Sebastian Ar Balp, a disenchanted notaire from the
commune of Kergloff, near Carhaix, led a
famous revolt against Louis XIV in 1675.
It was only during the reign of Louis XIV that the full impact of the union with France started to take effect in the western, Breton-speaking, areas of Brittany. Prior to that time, the region had been semi-autonomous and had never fully recognised the authority of even the Duke of Brittany.
A significant feature of the rule of Louis XIV was an insatiable demand for money, and the cold efficiency with which his first minister, Colbert, raised taxes. Under the treaty of Union, the French king did not have the right to impose taxes on Brittany directly, but Colbert was able to apply sufficient pressure on the Breton parliament to force it to pledge large sums of money to the French king – money that the parliament raised from the people of Brittany through taxation. This eventually led to an open revolt in Rennes: government offices were raided and official papers burnt in huge bonfires. These revolts were suppressed by mercenary troops introduced into the city by the administration, but as news of the unrest spread it sparked off a much more serious ‘peasant rebellion’, particularly in the Western and Central parts of Brittany.
There were spontaneous revolts in several areas, one of the first of which was in the sixteen parishes around Douarnenez and Concarneau. A record survives of the ‘Code Païson’ drawn up by the rebel council of war; it includes the following points:
- Adoption of the ‘Bonnet Rouge’ as a symbol of freedom.
- A ban on the carrying of weapons by aristocrats.
- Forbidding anyone to call people together under arms – on pain of death.
- Abolition of forced labour.
- Daughters of aristocratic families to marry commoners – and for the couple to share inherited wealth equally.
- No association whatsoever with anyone linked to the salt tax.
- Limitation of amount of tax on alcohol.
- Tobacco to be purchased with tax revenue and freely distributed to people at church services.
- Priests to renounce their rights to levy taxes from their parishioners.
- The people to choose judges from amongst themselves, and all official documents published on stamped paper to be burnt.
- Hunting to be banned from March to September.
- People to be allowed to use the mill of their choice.
The city of Quimper be made to accept this code, by force of arms if necessary.
From this code it has been deduced that sentiment in the countryside was running high against local aristocrats who had adopted French ways, and also against the Church which was felt to have lost its independent, Breton character. Middle-class residents of cities were also viewed with suspicion, and there was a widespread belief that the government planned to introduce the salt tax to Brittany.
The authorities succeeded in at least partially suppressing the revolt around Douarnanez, but by then the spirit of insurrection had spread to Central Brittany, where the revolt found a determined leader in the shape of a well-educated and disenchanted public official – Sebastian ar Balp.
Sebastian ar Balp had been the notaire in the village of Kergloff and had just emerged from a spell in prison at the time when trouble broke out. He had been accused of corruption and malpractice by his enemies, but to his supporters he was viewed as a much-wronged champion of the rights of the common man.
He was able to lead a considerable group of farmers, armed with pitch forks and farm implements into the town of Carhaix where they ransacked the residence of one of its leading citizens, burning his papers, and drinking considerable amounts of wine that they found in the cellars.
Sebastian ar Balp organised the parishes around Carhaix and beyond to form a militia, and for two months, July and August 1675, he exercised almost complete control over a large part of Central Brittany. The King’s representatives in the province were unwilling to hazard an attack upon him for fear that the limited forces that they had at their disposal would be insufficient to defeat his peasant army. There was every prospect of Sebastian ar Balp remaining in power over the winter and of his rebellion spreading to other parts of Brittany. He decided to adopt a bolder course of action, however, and ordered every parish in the region to send armed men to Carhaix to march against the city of Morlaix. He was aware of his lack of military expertise and his inability to marshal his men into a disciplined fighting force and he made the mistake of trying to enlist a disaffected nobleman, M. de Montgaillard, to his cause. In an interview between the two men, M. de Montgaillard, perhaps hoping to gain favour with the king, drew his sword and killed Sebastian ar Balp, thereby putting the peasant revolt to an end.
M. de Montgaillard received scant reward for his action, he was killed ten days later whilst walking in the streets of Carhaix by one of the attendants of the Governor of Brittany, who had a private grudge against him. (His attacker was never reprimanded for the offence despite a long and determined campaign by his widow.)
With the benefit of hindsight it is clear that the peasant revolt of 1675 had no serious prospect of success. It took place at a time when Louis XIV was at the height of his power and the idea that he would have allowed part of his realm to break away from France is inconceivable – but even so, the actions of Sebastian ar Balp and his associates have served as a reminder of the tradition of free-thinking and independence that has inspired people in Central Brittany right up until the present day.
©CBJ 2008. Illustration Sebastian ar Balp, Samuel Lewis
