[1] As a young boy, Saint-André had ambition to study the law, but his dream was crushed when the King prohibited Protestants and their children from getting involved in much of the public life, including getting the bar.

[6] In January 1793, Saint-André expressed his ideas in a speech called "Sur l'Education nationale," which demanded a variety of changes to the old Catholic-controlled education system.

[7] Later that same year in June, when the Jacobins gained control of the Assembly Saint-André became a member of the Committee of Public Safety, and it was he who proposed Maximilien Robespierre for membership shortly afterwards.

[10] The Convention granted Saint-André an unlimited amount of power in order to preserve the fleet for the Republic, and to crush all forms of counter-revolutionary opposition.

[13] In 1793, the Federalist Revolt against the National Assembly in the port city of Brest was partly linked to Jeanbon Saint-André as its citizens viewed the Navy divided between the two major clubs, the Montagnards and the Girondins.

[11] His theory was clear: the parallels he was observing between the situations at Brest and Toulon were based on the conspiracy of ex-nobles and officers against the Republic, as well as the presence of British influence in both cities.

The physical location of Brittany, a peninsula with poorly paved roads, and specifically Brest, made transport of provisions and travel difficult and time-consuming.

Aside from the physical aspects of Brittany's separation from the rest of the Nation, the gabelle (the salt tax) played a significant role in isolating the Province.

[10] Saint-André sought to regain control of Brittany by eliminating the easy-going and inattentive eyes of the old regime, emphasizing how "the negligence of a sleepy tyrant or of somnolent ministers does not agree with our [republican] principles.

An education system was also implemented, utilizing Jacobin propaganda and schoolmasters who taught the sailors to read and write so they could aspire to promotion.

Saint-André also eliminated holidays, industrializing the coastal city into a system split into day and night shifts enforced by strict military rule.

[18] By 1794, under Saint-André's watch, fifty ships of the line had been placed into service under the control of the newly appointed fleet commander Villaret de Joyeuse.

[5] Saint-André later participated in a mission in the south, which lasted from July 1794[2] to March 1795, and in which he showed moderation in contrast to the directives of the Reign of Terror.

[1] However, with the Jacobin bourgeoisie, he had justified the impediment of the representations of the people, which are the sectional societies: "Our greatest enemies are not outside; we see them: they are in our midst; they want to take revolutionary measures further than we do. "