Dominique Joseph Garat (8 September 17499 December 1833) was a French Basque

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and

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Biography

Garat was born at

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

, in the French Basque Country. After a good education under the direction of a relation who was a ''curé'', and a period as an advocate at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, he came to Paris, where he obtained introductions to the most distinguished writers of the time, and became a contributor to the ''Encyclopedie méthodique'' and the ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

''. He gained a reputation by an ''éloge'' on

Michel de l'Hôpital Michel de l'Hôpital (or l'Hospital) (1507 – 13 March 1573) was a French statesman. Biography De l'Hôpital was born near Aigueperse in Auvergne (now Puy-de-Dôme). His father, who was physician to the Constable de Bourbon, sent him to stud ...

in 1778, and was afterwards crowned three times by the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

for ''éloges'' on Suger, Montausier and Fontenelle. In 1785 he was named professor of history at the Lycée, where his lectures were as popular as those of Jean-François de La Harpe on literature. Elected as a deputy to the Estates-General in 1789, Garat rendered important service to the popular cause by his narrative of the proceedings of the Assembly, in the '' Journal de Paris''. His elder brother, Dominique (1735–1799), with whom he is sometimes confused, was also a deputy to the states-general.

Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In Augus ...

named him minister of justice in 1792, and in this capacity entrusted to him what he called the ''commission affreuse'' of communicating to King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

his sentence of death. In 1793 Garat became minister of the interior, in which position he proved quite inefficient. Though himself uncorrupt, he overlooked the most scandalous corruption in his subordinates, and in spite of a detective service which kept him accurately informed of every movement in the capital, he failed to maintain order. At last, disgusted with the excesses which he had been unable to control, he resigned on 20 August 1793. On 2 October he was arrested for Girondist sympathies but soon released, and he escaped further molestation owing to the friendship of

Barras Barras may refer to: Places * Barras, Cumbria, England * Barras, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France * Barras, Piauí, Brazil * Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Sete Barras, São Paulo, Brazil Other uses * Barras (surname) * Barras (market), a st ...

and, more especially, of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

. On the

9th Thermidor The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...

, however, he took sides against Robespierre, and on 12 September 1794 he was named by the convention as a member of the executive committee of public instruction.

Last representative of Labourd and Basque autonomist

He was elected along with his brother Dominique, dubbed ''the Old'', to be representative of

Labourd Labourd ( eu, Lapurdi; la, Lapurdum; Gascon: ''Labord'') is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques ''département''. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial c ...

(Biltzar or Assembly of Ustaritz) in Paris for the third estate on the strength of certain diplomatic gains achieved for Labourd before King

. When French Revolution broke out in Paris, both brothers attended the last Third Estate session turned into National Assembly (1790). He was confronted with traumatic decisions regarding a makeover of the institutional reality in Labourd. Up to that point the Basque province was ruled according to its native, ''foral'' system. Like the other Basque representatives, he was overwhelmed by the clean sweep proposal for all French administrations, but eventually voted in favour persuaded that it could give him and other Basque representatives a say in future institutional decisions. He was bitterly criticized and even disenfranchised back by the Assembly of Ustaritz for his vote. In 1790 and 1791, Joseph delivered outstanding addresses in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

defending before a hostile audience the Basque particularism and a Basque department. Despite his oratory skills that drew

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

's attention, the assembly passed a new French institutional design for France with a complete disregard to different institutional make-ups or identities, including the Assembly of Labourd (the Biltzar), whose democratic nature Garat defended. In the following years (1793–1795) reports of over-zeal and abuses committed against the

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

of Labourd and

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

got to Garat, who received the news with great dismay. The crimes taking place during the period of the

War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portuga ...

, included mass deportation of civilians and property seizures in Labourd, ordered by the Republican authorities in Bayonne, spearheaded by

Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac (10 January 1763 – 24 March 1829) was a French politician and statesman. Biography Born at Gourdon (Lot ''département''), he was, after the outbreak of the French Revolution, a member of the ''départements director ...

and Jacques Pinet, whom Garat despised. The senator Garat got in contact with Bonaparte in Paris, and Garat was commissioned by him both during his tenure as First Consul and Emperor with several reports on the institutional make-up, historic roots and economic assets of the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

. Garat went on to elaborate a blueprint for the creation of a cross-border Basque principality attached to France (to be called ''New Phoenicia'', after the alleged kinship of Basque and Phoenician). This new territory would include two or three districts, namely the present-day Basque Autonomous Community ("Biscay"),

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, and French Basque Country. However, the new French Emperor postponed any decision in that direction. The Constitution of Bayonne signed at the

Castle of Marracq The Castle of Marracq (french: château de Marracq) is a ruined 18th-century castle in Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. It has been an official Historical Monument since September 27, 1907. Since 2012, the ruins have been under renovation ...

in that town in June 1808 prioritized an understanding with officials in Madrid and included the Southern Basque Country—''Biscay'' and Navarre—in Spain, but left open the debate over its separate status. On 5 February 1809, after a plot was discovered to overthrow Bonaparte, Garat was summoned to his presence after the senator's delivery of a speech fraught with flattery to him. Dominique Joseph Garat was actually involved in the conspiracy, but he was not detained, he was required to retreat back into his home town of

Ustaritz Ustaritz (; eu, Uztaritze) is a town in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, southwestern France. It is located on the river Nive some inland from Bayonne. Ustaritz station has rai ...

. The project of ''New Phoenicia'' was stalled, but as war events in Spain wore on the French Emperor opted for the attachment of all territories between the river

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

and the Pyrenees to France (1810), divided into Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre, and

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

.Bolinaga, I. 2012, pp. 225-226 Any institutional alterations to these districts were ultimately overridden by military concerns on the ground. After Garat's failure to progress in politics, he showed a deep concern in defending his determined effort to save Basque institutions and identity at all times, going on to write an essay published posthumously in 1869 with a summary of his views on the origins of the Basques, the ''Origines des Basques de France et d'Espagne''.

Works

His works include, besides those already mentioned, ''Considérations sur la Révolution Française'' (Paris, 1792); ''Mémoire sur la Révolution, ou exposé de ma conduite'' (1795); ''Mémoires sur la vie de M. Suard, sur ses écrits, et sur le XVIII siècle'' (1820) ''éloges'' on Joubert, Kléber and Desaix; several notices of distinguished persons; and a large number of articles in periodicals.

Notes

References

External links

* Article about a Garat's unpublished work of 1811
«D.-J. Garat et le projet de “La Nouvelle Phénicie”» (2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garat, Dominique Joseph 1749 births 1833 deaths People from Bayonne Expelled members of the Académie Française French Basque politicians Members of the Sénat conservateur Presidents of the Senate (France) Members of the Chamber of Representatives (France) French Ministers of Justice French interior ministers Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Members of the Council of Ancients 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 19th-century French writers Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur