Helvetian Club

(properly, Club of Swiss Patriots), an organization of Swiss émigrés with about 300 members, existing in Paris in 1790-91 during the period of the Great French Revolution. The founders of the Helvetian Club, J. Castellaz, E. Dumont, and others, considered their main task to be revolutionary propaganda in the Swiss cantons and the struggle against the remnants of feudalism in the country and the aristocratic form of government. The correspondent department established at the Helvetian Club printed leaflets and pamphlets, which were circulated in Switzerland in spite of the brutal persecutions of the authorities. In August 1791 the Helvetian Club came to an end. The former members of the Helvetian Club continued to be politically active in subsequent years.