The Reign of Terror had officially begun in September 1793, and saw revolutionary leaders adopt a series of violent measures to suppress perceived enemies. The city of Nantes had been a centre of resistance against the revolutionary government due to its strong ties to the Catholic Church and support for the monarchy. Resistance intensified during the counter-revolutionary uprisings in the Vendée region, where Royalist forces fought against the revolutionary army.
Jean-Baptiste Carrier, a radical Jacobin, was sent to Nantes as a representative of the National Convention. Tasked with restoring revolutionary order, he was faced with overcrowded prisons filled with Royalist sympathizers, clergy, and other prisoners. Carrier sought swift methods to execute these individuals so, rather than relying on guillotines or firing squads, Carrier decided to drown them.
Prisoners were loaded onto adapted barges, which were taken to the middle of the Loire River and deliberately sunk, or the prisoners thrown overboard. On the night of 16 November dozens of refractory priests were executed, but over the course of the winter thousands more priests, nuns and civilians – including women and children – were drowned although exact figures remain uncertain.
While some leaders in Paris questioned the extreme methods being used in Nantes, harsh punishments were widely accepted as necessary to maintain revolutionary control. Nevertheless, the drownings later became infamous examples of the brutality of the Reign of Terror. Carrier was later recalled to Paris, where he was executed by guillotine in 1794 after the fall of the radical Jacobins.
On the 16th of November 1793, a series of mass drownings began in Nantes
as part of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. Welcome to HistoryPod.
The Reign of Terror had officially begun in September 1793 and saw revolutionary leaders
adopt a series of violent measures to suppress perceived enemies. The city of Nantes had been
a centre of resistance against the revolutionary government due to its strong ties to the Catholic
Church and support for the monarchy. Resistance intensified during the counter-revolutionary
uprisings in the Vendée region where royalist forces fought against the revolutionary army.
Jean-Baptiste Carrier, a radical Jacobin, was sent to Nantes as a representative of the National
Convention. Tasked with restoring revolutionary order, he was faced with overcrowded prisons
filled with royalist sympathisers, clergy and other prisoners. Carrier sought swift methods
to execute these individuals so, rather than relying on guillotines or firing squads,
Carrier decided to drown them. Prisoners were loaded onto adapted barges which were then taken
to the middle of the Loire River and deliberately sunk, or the prisoners thrown overboard.
On the night of 16 November, dozens of refractory priests were executed, but over the course of the
winter thousands more priests, nuns and civilians, including women and children, were drowned,
although exact figures remain uncertain. While some leaders in Paris questioned the
methods being used in the city, harsh punishments became widely accepted as
necessary to maintain revolutionary control. Nevertheless, the drownings later became
infamous examples of the brutality of the Reign of Terror. Carrier was later recalled to Paris,
where he was executed by guillotine in 1794 after the fall of the radical Jacobin faction.
