Background
Jean Espariat was born on September 17, 1747 in Aix-en-Provence. His father, Charles Espariat, was a silversmith and later a lawyer in the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence.
Jean Espariat was born on September 17, 1747 in Aix-en-Provence. His father, Charles Espariat, was a silversmith and later a lawyer in the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence.
He served as the first Mayor of Aix-en-Provence in 1790, and again as the third Mayor from 1791 to 1792. After the Ancien Régime came to an end and the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence was dismantled by the French Revolution, Espariat was elected as first Mayor of Aix-en-Provence on February 10, 1790. However, the early days were still chaotic.
He was a moderate.
Indeed, on the Cours Saint-Louis in Aix, he stopped the Vexin regiment, a pro-revolutionary regiment, and the Royal Marine regiment, a pro-aristocratic regiment, from killing each other. He stepped down on November 11, 1790 and let the Vice Mayor, Toussaint-Bernard Émeric-David, serve as Mayor. During that time, both Jean-Joseph-Pierre Pascalis (1732-1790), a royalist, and Jean-Joseph Rive (1730-1791), a revolutionary, were killed.
Meanwhile, together with Antoine Balthazar Joachim, baron d"André (1759 -1825) and an abbey from Quinson, he helped establish the department of the Bouches-du-Rhône.
He also returned as Mayor of Aix on September 1, 1791, up until September 20, 1792. He was jailed during the Reign of Terror of 1793-1794.
During the French Directory of 1795 to 1799, he served as an administrator of the department of the Bouches-du-Rhône he had helped create. During the French Consulate of 1799-1804, he served as a magistrate in the Criminal Court of the Bouches-du-Rhône.
Death
He died on January 14, 1827 in Aix-en-Provence.
Additionally, he helped create the department of the Bouches-du-Rhône and served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1791 to 1792. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from September 1791 to 1792, when he condemned the revolutionary crimes in Avignon.