Jean-Pierre Bachasson,

Seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

and 1st

Comte ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

de Montalivet (Neunkirch, now part of

Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of t ...

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

, 5 July 1766 –

Château de Lagrange A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

,Castle of Montalivet-Lagrange
on Napoleon & Empire website

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, 22 January 1823) was a French statesman and

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

. He was the father of Camille Bachasson, 3rd Count of Montalivet, Minister of the Interior under Louis-Philippe.

Life

Early life and Revolution

A nobleman born in Sarreguemines the son of Charles Victor Bachasson, Seigneur de Montalivet,

Maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...

and Councilor Secretary of the King in the Chancellery of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, etc., and second wife Marthe de Saint-Germain, ''Noble Femme'', he was counsellor to the Grenoble ''

parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...

'' from 1785 à 1790, and, while in

Valence Valence or valency may refer to: Science * Valence (chemistry), a measure of an element's combining power with other atoms * Degree (graph theory), also called the valency of a vertex in graph theory * Valency (linguistics), aspect of verbs rel ...

, he became friends with a

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 ...

, who was a young officer at the time. In 1788, during the bloody riots known as the '' Journée des Tuiles'', he took the side of the revolt and was banished to his ''

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

'' in

Montmeyran Montmeyran (; oc, Montmairan) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department The following is a list of the 363 communes of the Drôme department of France. The commune ...

. Although supportive of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Bachasson enlisted in the Army of Italy in order to escape the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

. After his return to France he was elected Mayor of Valence in 1795, and was commissioner for the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

under the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

Consulate and Empire

After his

18 Brumaire coup The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' overt ...

, Napoleon called Bachasson to serve as '' préfet'' of the Manche and then Seine-et-Oise under the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

. With the start of the

French Empire French Empire (french: Empire Français, link=no) may refer to: * First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 and by Napoleon II in 1815, the French state from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 * Second French Empire, led by Nap ...

, Bachasson joined the '' Conseil d'État'', became director of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, and, from 1806, head of the ''

Corps des Ponts et Chaussées The ''Corps des ponts, des eaux et des forêts'' (in English "Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests") is a technical Grand Corps of the French State (grand corps de l'Etat). Its members are senior officials, mainly employed by the French Ministry of ...

''. He became a

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in 1809, during the period when France was at the peak of its European territorial expansion. As Minister, Bachasson helped develop the infrastructure within the Empire by, for example, authorising the construction of new bridges and ports. He also oversaw large-scale urban works in Paris, the building of such monuments as the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

and the Palais Brongniar, as well as the expansion of

sewage works Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

and the digging of public fountains.

Restoration, later life, and legacy

In 1814, after the

Six Days' Campaign The Six Days Campaign (10–15 February 1814) was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon I of France as the War of the Sixth Coalition, Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris. The Six Days Campaign was fought from 10 February to 15 ...

, Bachasson accompanied

Empress Marie Louise french: Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Françoise-Thérèse-Josèphe-Lucie it, Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of ...

all the way to Blois, and then retired to his property in Montmeyran. He returned to public life during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

, and became Intendant General General of the Crown and a Peer. With the start of the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

, he was denied peerage until 1819. He died in his Castle of Lagrange-Montalivet in

Saint-Bouize Saint-Bouize () is a commune in the Cher department in central France. Population Sights * Chateau Lagrange-Montalivet, 1590. * Church St. Baudel (twelfth century for its oldest parts): Built in four stages, ... The base is a Romanesque chur ...

. ''Montalivet Street'' in Paris, a ''Montalivet Square'' in

, ''Montalivet Avenue'' in

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of t ...

and the ''

Montalivet Islands East Montalivet Island and West Montalivet Island are islands off coast of the Kimberley region, in the state of Western Australia, in the Indian Ocean. They are often referred to together as the Montlivet Islands, although this is not a gazette ...

'' in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, are all named after him.

Family

He married Louise Françoise Adélaïde de Saint-Germain ( Versailles, Yvelines, 13 January 1769 –

Thauvenay Thauvenay () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A winegrowing and farming village situated on the banks of both the river Vauvise and the Loire lateral canal, about northeast of Bourges at ...

, 10 March 1850), who was said to be a daughter of

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

- with whom she shared the same striking resemblance in the strongly marked Bourbon traits also found in other of his illegitimate offspring - by Catherine Eléonore Bernard (1740–1769), and had issue: * Charles Bachasson de Montalivet (1798–1807) * Simon Pierre Joseph Bachasson, 2e Comte de Montalivet (1 March 1799 -

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

, 12 October 1823), unmarried and without issue * Marthe Camille Bachasson, 3rd Comte de Montalivet (1801–1880) * Pierre Bachasson de Montalivet (

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, 27 November 1832), unmarried and without issue

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montalivet, Jean-Pierre De 1766 births 1823 deaths People from Sarreguemines Counts of Montalivet Recipients of the Legion of Honour People of the French Revolution French interior ministers People of the First French Empire Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration