Saturday 16 November 2013

The Drownings at Nantes

Today we mark another dark anniversary in the history of France with the story of the first drownings at Nantes (Noyades de Nantes) on 16th November 1793. One of the bleakest episodes of the Terror, the drownings were a method of mass execution used to remove those who did not agree with the revolution or were suspected of sympathising with the royalists. They were also used as a ruthlessly efficient means of executing Catholic priests and nuns and eventually resulted in the loss of approximately 4000 lives.


Noyades de Nantes

We have already heard tell of the 22 Prairial that Robespierre pushed into existence, a move that was to prove fatally misjudged. The new law was aimed at those suspected of being counter-revolutionaries; with the passing of the 22 Prairial such suspects could be executed without due process. Citizens were appalled not only at what the law allowed but also at what they saw as Robespierre's gross misuse of his powers. The 22 Prairial had been passed without discussion in the Committee of General Security and this only solidified suspicions that Robespierre was out of control, making sweeping and dictatorial decisions without proper consultation.

However, the people of Nantes had more to worry about than falling foul of Robespierre. The city was overwhelmed by casualties being brought in from the war in the Vendée and the people lived in constant fear of starvation and disease. Prisoners of war and of the revolution were dying at an alarming rate in prison and the National Convention entrusted the region to the care of  Jean-Baptiste Carrier, naming him as republican representative to Nantes. In fact, Carrier took something of a scorched earth approach to the area, declaring that he would leave not one enemy of the revolution alive, a policy that attracted the full support of the Committee of Public Safety.

As night fell on 16th November 1793 Carrier requested that almost 200 Catholic priests who were being held on the prison barge, La Gloire, be assembled on the dock. Here a customised barge waited for them and 90 of the priests were bound and herded onto the vessel. With the prisoners packed tight and helpless, the craft was piloted out into the Loire where it was scuppered. All but three of the prisoners on board suffered a terrifying death by drowning and for the trio that tried to swim for safety, respite was short-lived. Picked up by a naval ship that had heard the screams of the dying men, the escapees were soon tracked down and returned to custody to be killed in the second wave of executions on the following evening.


Jean-Baptiste Carrier by François Séraphin Delpech, 1830
Jean-Baptiste Carrier by François Séraphin Delpech, 1830

This was just the first of a series of executions by that would go on until February 1794 in which men, women and children were drowned without mercy or appeal as Carrier's regime crushed all those seen as resisting the ideals of the Revolution. Judges in the region approved mass lists of names for execution and these terrified unfortunates all perished beneath the dark waters of the Loire. Carrier's soldiers laid waste to large areas of the district in a ceaseless search for the perceived enemies, with a modified barge eventually being engineered that made use of special hatches that allowed the executions to be as efficient as possible. 

As his reign continued, Carrier found the people of Nantes turning against him. They watched with increasing fear as their neighbours and friends went to their deaths, towns and farms set ablaze in the tireless search for insurgents, with some of those arrested and drowned as young as five years old. Eventually though Carrier's reign came to a shuddering end when reports of his behaviour were looked at more closely and on 3rd September 1794, Carrier was arrested. He claimed to have no knowledge of the drownings, explaining that his role had been mainly one intended to stabilise the economy and manage the troops. His defence convinced no one and he was executed by guillotine on 16th December 1794.

On the anniversary of that first terrible night it is hard to imagine the terror of those who went out on the barge to their death, yet they were the first of thousands to die in the Loire. They were persecuted on account of faith, suspicion and paranoia at the order of a politician who, as so many did, eventually fell victim to his own ambition and cruelty.

24 comments:

The Greenockian said...

What a horrible story - such cruelty!
Liz

Unknown said...

I knew nothing of this and wish that I still didn't. Except for the horrors of the Nazi regime, this is the most sickening thing that I have ever read.

Catherine Curzon said...

I know; it's a story I've wanted to share for a while.

Catherine Curzon said...

It truly is. I first heard of it a few years ago and honestly thought *that can't be true* but sadly, it was.

toothlight said...

Methinks there is no end to the ways mankind can inflict pain and suffering on mankind and animals.Methinks God made mistakes when
inventing humankind 'in his own image.'

Catherine Curzon said...

There are some certainly some dark stories to be told, it's true.

Unknown said...

That is a truly awful tale! I can't imagine how awful it must have been to escape one night only to be executed the next. When I read some of these posts I thank my lucky stars that I am fortunate enough not to live in such brutal times of paranoia and persecution!

Catherine Curzon said...

It's a dark story, the terror must have been immense.

Anonymous said...

The great grandmother of my grandfather "Louise Bréhéret" was on the barge, but she escape the downing due to the help of a "republican" horsegard who find her pretty. "petite femme, accroche toi à la crinière de mon cheval". She didn't marry her savior as it was use to do at that time and come back some years later to her natal village where she married "René DELAHAYE" the 14th of february 1797. They will have 3 childs, but she died young (36 years old) in cold and misery brought by the civil french war "les guerres de vendée"

Catherine Curzon said...

What a sad story, but fancy having such a momentous moment in history in your family tree. Do tell us more if you find anything else!

Lindsay said...

I'm stunned to silence at the horror this man caused. I only wish he'd been forced to suffer the same fate as it would have been most fitting.

Catherine Curzon said...

It's a dark episode, and one that is not so well known as it should be.

Antoine Vanner said...

If any man deserved the guillotine this was he! I was however impressed by his excuse of organising the drownings " to stabilise the economy"

Catherine Curzon said...

Indeed; quite the political answer!

Stephen Barker said...

Since you originally posted this story we have had the executions (murders) committed by ISIS which has included placing men in a cage and drowning them.

Catherine Curzon said...

It's a sad truth that history so often does repeat.

Enchantedisle said...

What an absolutely appalling part of history, I've never heard this before, just awful what humans are capable of doing to others

Anonymous said...

What an interesting story in your family and how wonderful she survived to have three children...

Anonymous said...

The whole of the Committee of Public Safety had a lot to answer for and this type of man is what makes the French Revolution so very sad in so many ways...

Catherine Curzon said...

It was a truly dark episode even in the bloody Revolution.

Catherine Curzon said...

So very true.

Unknown said...

My name is Vincent Thebaud, my ancestors are from Nantes and I am luckily a survivor of this horror. One of my family who was a Garde du Corps to the King was tending to personal affairs to his property in Guadeloupe and escaping the fate of many.

Catherine Curzon said...

What a twist of fate!

Lauren Gilbert said...

A politician without check who runs amok is a dangerous animal.