Pierre Victor, baron Malouet (11 February 1740 – 7 September 1814), was a French colonial administrator, planter, conservative publicist and

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, who signed as an

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...

the Whitehall Accord.

Life

Malouet was born in

Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the se ...

as the son of a

bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.College of Juilly The College of Juilly ( French: ''Collège de Juilly'') was a Catholic private teaching establishment located in the commune of Juilly, in Seine-et-Marne (France). Directed by the French Oratorians, it was created in 1638 by the congregationis ...

(1754–1756) before studying law. Then he opted for a career in the diplomatic service and in 1758 he was sent to the French Embassy in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and met with the Marquis de Pombal. When he returned to France he was given an administrative role in the French Army under the

Duc de Broglie The House of Broglie (, also ; french: Maison de Broglie, or ) is a French noble family, originally Piedmontese, who migrated to France in the year 1643. History () was the name of an old Piedmontese noble family, from which were descended t ...

.Gallois L. (1825) Biographie de tous les ministres: depuis la constitution de 1791, jusqu'au notre jours
/ref> In 1763 he was appointed

intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

and became commissary in

San Domingo Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and t ...

in 1767. There he married and acquired a significant number of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

. He returned to France in 1774, and took up the role of commissary-general of the navy. In 1776 he was entrusted to carry out plans of improving the colonization of

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. The next year Malouet and his wife made a 7-week trip to

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

, to discuss the 200

Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

that had fled from Surinam to Guiana. Malouet criticized the way the Dutch treated their

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

after he had visited 26 plantations. To improve relations between the owners and the slaves, Malouet "promoted" religion. He was almost taken prisoner during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

by an English

corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts and ...

on his return to

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

.V.P. Malouet’s Reisen nach dem französischen Guiana und nach Surinam, p. 116. Auszugsweise aus dem Französischen uebersetzt on T.F. Ehrmann(1805) Bibliothek der neuesten und wichtigsten Reisebeschreibungen Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 60000994 Hutten in het Marron dorp Koffiekamp

Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 60000994 Hutten in het Marron dorp Koffiekamp

Back in France he was well received at court, and the execution of his plans in Guiana was assured. Malouet was appointed intendant of the port of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. In 1788 he published his ''Mémoire sur l'esclavage des négres'' opposing

Abbé Raynal ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek language, Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is th ...

, who advocated the abolition of slavery. Malouet took a seat as representative of the Third Estate for his home town in the

Estates General of 1789 The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom o ...

, where he soon became well known as a defender of the monarchy. In September 1792, after the besiege of the Tuileries palace, he emigrated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and met with

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. On behalf of San Domingue he signed the Whitehall Accord, which placed the colony (along with

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

and

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

) under the authority of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, whilst ensuring the profitability of the sugar plantations by overturning the recent French declaration abolishing slavery. Around December 1792 he sought in vain permission to return to assist in the defence of

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 ...

. After the

18 Brumaire 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 ...

he returned to France. In 1801 his name was erased from the list of emigres by

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 ...

; in 1803, after the

Saint-Domingue expedition The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon I of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, then French Consulate, First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772), Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc ...

he was sent to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

as commissioner-general and maritime prefect to supervise the erection of defence works, and the creation of a fleet. Malouet left the city in 1807. He was peered and entered the

council of state A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

for the navy in 1810. Having offended the emperor by his criticism of the campaign in Russia, he was disgraced and left office in 1812. At the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

made him

Minister of the Navy Minister of the Navy may refer to: * Minister of the Navy (France) * Minister of the Navy (Italy) The Italian Minister of the Navy ( it, Ministri della Marina del Regno) was a member in the Council Ministers until 1947, when the ministry merged ...

, but Malouet died the same year. His memoires were published in 1868. Malouet was the author of a lengthy prose poem with a nautical theme, ''Les quatre parties du jour à la mer'', published in 1783.

Works

* ''Collection de ses opinions à l'Assemblée Nationale'' (3 vols., 1791–1792) * ''Collection de mémoires et correspondences officielles sur l'administration des colonies et notamment sur la Guerre française et hollandaise'' (5 vols. 1802) * ''Mémoire sur l'esclavage des negres dans les possessions françaises'' (Paris, 1788) * ''Examen de cette question: Quel sera pour les colonies de l'Amerique le resultat de la revolution française?'' (London, 1797). * '' Les quatre parties du jour à la mer'' (Paris, 1783)

References

Sources

* ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malouet, Pierre Victor, baron 1740 births 1814 deaths People from Riom Barons of France Monarchiens Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France) French slave owners Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur