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In the context of the French Revolution, a
Jacobin originally meant a member of the Jacobin Club
(1789-1794). But even while the Club still existed,
the name of Jacobins had been popularly applied to all promulgators of extreme revolutionary opinions. Nowadays, in
France this term refers to a centralistic conception of Republic, with all
powers concentrated in Paris.
In this sense the word passed beyond the borders of France and long survived the
Revolution. Canning's paper, The Anti-Jacobin, directed
against the English Radicals, consecrated
its use in England; and in the correspondence of Metternich and other leaders of the repressive policy which followed the second fall of
Napoleon in 1815, Jacobin is the term commonly applied
to anyone with Liberal tendencies, even to so august a personage as the emperor
Alexander I of Russia.
The English who supported the French Revolution during its early stages (or even throughout), were early known as
Jacobins. These included the young Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and others prior to their
disillusionment at the outbreak of The Terror. Others, such as William Hazlitt and Tom Paine
remained idealistic about the Revolution.
Do not confuse Jacobinism with Jacobitism (note the "t").
Influence
Anger with the Jacobins inspired the Jesuit priest Abbe
Augustin Barruel to create a vivid conspiracy theory about
them.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopędia Britannica. Please update as needed.
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