Transnational republicans: Spreading ideas of freedom in the age of revolutions

This paper examines the transnational circulation of republican ideas during the Age of Revolutions, focusing on several actors involved in the Mainz Republic (1792–1793). It highlights the role of Georg Forster and his circle of friends, especially the translator Meta Forkel, in spreading and adapting revolutionary ideas across linguistic and national boundaries. Through their translations, writings and speeches, these actors facilitated a dynamic dialogue on liberty, democracy and equality. Rather than simply transmitting revolutionary ideals from America or France, they actively reshaped them to fit local conditions, demonstrating the fluid nature of republicanism in the late 18th century. By analyzing their contributions, this case study offers new insights into the processes of cultural transfer and the transnational networks that sustained revolutionary movements in the period.

Dr Elias Buchetmann is a Research Associate and Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Rostock. His current research focuses on the cross-cultural history of women’s political thought and gender discourse during the long eighteenth century, with a particular emphasis on radical thought between Britain and Germany around 1800. He is the author of Hegel and the Representative Constitution (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and his work has been published in The Historical Journal, Annales historiques de la Révolution française, Hegel-Studien and History of European Ideas. Elias pursued his studies at the universities of Maastricht, Vancouver (Simon Fraser University), Oxford, and London (UCL and Queen Mary), and earned his PhD from the European University Institute in Florence. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Young Academy Fellow of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg, and serves as the Early Career Representative of the International Society for Intellectual History.