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Sans-culottes (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for without knee-breeches) was a term created 1790 - 1792 by the French aristocracy to describe the poorer members of the Third Estate, according to the dominant theory because they usually wore pantaloons (full-length trousers
Trousers

Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately . Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants in countries such as Canada, South Africa and The United States....
 or pants) instead of the chic knee-length culotte. The term came to refer to the ill-clad and ill-equipped volunteers of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states....
, but, above all, to the working class
Working class

Working class is a term used in academic sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe, depending on context and speaker, those employed in specific fields or types of work....
 radical
Radical

Radical may refer to:in science* In chemistry, a Radical is an atom, molecule, or ion which is likely to take part in chemical reactions.*The symbol v used to indicate the square root or nth root...
s of the Revolution.






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Sans Culotte
Sansculottes
Sans-culottes (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for without knee-breeches) was a term created 1790 - 1792 by the French aristocracy to describe the poorer members of the Third Estate, according to the dominant theory because they usually wore pantaloons (full-length trousers
Trousers

Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately . Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants in countries such as Canada, South Africa and The United States....
 or pants) instead of the chic knee-length culotte. The term came to refer to the ill-clad and ill-equipped volunteers of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states....
, but, above all, to the working class
Working class

Working class is a term used in academic sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe, depending on context and speaker, those employed in specific fields or types of work....
 radical
Radical

Radical may refer to:in science* In chemistry, a Radical is an atom, molecule, or ion which is likely to take part in chemical reactions.*The symbol v used to indicate the square root or nth root...
s of the Revolution. From this comes the now slightly archaic term sansculottism or sans-culottism, meaning extreme egalitarian republican principles.

The sans-culottes were for the most part members of the poorer classes, or leaders of the populace, but during the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror or simply The Terror was a period of violence that occurred fifteen months after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobin Club, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution." Estimates vary widely as to how many were kil...
, public functionaries and persons of good education styled themselves citoyens sans-culottes.

The distinctive costume of typical sans-culottes featured:
  • the pantaloon (long trousers) - in place of the culottes (knee-breeches) worn by the upper classes (hence the name 'without breeches')
  • the carmagnole (short-skirted coat)
  • the red cap of liberty
  • sabots (clogs, wooden footwear mainly worn in the countryside).


Their support came from domestic crises, such as shortages of bread and political injustices. Led by revolutionaries such as Jacques Hébert
Jacques Hébert

Jacques Ren? H?bert was editor of the extreme radical newspaper Le P?re Duchesne during the French Revolution. His followers are usually referred to as the H?bertists or the H?bertistes; he himself is sometimes called P?re Duchesne, after his newspaper....
, the sans-culottes played a crucial role in such events as the September massacres of 1792, and supported the most radical left-wing
Left-wing politics

In politics, left-wing, leftist, and the Left are terms applied to Social progressivism and Egalitarianism positions. Originally, during the French Revolution, left-wing referred to seating arrangements in parliament; those who sat on the left opposed the monarchy and supported Political radicalism reform....
 factions in successive revolutionary governments. During the Reign of Terror, they provided important support for Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre

Maximilien Fran?ois Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known figures of the French Revolution. He was an influential member of the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror that ended with his arrest and execution in 1794....
 and the Committee of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety

File:Comite de Salut Public.jpgThe Committee of Public Safety , set up by the National Convention in July of 1793, formed the de facto executive government of France during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution....
; in March 1794, though, the government distanced itself from the Hébertists
Hébertists

The H?bertists were the partisans of Jacques H?bert, the radical revolutionary journalist, in the Legislative Assembly and National Convention during the French Revolution....
; Hébert himself was convicted by the very Revolutionary Tribunal
Revolutionary Tribunal

The Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and became one of the most powerful engines of Reign of Terror....
s he had lauded, and was guillotine
Guillotine

The guillotine consists of a tall upright frame from which a long, smooth, heavy blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the victim's head from his or her body....
d; months later, in the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction

The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis L?on de Richebourg de Saint-Just and several other leading members of the Terror....
, Robespierre would suffer the same fate.

The influence of the sans-culottes ceased with the reaction that followed the fall of Robespierre (July 1794), and the name itself became proscribed. Without effective leadership of their own, and no longer allied with the Jacobins, the sans-culottes largely ceased to be a major factor in French politics.

Derived terms

  • Sanculottism, from the French sanculottisme, originally refers to the period and 'patriotic' revolutionary movement of the sansculottes
  • The Republican Calendar at first termed the complementary days at the end of the year Sans-culottides; however, the National Convention
    National Convention

    During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative Deliberative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 ....
     suppressed the name when adopting the Constitution of the Year III (1795) and substituted the name jours complémentaires.


Sources