Armand Carrel (8 May 1800 – 25 July 1836) was a French journalist and political writer.
Early life
Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Armand Carrel was born at
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
. His father was a wealthy merchant, and he received a liberal education at the ''
Lycée Pierre Corneille'' in Rouen,
[Lycée Pierre Corneille de Rouen - History](_blank)
/ref> afterwards attending the military school at St Cyr. He had a deep admiration for the great generals of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, and his uncompromising spirit and independent views marked him as a leader. Entering the army as sub-lieutenant, he took a secret but active part in the unsuccessful Belfort Conspiracy. At the outbreak of war with Spain in 1823, Carrel, whose sympathies were with the liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
cause, resigned, and succeeded in escaping to Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. He enrolled in the foreign legion and fought gallantly against his former comrades. The legion was compelled to surrender near Figueres
Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.
The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museu ...
, and Carrel was taken prisoner by his former general, Damas. There was considerable difficulty about the terms of his capitulation, and one council of war condemned Carrel to death. The sentence was not carried out, and he was soon acquitted and freed.
Career in Journalism
His career as a soldier being finally over, Carrel decided to devote himself to literature. He went to Paris and began as secretary to Augustin Thierry
Augustin Thierry (or ''Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry''; 10 May 179522 May 1856) was a French historian. Although originally a follower of Henri de Saint-Simon, he later developed his own approach to history. A committed liberal, his approach ...
, the historian. His services were found to be of great value, and he obtained admirable training as a writer, and lead himself to investigate interesting events of British history. His first work of importance (he had already written some historical abstracts) was the ''History of the Counter-Revolution in England'', an exceedingly able political study of the events that culminated in the "Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
".
He gradually became known as a journalist for various periodicals; but it was not until he formed his connection with '' Le National'', a daily founded in 1830, that he became a power in France. At first, ''Le National'' was a collaborative effort by Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic.
Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...
, François Mignet
François Auguste Marie Mignet (, 8 May 1796 – 24 March 1884) was a French journalist and historian of the French Revolution.
Biography
He was born in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), France. His father was a locksmith from the Vendée ...
, Auguste Sautelet, and Carrel; but after the July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
of 1830, Thiers and Mignet assumed office, and the entire management of the publication was left in Carrel's hands. Under his direction the journal became the foremost political organ in Paris. His judgment was unusually clear, his principles solid and well founded, his sincerity and honesty beyond question; and to these qualities, he united an admirable style, lucid, precise and well-balanced.
As the defender of democracy, Carrel faced serious dangers. Once, he was sent to Sainte-Pélagie Prison
Sainte-Pélagie was a prison in Paris, in active use from 1790 to 1899. It was founded earlier than that, however, in 1662, as place for "repentant girls" and later "debauched women and girls." The former Parisian prison was located between the ...
, and he appeared several times before the Tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.
For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...
of Paris to answer for his journal. In July 1835, he was one of a number of newspaper editors and writers arrested in the aftermath of Giuseppe Marco Fieschi
Giuseppe Marco Fieschi (13 December 1790 – 19 February 1836) was a Corsican mass murderer, and the chief conspirator in an attempted assassination of King Louis-Philippe of France on 28 July 1835. The attack on the King and his entourage, ...
's attempted assassination of King Louis Philippe I
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...
.
Death
Carrel had previously fought two duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
s with editors of rival papers. The third dispute, which led to his duel with Émile de Girardin
Émile de Girardin (22 June 180227 April 1881) was a French journalist, publisher and politician. He was the most successful and flamboyant French journalist of the era, presenting himself as a promoter of mass education through mass journalism. ...
was minor, and might have been amicably settled had it not been for Carrel's own obstinacy. The meeting took place on the morning of 22 July 1836 in the Paris suburb of Saint-Mandé
Saint-Mandé () is a high-end Communes of France, commune of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. It is one of the sm ...
. De Girardin was wounded in the thigh, Carrel in the groin. The wound immediately appeared to be dangerous, and Carrel was carried to the house of a friend where he died two days later, at age 36.
Legacy
Carrel's works were published in five volumes with biographical notes by Émile Littré
Émile Maximilien Paul Littré (; 1 February 18012 June 1881) was a French lexicographer, freemason and philosopher, best known for his ''Dictionnaire de la langue française'', commonly called .
Biography
Littré was born in Paris. His father, ...
, (Paris, 1858).
In the 19th arrondissement of Paris, the Place Armand-Carrel (in French) and the Rue Armand-Carrel (in French) are named after him. The former was named in an 1879 decree.
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrel, Armand
1800 births
1836 deaths
Writers from Rouen
Duelling fatalities
Deaths by firearm in France
Lycée Pierre-Corneille alumni
19th-century French journalists
French male journalists
French male essayists
19th-century French historians
19th-century French essayists
19th-century French male writers