The Insurgent Movement of Barbets in the Alpes-Maritimes and the French Royalists in 1800
Mitrofanov Andrei
In the winter of 1799–1800 French royalists, who were in exile, drew up with the support of British intelligence, a plan for a large popular uprising in the south of France in favor of the restoration of the monarchy. The functions of the main organizer and leader of the rebels were assigned to General A. Willot. The author of the article analyzes in detail the little-studied in historiography story about the cooperation of barbets with royalist emigration in 1800. He uses materials from the archive of royalist J. Imbert-Colomés, the correspondence of English diplomat W. Wickham, documents from the archives of Piedmont and Nice. The author of the article shows, that Willot and his agents, from January to April 1800, actively recruited their supporters among the insurgents of the Alps-Maritimes, known as barbets, and established contacts with their leaders. From 2,000 to 4,000 barbets were planned to be involved in the uprising. Despite all efforts, the French royalists were unable to carry out their plan in the spring of 1800 for several reasons: the Austrian chancellor Thugut did not believe in the success of the restoration and did not provide them with the necessary military assistance; the British intelligence led by Wickham was ready only to help with money; there were among the leaders of the royalists (Pichegru, Willot, Precy) contradictions and concurrences. The most favorable moment for the uprising was April, but the time was lost. An important factor in the overall failure of the plan was also the autonomous nature of the movement of barbets, who were poorly controlled and prone to robbery, showing extreme cruelty towards the enemy.
References:
Bovykin D.Yu. Korol bez korolevstva. Ludovik XVIII i francuzskie royalisty v 1794–1799 gg. Moskva, 2016].
Bovykin D.Yu. Ludovik XVIII i royalistskoe povstancheskoe dvizhenie na zapade Francii // Francuzskiï ezhegodnik 2016: Protestnye dvizheniya v epohu Francuzskoï revolyucii i Pervoï imperii. Moskva, 2016. S. 55–65.
Mitrofanov A.A. Dvizhenie barbe v epohu Francuzskoï revolyucii: krestyane,kontrrevolyucionery, bandity? // ENOZH «Istoriya». Tom 12. Vyp. 7 (105)] URL: https://history.jes.su/s207987840015439-1-1/
Tchoudinov A.V. «Soldaty svobody» ili smertelnyj vrag? Francuzy v Yuzhnoj Italii 1798–1799 gg. // Izvestiya UrFU. Seriya 2: Gumanitarnye nauki. 2016. T. 18. № 2 (151). S. 25–41.
Tchoudinov A.V. Narody protiv Francuzskoï revolyucii // Francuzskiï ezhegodnik 2016: Protestnye dvizheniya v epohu Francuzskoï revolyucii i Pervoï imperii. Moskva, 2016. S. 5–35.
Bacquer J.-M. Le «brigandage» dans les Alpes-Maritimes en l'an IX et en l'an X (d'après les procédures du Tribunal criminel spécial) // Actes du 103-e Congrès national des sociétés savantes, Nancy-Metz 1978. Section d'histoire moderne et contemporaine. Paris, 1979. T. 2. Р. 314–315.
Broers M. Napoleonic imperialism and the Savoyard Monarchy, 1773–1821. State Building in Piedmont. Lewiston, New-York, 1997.
Broers M. Napoleon's Other War: Bandits, Rebels and Their Pursuers in the Age of Revolutions. Oxford, 2010.
Daudet E. Les émigrés et la seconde coalition, 1797–1800 (d'après des documents inédits), 1886.
Devlin J.D. A problem of royalism. General Amédée Willot and the French Directory // Renaissance and modern Studies. 1989. №. 33. Heft 1. P. 125–143.
Du Lac R.P. Le Général Comte de Précy. Sa vie militaire. Son commandement au siège de Lyon, son émigration. Paris, 1898.
Durey M. William Wickham, the Christ Church Connection and the Rise and Fall of the Security Service in Britain, 1793–1801 // The English Historical Review. 2006. Vol. 121. № 492. P. 714–745.
Durey М. William Wickham, Master Spy. The Secret War Against the French Revolution. London, 2009.
Fryer W. R. Republic or Restoration in France? 1794–1797. The Politics of French Royalism with particular references to the activities of A.B.J. d'André. Manchester, 1965.
Gaffarel P. Le gouvernement du général Willot a Marseille (mars 1796 – mars 1797) // La Révolution française : revue historique. 1913. T. 65. P. 133–166.
Godechot J. La Contre-révolution. Doctrine et action. 1789–1804. Paris, 1961.
Gonnet P., Peronnet M. La Révolution dans les Alpes-Maritimes 1789–1799. Saint-Etienne, 1989.
Gonnet P. L'identité niçoise : la prise de conscience à travers les options politiques (1792–1889) // Cahiers de la Méditerranée. L'identité niçoise. Actes du colloque de Nice. 1991. № 42 (1). P. 33–51.
Iafelice M. Les barbets. Résistants ou brigands du pays niçois ? // Annales Monégasques. 1988. P. 73–116.
Iafelice M. Barbets! La résistance à la domination française dans le pays niçois 1792–1814. Nice, 1998.
Maranda J. Tableau du Piémont sous le régime des rois, avec un précis sur les Vaudois et une notice sur les Barbets. Turin, 1803.
Mauviel M. L'incroyable odyssée d'Henri Sappia: erudit niçois, conspirateur et agent secret sous le Second Empire, 1833–1906. Draguignan, 2007.
Mitchell H. The Underground War against Revolutionary France. The Missions of William Wickham, 1794–1800. Oxford, 1965.
Molle G. Oneglia nella sua storia. Milano, 1974.
Note de Fouché au conseiller d’Etat de 3-me arrondissement. Paris, le 23 thermidor, an XII // Annales cu Comté de Nice. 1932. № 6. P. 337–338.
Papiers saisis a Bayreuth et a Mende, département de la Lozère. Paris, an X (1802).
Papon S. Voyage dans le département des Alpes maritimes, avec la description de la ville et du terroir de Nice, de Menton, de Monaco, etc., par S. Papon. Paris, 1804.
Poidebard R. La Vie agitée d'Imbert-Colomès, premier échevin et commandant de la ville de Lyon en 1789. Lyon, 1942.
Prenant P. La bourse ou la vie. Le brigandage et sa répression dans le pays niçois et en Provence orientale (XVIIIe–XIXe siècles). Nice, 2011.
Ripart L. Pour une histoire des barbets des Alpes-Maritimes // Mélanges Paul Gonnet. Nice, 1989. P. 257–266.
Ruggiero M. La storia dei briganti piemontesi 1796–1814. Torino,1998.
Viglione M. La Vandea Italiana. Le insorgenze controrivoluzionarie dalle origini al 1814. Milano, 1995.
Viglione M. Rivolte dimenticate. Le insorgenze degli italiani dalle origini al 1815. Roma, 1999.
Wickham W. The Correspondence of the right honorable William Wickham from the year 1794. 2 vol. London, 1870.