imprisonment in the Château d'If
, he returned to Paris, escaping, after the proscription of the regicide
s (those who had voted for the death of the previous king), to Brussels
, where he died a decade later.
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.
Assembly and Convention
Born in Saint-Maixent-l'ÉcoleSaint-Maixent-l'École
Saint-Maixent-l'École is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.-Geography:Saint-Maixent-l'École is located in the Haut Val de Sèvre area of western France, about from Niort and from La Rochelle...
(Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres is a French département. Deux-Sèvres literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department.-History:...
), he was elected deputy for his département to the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly (France)
During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention.The Legislative...
in 1792, where he made himself known for his harsh stances against the moderates. 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...
in the same year, voting in favor the capital punishment
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...
for King 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....
, with the possibility of appeal to the people
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....
.
His association with the Girondist
Girondist
The Girondists were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution...
s nearly involved him in their fall of May-June 1793, despite Lecointe-Puyraveau's extreme Republicanism - he had placed his position in peril after publicly accusing Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat , born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution...
for having instigated the September Massacres
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
, and even called him "demented
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
", but had not voted in favor of his prosecution. At the precise moment of the Girondists' proscription
Proscription
Proscription is a term used for the public identification and official condemnation of enemies of the state. It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "decree of condemnation to death or banishment" and is a heavily politically charged word, frequently used to refer to state-approved...
, Lecointe-Puyraveau was representative on mission to the Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
, and, back in 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...
during 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...
, remained an inconspicuous presence in the face of 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...
.
Directory, Empire, and proscription
He took part in the Thermidorian ReactionThermidorian 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...
which brought down 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...
, but protested against the establishment of 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...
, and continually pressed for severer measures against the émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
s, and even their relatives who had remained in France.
He was secretary and then president of the 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...
, and under the French Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
a member of the Tribunate. Lecointe-Puyraveau took no part in public affairs under the First French 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...
, but was Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
of police for south-east France 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...
.
After the 1815 battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
he took ship from Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, but the ship was driven back by a storm and he narrowly escaped a disastrous shipwreck at Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. After six weeks imprisonment in the Château d'If
Château d'If
The Château d'If is a fortress located on the island of If, the smallest island in the Frioul Archipelago situated in the Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille in southeastern France...
, he returned to Paris, escaping, after the proscription of the 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...
s (those who had voted for the death of the previous king), 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 died a decade later.