![Le souper de Beaucaire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Le_souper_de_Beaucaire.png)
''Le souper de Beaucaire'' was a political pamphlet written by
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 wh ...
in 1793. With the French Revolution into its fourth year, civil war had spread across France between various rival political factions. Napoleon was involved in military action, on the government's side, against some rebellious cities of southern France. It was during these events, in 1793, that he spoke with four merchants from the
Midi
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...
and heard their views. As a loyal soldier of the Republic he responded in turn, set on dispelling the fears of the merchants and discouraging their beliefs. He later wrote about his conversation in the form of a pamphlet, calling for an end to the civil war.
Background
During the French Revolution the
National Convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
became the
executive power
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems b ...
of France, following the execution of 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 ...
. With powerful members, such as
Maximilien 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 ...
and
Georges Danton, the
Jacobin Club, a French political party established in 1790, at the birth of the revolution, managed to secure control of the government and pursue the revolution to their own ends, culminating in a "
Reign of Terror". Its repressive policies resulted in insurrection across much of France, including the three largest cities after Paris, namely Lyon, Marseille and Toulon, in the south of France.
Citizens in the south were opposed to a centralised government, and to the decrees of its rule, which resulted in rebellion. Prior to the revolution France had been divided into provinces with local governments. In 1790 the government, the
National Constituent Assembly, reorganised France into administrative
departments in order to rebalance the uneven distribution of French wealth, which had been subject to feudalism under the monarchical ''
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for ...
''.
Rebellion in Southern France
In July 1793, Captain Napoleon Bonaparte, an artillery officer, was placed under the command of General
Jean-Baptiste Carteaux to deal with rebels from Marseille situated in
Avignon, where army munitions required by the French
Army of Italy were being stored. On 24 July, Carteaux's
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
smen assaulted Avignon which was held by rebellious Guardsmen. They killed thirty citizens in cold blood during the attack before capturing the town and army supplies. Afterwards, Napoleon travelled to nearby Tarascon to find wagons with which to transport the munition. He visited
Beaucaire, across the river from Tarascon, which had been holding an annual fair. Napoleon arrived on 28 July, the last day of the fair, and went to a tavern where he shared
supper
Supper was originally a secondary lighter evening meal. The main meal of the day, called dinner, used to be served closer to what is known as lunchtime, around the middle of the day, but crept later over the centuries, mostly over the course of ...
and conversation with four merchants – two from Marseille, one from Montpellier and another from Nîmes.
That evening Napoleon and the four merchants discussed the revolution, subsequent rebellions, and their consequences. Speaking as a pro-Republican, Napoleon supported the Jacobin cause, and explained the benefits of the revolution, whilst defending Carteaux's actions in Avignon. One of the merchants from Marseille expressed his moderate views regarding the revolution, and reasons for supporting civil war against a central government. The merchant stressed that Marseille did not fight for the Royalist cause, but opposed the nature of the Convention itself, condemning its decrees and deeming the execution of citizens as unlawful. Napoleon concluded that the people of Marseille should reject counter-revolutionary ideals and adopt the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
of the
French Republic in order to end the civil war and allow the regular army to restore France.
[de Chair, pp. 59–70.]
Following their conversation the group drank champagne until two in the morning, paid for by the Marseillais merchant.
Publication and recognition
Shortly after the events, possibly on the 29 July whilst still in Beaucaire, Napoleon wrote a political pamphlet titled ''Le souper de Beaucaire'' (''The supper at Beaucaire'') in which a soldier speaks with four merchants and, sympathetic to their opinions, attempts to dissipate their counter-revolutionary sentiments.
The pamphlet was read by
Augustin Robespierre
Augustin Bon Joseph de Robespierre (21 January 1763 – 28 July 1794), known as Robespierre the Younger, was a French lawyer, politician and the younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre. His political views were simil ...
, brother of Maximilien Robespierre, who was impressed by the revolutionary context. The pamphlet itself had little effect against the rebellious forces, but served to advance Napoleon's career. He soon became recognised for his political ambitions by a Corsica-born politician, and family friend,
Christophe Saliceti, who arranged to have it published and distributed. Christophe's influence, along with fellow Convention deputy Augustin Robespierre, advanced Napoleon into the position of senior gunner, at Toulon.
In ''Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte'', a biography by Napoleon's private secretary,
Louis de Bourrienne, he notes that ''Le souper de Beaucaire'' was reprinted as a book – the first edition issued at the cost of the
Public Treasury in August 1798, and a second edition in 1821, following Napoleon's death. He also states, "It was during my absence from France that Bonaparte, in the rank of ''chef de bataillon''
ajor performed his first campaign, and contributed so materially to the recapture of Toulon. Of this period of his life I have no personal knowledge, and therefore I shall not speak of it as an eye-witness. I shall merely relate some facts which fill up the interval between 1793 and 1795, and which I have collected from papers which he himself delivered to me. Among these papers is a little production, entitled ''Le Souper de Beaucaire'', the copies of which he bought up at considerable expense, and destroyed upon his attaining 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 c ...
."
Notes
References
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External links
Scan of 1821 second edition of ''Le souper de Beaucaire''Napoleon, 1793. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
{{Authority control
1793 events of the French Revolution
1793 books
Napoleon
Beaucaire, Gard