sans-culottes
Paris's plebeian insurgents
Sans-culottes were radical working-class revolutionaries during the French Revolution, named for wearing long trousers rather than the knee breeches (*culottes*) of the aristocracy.
The term, literally "without breeches," marked class allegiance through clothing.
It now evokes militant populism or revolutionary fervor: The protesters styled themselves as modern sans-culottes.
French revolutionary faction
- MontagnardsIndigenous Vietnamese mountain dwellers
- RobespierreRevolutionary who devoured himself
- MaratFrench revolutionary journalist
- guillotineVertical beheading apparatus
Bastille · Reign of Terror · insurrection · uprising · insurgents · agitators · mob · barricades
Bifurcated lower-body garment
- pantaloonsClose-fitting historical trousers
- liberty capConical hat denoting manumission
- cockadeRibbon badge for hats
- red capTrain station luggage carrier
breeches · knee-breeches · stockings · wooden shoes · sabots
Bulk or populace
- populaceInhabitants of a place
- rabbleDisorderly, noisy crowd
- mobDisorderly, aggressive crowd
- grassrootsCommon people as political base
mobilization · agitation · demagoguery · rabble-rousers · protesters · activism · direct action · popular sovereignty
Skilled manual workers
- tradesmenSkilled manual laborers
- craftsmenSkilled manual trade workers
- shopkeepersRetail establishment proprietors
- laborersWorkers doing physical tasks
journeymen · apprentices · cobblers · carpenters · blacksmiths · tanners · printers · workshops
Same status for all
- fraternitySpirit of brotherly connection
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- citizenshipStatus as state member
- rightsJustified claims to freedoms
leveling · republican · virtue · patriotism · civic duty · common man · social justice · redistribution
Jacobins
French revolutionary faction
- MontagnardsIndigenous Vietnamese mountain dwellers
- RobespierreRevolutionary who devoured himself
- MaratFrench revolutionary journalist
guillotine · Bastille · Reign of Terror · insurrection · uprising · insurgents · agitators · mob · barricades · pike
trousers
Bifurcated lower-body garment
- pantaloonsClose-fitting historical trousers
- liberty capConical hat denoting manumission
- cockadeRibbon badge for hats
red cap · breeches · knee-breeches · stockings · wooden shoes · sabots
masses
Bulk or populace
grassroots · mobilization · agitation · demagoguery · rabble-rousers · protesters · activism · direct action · popular sovereignty · sections
artisans
Skilled manual workers
- tradesmenSkilled manual laborers
- craftsmenSkilled manual trade workers
- shopkeepersRetail establishment proprietors
laborers · journeymen · apprentices · cobblers · carpenters · blacksmiths · tanners · printers · workshops · guilds
equality
Same status for all
- fraternitySpirit of brotherly connection
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- citizenshipStatus as state member
rights · leveling · republican · virtue · patriotism · civic duty · common man · social justice · redistribution · meritocracy
sans-culottesaristocrats
Hereditary ruling class
aristocracy · nobility · culottes · émigrés · noblesse
sans-culottescounter-revolutionaries
Opponents of political overthrow
royalists · reactionaries · monarchists · moderates · conservatives