Saint-Amand Bazard (18 September 179129 July 1832) was a French socialist, the founder of a secret society in France corresponding to the

Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of Secret society, secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Urugua ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Biography

He was born in Paris. He took part in the defence of Paris in 1815, and afterwards occupied a subordinate situation in the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

. At 25 years of age, he was appointed a knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. About 1820, he united some of his patriotic friends into a society called ''Amis de la vérité'' (literally "''Friends of the truth''"). From this, a complete system of Carbonarism developed, whose peculiar principles were introduced from Italy by two of Bazard's friends. Bazard himself was at the head of the central body, and, while taking a general lead, contributed extensively to the Carbonarist journal, ''L'Aristarque''. An unsuccessful outbreak at

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

ruined the society, and the leaders were compelled to conceal themselves. Bazard, after remaining for some time in obscurity in Paris, came to the conclusion that the ends of those who wished well to the people would be most easily attained, not through political agitation, but by effecting a radical change in their social condition. This train of thinking naturally drew him towards the socialist

philosophers Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on ...

of the school of Saint-Simon, whom he joined, he contributed to their journal, ''Le Producteur''; and in 1828 began to give public lectures on the principles of the school. His opposition to the emancipation of women brought about a quarrel with Enfantin in 1831, and Bazard found himself almost deserted by the members of the society. He attacked Enfantin violently, and, in a heated argument among them, he was struck down by apoplexy. After lingering for a few months, he died in

Courtry Courtry () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne département in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Courtrysiens''. See also *Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The following is ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bazard, Amand 1791 births 1832 deaths Politicians from Paris Saint-Simonists French socialists Carbonari