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{{Short description|German state from March-July 1793; client state of Revolutionary France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2010}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Expand German|Mainzer Republik|date=February 2012}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2010}}
{{Expand German|topic=hist|Mainzer Republik|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox former country
{{Infobox country
|native_name = {{plainlist}}
|native_name = {{plainlist}}
* {{native name|de|Mainzer Republik}}
* {{native name|de|Mainzer Republik}}
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|empire = France
|empire = France
|status_text = [[French client republic|Client state]] of [[French First Republic|France]]
|status_text = [[French client republic|Client state]] of [[French First Republic|France]]
|continent = Europe
|region = Rhineland
|country = Germany
|era = French Revolutionary Wars
|era = French Revolutionary Wars
|government_type = Revolutionary republic
|government_type = Revolutionary republic
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|event2 = [[National Convention]] approved accession to [[French First Republic|French Republic]]
|event2 = [[National Convention]] approved accession to [[French First Republic|French Republic]]
|date_event2 = 30 March 1793
|date_event2 = 30 March 1793
|event_end = Reconquered by [[Austrian Empire|Austro]]-[[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] forces
|event_end = [[Siege of Mainz (1793)|Reconquered]] by [[Austrian Empire|Austro]]-[[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] forces
|date_end = 22 July
|date_end = 22 July
|
|
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|
|
|capital = Mainz
|capital = Mainz
|today = {{DEU}}
|today = [[Germany]]
}}
}}
[[File:Freiheitsbaum-Mainz-1793.jpg|thumb|[[Liberty pole]], erected in Mainz in January 1793]]
[[File:Freiheitsbaum.jpg|thumb|[[Liberty pole]] at the Franco-Luxembourgeois border at the [[Moselle]]. Similar poles were used also in the Republic of Mainz. The table reads "''{{lang|fr|Passants, cette terre est libre}}''" which translates to "Traveler, this land is free". Watercolour by [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]].]]
The '''Republic of Mainz''' was the first [[democracy|democratic]] state on the current [[Germany|German]] territory<ref>The shortlived republic is often ignored in identifying the "first German democracy", in favour of the [[Weimar Republic]]; e.g. "the failure of the first German democracy after the First World War (the Weimar Republic)..." (Peter J. Burnell, ''Democracy Assistance: international co-operation for democratization'' 2000:131), or Ch. 3. 'The First Attempt at Democracy, 1918-1933', in Michael Balfour, ''West Germany: a contemporary history'', 1982:60</ref> and was centered in [[Mainz]]. A product of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], it lasted from March to July 1793.
The '''Republic of Mainz''' was the first [[democracy|democratic]] state in the current [[Germany|German]] territory<ref>The short-lived republic is often ignored in identifying the "first German democracy", in favour of the [[Weimar Republic]]; e.g. "the failure of the first German democracy after the First World War (the Weimar Republic)..." (Peter J. Burnell, ''Democracy Assistance: international co-operation for democratization'' 2000:131), or Ch. 3. 'The First Attempt at Democracy, 1918–1933', in Michael Balfour, ''West Germany: a contemporary history'', 1982:60</ref> and was centered in [[Mainz]]. A product of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], it lasted from March to July 1793.


== Context ==
== Context ==
During the [[War of the First Coalition]] against [[France]], the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] and [[Habsburg Monarchy|Austrian]] troops that had invaded [[France]] retreated after the [[Battle of Valmy]], allowing the French revolutionary army to counterattack. The troops of [[Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine|General Custine]] entered the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]] in late September, and occupied Mainz on 21 October 1792. The ruler of Mainz, [[Prince-elector|Elector]]-[[Archbishop]] [[Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal]], had fled the city.
During the [[War of the First Coalition]] against [[France]], the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] and [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian]] troops that had invaded France retreated after the [[Battle of Valmy]], allowing the French revolutionary army to counterattack. The troops of [[Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine|General Custine]] entered the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]] in late September and occupied Mainz on 21 October 1792. The ruler of Mainz, [[Prince-elector|Elector]]-[[Archbishop]] [[Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal]], had fled the city.


== Jacobin club ==
== Jacobin club ==
On the next day, 20 citizens of Mainz founded a [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]] club, the ''{{lang|de|Gesellschaft der Freunde der Freiheit und Gleichheit}}'' ({{lang-en|Society of the Friends of Liberty and Equality}}). Together with their filial clubs founded later in [[Speyer]] and [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], they promoted the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and the French revolutionary ideals of ''{{lang|fr|liberté, égalité, fraternité}}'' in Germany, aiming for a German republic to be established following the French model. Most of the founding members of the Jacobin club were professors and students of the [[University of Mainz]], together with the university librarian, [[Georg Forster]], some merchants and Mainz state officials. For some time the ecclesiastic [[Friedrich Georg Pape]] was president of the club and editor of the ''{{lang|de|Mainzer Nationalzeitung}}'' ({{lang-en|''Mainz National Newspaper''}}).
On the next day, 20 citizens of Mainz founded a [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]] club, the ''{{lang|de|Gesellschaft der Freunde der Freiheit und Gleichheit}}'' ({{langx|en|Society of the Friends of Liberty and Equality}}). Together with their filial clubs founded later in [[Speyer]] and [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], they promoted the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and the French revolutionary ideals of ''{{lang|fr|liberté, égalité, fraternité}}'' in Germany, aiming for a German republic to be established following the French model. Most of the founding members of the Jacobin club were professors and students of the [[University of Mainz]], together with the university librarian, [[Georg Forster]], some merchants and Mainz state officials. For some time the ecclesiastic {{ill|Friedrich Georg Pape|de}} was president of the club and editor of the ''{{lang|de|Mainzer Nationalzeitung}}'' ({{langx|en|Mainz National Newspaper}}).
[[File:Landtag Rheinland-Pfalz Mainz May 2004.JPG|thumb|left|The Deutschhaus in Mainz.]]
[[File:Landtag Rheinland-Pfalz Mainz May 2004.JPG|thumb|left|The Deutschhaus in Mainz]]


== Founding ==
== Founding ==
By order of the [[National Convention|French National Convention]], elections in the French-occupied territories west of the [[Rhine]] were held on 24 February 1793.<ref name="Landesarchiv">{{cite web |title=Der 18. März 1793. Der Rheinisch-deutsche Nationalkonvent in Mainz |trans_title=18 March 1793: The Rhenish-German National Convention in Mainz |publisher={{lang|de|Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz }}(Central archive of Rhineland-Palatinate) |date=18 March 2003 |url=http://www.landeshauptarchiv.de/index.php?id=408 |accessdate=2012-04-06 }} {{de icon}}</ref> 130 cities and towns sent their deputies to Mainz.<ref name="Landesarchiv"/> The first<ref name="Landesarchiv"/> democratically elected [[parliament]] on the territory of future Germany, called the ''{{lang|de|Rheinisch-Deutscher Nationalkonvent}}'' ({{lang-en|Rhenish-German National Convention}}), met initially on 17 March 1793, in the [[Deutschhaus Mainz|Deutschhaus]] building in Mainz (nowadays the seat of the [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] state parliament). The convention declared the represented territory (which extended to [[Bingen am Rhein|Bingen]] in the west and to [[Landau]] in the south) to be free and democratic, and disclaimed any ties to the [[Holy Roman Empire|empire]]. The convention's president, [[Andreas Joseph Hofmann]], proclaimed the Rhenish-German Free State ({{lang-de|Rheinisch-Deutscher Freistaat}}) from the balcony of the Deutschhaus. On 23 March 1793, it was decided to send delegates (among them Georg Forster and [[Adam Lux]]) to [[Paris]] to seek the accession of the Free State to France. The French National Convention granted this request on 30 March.
By order of the [[National Convention|French National Convention]], elections in the French-occupied territories west of the [[Rhine]] were held on 24 February 1793.<ref name="Landesarchiv">{{cite web |title=Der 18. März 1793. Der Rheinisch-deutsche Nationalkonvent in Mainz |trans-title=18 March 1793: The Rhenish-German National Convention in Mainz |publisher={{lang|de|Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz }}(Central archive of Rhineland-Palatinate) |date=18 March 2003 |url=http://www.landeshauptarchiv.de/index.php?id=408 |access-date=2012-04-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106040444/http://www.landeshauptarchiv.de/index.php?id=408 |archive-date=6 January 2014 }} {{in lang|de}}</ref> 130 cities and towns sent their deputies to Mainz.<ref name="Landesarchiv"/> The first<ref name="Landesarchiv"/> democratically elected [[parliament]] on the territory of future Germany, called the ''{{lang|de|Rheinisch-Deutscher Nationalkonvent}}'' ({{langx|en|Rhenish-German National Convention}}), met initially on 17 March 1793, in the [[Deutschhaus Mainz|Deutschhaus]] building in Mainz (today the seat of the [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] state parliament). The convention declared the represented territory (which extended to [[Bingen am Rhein|Bingen]] in the west and to [[Landau]] in the south) to be free and democratic, and disclaimed any ties to the [[Holy Roman Empire|empire]]. The convention's president, [[Andreas Joseph Hofmann]], proclaimed the Rhenish-German Free State ({{langx|de|Rheinisch-Deutscher Freistaat}}) from the balcony of the Deutschhaus. On 21 March 1793, it was decided to seek the accession of the Free State to France<ref name="scheel">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Andreas Joseph Hofmann, Präsident des Rheinisch-Deutschen Nationalkonvents |encyclopedia=Die Mainzer Republik : der Rheinisch-Deutsche Nationalkonvent |publisher=V. Hase & Koehler |location=Mainz |last=Scheel |first=Heinrich |date=1993 |oclc=32666345 |editor-last=Landtag Rheinland-Pfalz |editor-link=Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate |language=de}}</ref>{{page number|date=July 2020}} and delegates (among them [[Georg Forster]] and [[Adam Lux]]) were sent to [[Paris]]. The French National Convention granted the request on 30 March.


== End ==
== End ==
Soon after, Prussian troops retook all the French-occupied territory except for the heavily fortified city of Mainz itself. After a long [[Siege of Mainz (1793)|siege]] in which much of the city was destroyed, Prussian and Austrian troops conquered the city on 22 July 1793. The republic ended, and the Jacobins were persecuted until 1795, when Mainz came under French control again.
Soon after, Prussian troops retook all the French-occupied territory except for the heavily fortified city of Mainz itself. After a long [[Siege of Mainz (1793)|siege]] in which much of the city was destroyed, Prussian and Austrian troops conquered the city on 22 July 1793. The republic ended, and the Jacobins were persecuted until 1795 when Mainz came under French control again.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
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== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
*{{Cite book |authorlink=T. C. W. Blanning |first=T. C. W. |last=Blanning |title=The French Revolution in Germany. Occupation and Resistance in the Rhineland 1792–1802 |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1983 |isbn=0-19-822564-4 }}
*{{Cite book |author-link=T. C. W. Blanning |first=T. C. W. |last=Blanning |title=The French Revolution in Germany. Occupation and Resistance in the Rhineland 1792–1802 |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1983 |isbn=0-19-822564-4 }}
*{{Cite book |first=T. C. W. |last=Blanning |title=Reform and Revolution in Mainz 1743–1803 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=London |year=1974 |isbn=0-521-20418-6 }}
*{{Cite book |first=T. C. W. |last=Blanning |title=Reform and Revolution in Mainz 1743–1803 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=London |year=1974 |isbn=0-521-20418-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/reformrevolution0000blan }}
*{{Cite book |first=Arno |last=Störkel |title=The Defenders of Mayence in 1792: A Portrait of a Small European Army at the Outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars |location=Canberra |publisher=The University of New South Wales |isbn= |year=1994 }}
*{{Cite book |first=Arno |last=Störkel |title=The Defenders of Mayence in 1792: A Portrait of a Small European Army at the Outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars |location=Canberra |publisher=The University of New South Wales |year=1994 }}


{{Client states of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars}}
{{Client states of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars}}
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainz, Republic}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainz, Republic}}
[[Category:Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate]]
[[Category:History of Mainz|Republic Of Mainz]]
[[Category:History of Mainz|Republic of Mainz]]
[[Category:City-states]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1793]]

Latest revision as of 03:12, 24 October 2024

Republic of Mainz / Rhenish-German Free State
  • Mainzer Republik (German)
  • Rheinisch-Deutscher Freistaat (German)
  • République de Mayence (French)
March – July 1793
StatusClient state of France
CapitalMainz
GovernmentRevolutionary republic
Historical eraFrench Revolutionary Wars
• Occupied by Custine
21 October 1792
• Independence proclaimed
18 March 1793
• Delegates sent to Paris
23 March 1793
• National Convention approved accession to French Republic
30 March 1793
• Reconquered by Austro-Prussian forces
22 July 1793
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Electorate of Mainz
Electorate of Mainz
Today part ofGermany
Liberty pole, erected in Mainz in January 1793

The Republic of Mainz was the first democratic state in the current German territory[1] and was centered in Mainz. A product of the French Revolutionary Wars, it lasted from March to July 1793.

Context

[edit]

During the War of the First Coalition against France, the Prussian and Austrian troops that had invaded France retreated after the Battle of Valmy, allowing the French revolutionary army to counterattack. The troops of General Custine entered the Palatinate in late September and occupied Mainz on 21 October 1792. The ruler of Mainz, Elector-Archbishop Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, had fled the city.

Jacobin club

[edit]

On the next day, 20 citizens of Mainz founded a Jacobin club, the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Freiheit und Gleichheit (English: Society of the Friends of Liberty and Equality). Together with their filial clubs founded later in Speyer and Worms, they promoted the Enlightenment and the French revolutionary ideals of liberté, égalité, fraternité in Germany, aiming for a German republic to be established following the French model. Most of the founding members of the Jacobin club were professors and students of the University of Mainz, together with the university librarian, Georg Forster, some merchants and Mainz state officials. For some time the ecclesiastic Friedrich Georg Pape [de] was president of the club and editor of the Mainzer Nationalzeitung (English: Mainz National Newspaper).

The Deutschhaus in Mainz

Founding

[edit]

By order of the French National Convention, elections in the French-occupied territories west of the Rhine were held on 24 February 1793.[2] 130 cities and towns sent their deputies to Mainz.[2] The first[2] democratically elected parliament on the territory of future Germany, called the Rheinisch-Deutscher Nationalkonvent (English: Rhenish-German National Convention), met initially on 17 March 1793, in the Deutschhaus building in Mainz (today the seat of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament). The convention declared the represented territory (which extended to Bingen in the west and to Landau in the south) to be free and democratic, and disclaimed any ties to the empire. The convention's president, Andreas Joseph Hofmann, proclaimed the Rhenish-German Free State (German: Rheinisch-Deutscher Freistaat) from the balcony of the Deutschhaus. On 21 March 1793, it was decided to seek the accession of the Free State to France[3][page needed] and delegates (among them Georg Forster and Adam Lux) were sent to Paris. The French National Convention granted the request on 30 March.

End

[edit]

Soon after, Prussian troops retook all the French-occupied territory except for the heavily fortified city of Mainz itself. After a long siege in which much of the city was destroyed, Prussian and Austrian troops conquered the city on 22 July 1793. The republic ended, and the Jacobins were persecuted until 1795 when Mainz came under French control again.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The short-lived republic is often ignored in identifying the "first German democracy", in favour of the Weimar Republic; e.g. "the failure of the first German democracy after the First World War (the Weimar Republic)..." (Peter J. Burnell, Democracy Assistance: international co-operation for democratization 2000:131), or Ch. 3. 'The First Attempt at Democracy, 1918–1933', in Michael Balfour, West Germany: a contemporary history, 1982:60
  2. ^ a b c "Der 18. März 1793. Der Rheinisch-deutsche Nationalkonvent in Mainz" [18 March 1793: The Rhenish-German National Convention in Mainz]. Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz(Central archive of Rhineland-Palatinate). 18 March 2003. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2012. (in German)
  3. ^ Scheel, Heinrich (1993). "Andreas Joseph Hofmann, Präsident des Rheinisch-Deutschen Nationalkonvents". In Landtag Rheinland-Pfalz (ed.). Die Mainzer Republik : der Rheinisch-Deutsche Nationalkonvent (in German). Mainz: V. Hase & Koehler. OCLC 32666345.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Blanning, T. C. W. (1983). The French Revolution in Germany. Occupation and Resistance in the Rhineland 1792–1802. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-822564-4.
  • Blanning, T. C. W. (1974). Reform and Revolution in Mainz 1743–1803. London: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20418-6.
  • Störkel, Arno (1994). The Defenders of Mayence in 1792: A Portrait of a Small European Army at the Outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. Canberra: The University of New South Wales.

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