French statesman 1754

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand French Statesman An excommunicated bishop Talleyrand became an extraordinary diplomat, serving first as Foreign Minister during the French Revolution and later under Napoleon until resigning in

A project of the Anne S. Born into the high nobility, he was early destined for the Roman Catholic Church because of a childhood accident that left him partially lame. A representative of the clergy in the States-General of , Talleyrand sided with the revolutionists. He proposed the appropriation of church lands by the state, endorsed the civil constitution of the clergy, and was excommunicated by the pope after consecrating two "constitutional" bishops. In he was sent by the National Assembly on a mission to London to secure Great Britain's neutrality, but the radical turn of the French Revolution nullified his success. A lifelong advocate of constitutional monarchy and peace, Talleyrand sought refuge in England in Sept.

French statesman 1754

We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. This information will help us make improvements to the website. The summary includes a brief description of the collection s usually including the covering dates of the collection , the name of the archive where they are held, and reference information to help you find the collection. All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3. This website uses cookies We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. Set cookie preferences. Start new search Print Discovery help Bookmark. Browse by Records Creators Perigord, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-, , French statesman and diplomat This page summarises records created by this Person The summary includes a brief description of the collection s usually including the covering dates of the collection , the name of the archive where they are held, and reference information to help you find the collection. Collections Number Description Held by Reference Further information 1 misc corresp and papers. Sign me up to the mailing list Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events. Sign up About our privacy policy.

Roman Catholic Church.

Talleyrand remains the classic case of a successful turncoat in politics. For half a century he served every French regime except that of the Revolutionary "Terror. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand was a masterful diplomat of the old school as ambassador and foreign minister. Admired and often distrusted, sometimes even feared by those he served, he was not easily replaced as a negotiator of infinite wiles. Talleyrand has been an extraordinarily difficult figure for historians to understand and appraise.

French statesman; b. Paris, Feb. Paris, May 17, Since his family belonged to the highest aristocracy and his elder brother died during childhood, Charles Maurice should normally have pursued a career in the army or at court. But when in his fourth year an accident left him permanently disabled by a clubfoot, his parents decided on a clerical future for him. Charles Maurice studied for five years at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris — 75 and was ordained on December 18, , by his uncle, the archbishop of Reims, later cardinal. In he was appointed agent-general of the clergy, a most influential position involving political and financial activities. Relation to the French Revolution. Although Talleyrand was already known as a freethinker and a Freemason, and as a man notorious for moral laxity, Louis XVI named him bishop of Autun in November of He was consecrated on January 16, and took possession of his see on March 15, but a few weeks later he was back in Versailles for the opening of the Estates-General, where he was one of the clergy's representatives.

French statesman 1754

For half a century he served every French regime except that of the Revolutionary "Terror. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand was a masterful diplomat of the old school as ambassador and foreign minister. Admired and often distrusted, sometimes even feared by those he served, he was not easily replaced as a negotiator of infinite wiles. Talleyrand has been an extraordinarily difficult figure for historians to understand and appraise. His moral corruption is beyond question: he was an unabashed liar and deceiver; he not only took but sought bribes from those with whom he was negotiating; and he lived with a niece as his mistress for decades. He repeatedly shifted political allegiance without visible compunction and possessed no political principle on which he would stand firm to the last; and he was also at least technically guilty of treason, engaging in secret negotiations with the public enemies of his country while in its service.

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However, at the time Talleyrand's diplomacy was regarded as successful, as it removed the threat of France being partitioned by the victors. Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu. Talleyrand held the title until and administered the principality concurrently with his other tasks. A lifelong advocate of constitutional monarchy and peace, Talleyrand sought refuge in England in Sept. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing. He also persuaded Barras to resign as Director. Today, when speaking of the art of diplomacy, the phrase "he is a Talleyrand" is variously used to describe a statesman of great resourcefulness and craft, or a cynical and conscienceless self-serving politician. Charles Dambray. A History of the Modern World 8 ed. First cabinet of Napoleon 18 May to 1 April Austria was afraid of future conflicts with Russia or Prussia and the United Kingdom was opposed to their expansion as well—and Talleyrand managed to take advantage of these contradictions within the former anti-French coalition. Having wearied of serving a master in whom he no longer had much confidence, Talleyrand resigned as minister of foreign affairs in , although the Emperor retained him in the Council of State as Vice-Grand Elector of the Empire. In May , Napoleon bestowed upon Talleyrand the title of Grand Chamberlain of the Empire , with almost , francs a year.

Alexandre Maurice Blanc de Lanautte, Comte d'Hauterive — , a French statesman and diplomat, was born at Aspres Hautes-Alpes on the 14 April and educated at Grenoble , where he became a professor.

Napoleon had expected Talleyrand to help convince the Tsar to accept his proposals and never discovered that Talleyrand was working at cross-purposes. Sign up About our privacy policy. His physical health began to steadily deteriorate and he began using an armchair on wheels provided to him by Louis Philippe I. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote. Choiseul C. Tallchief, Marjorie —. In office 22 November — 9 August French Provisional Government of 1 April to 13 May Those Talleyrand served often distrusted him but, like Napoleon, found him extremely useful. This was the first blow in the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire. New York, NY: Routledge.