Étienne Laurent Pierre Burnel (22 May 1762 in

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

– 12 July 1835 in Rennes) was a French colonial administrator.

Life

Born into a middle-class family, Burnel studied at the Jesuit college in Rennes - his father Pierre-Étienne Burnel was a magistrate who spent much of his career in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. Aged 18, Burnel joined the

régiment de Béarn A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service, or specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one ...

, in which he spent several years under the command of the chevalier de Payan, working as his secretary. On 16 November 1790, he moved to

Isle de France (Mauritius) Isle de France (, ) was a French colony in the Indian Ocean from 1715 to 1810, comprising the island now known as Mauritius and its dependent territories. It was governed by the French East India Company and formed part of the French colonial e ...

to seek his fortune. On 1 January 1791 he founded the ''Le Journal politique et littéraire'', editing it for 18 months. At the end of 1791, one year after arriving, he joined the bar at

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

. Becoming a public personality and general correspondent and 'avocat d'affaires' to the colonial assembly at

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

, he then became a member of the local directory in 1794. In March 1794, he chartered a ship under an American flag on a commercial operation and sailed on her himself. Despite the USA still being neutral in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, it was captured by the British and declared a legitimate prize, ruining Burnel. Dropped off at an American port, he took the chance to visit

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, meeting several French émigrés, including Talleyrand. It was in New York that Burnel learned of

9 Thermidor Maximilien Robespierre addressed the National Convention on 26 July 1794, was arrested the next day, and executed on 28 July. In his speech on 26 July, Robespierre spoke of the existence of internal enemies, conspirators, and calumniators, with ...

. Back in France, in 1795 the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...

put Burnel in command of a mission to Belgium. In 1796 he and

René Gaston Baco de La Chapelle René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

were sent to

Île de France Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino aci ...

and Île Bourbon (now

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

) as government agents charged with abolishing slavery. Arriving at

on 18 June 1796, they were both expelled by the colonists, who had decided to resist the abolition. In 1798, the government sent him to Guyana to replace Nicolas Georges Jeannet-Oudin, nephew of

Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; ; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a leading figure of the French Revolution. A modest and unknown lawyer on the eve of the Revolution, Danton became a famous orator of the Cordeliers Club and was raised to gover ...

. Signed by the minister for the navy Bruix, his orders gave him wide autonomy. Arriving at

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and 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 Caye ...

in October, he had to face the landowners' hostility to the central government and to the large number of men deported, victims of the Thermidorian reaction (

Billaud-Varenne Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne (; 23 April 1756 – 3 June 1819), also known as Jean Nicolas or by his nicknames, the Righteous Patriot or the Tiger, was a French lawyer and a major figure in the French Revolution. A close associate of Georges ...

) and the

coup of 18 Fructidor The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the French Directory, Directory, then forming the government of the First French Republic, with support from th ...

(general

Pichegru Jean-Charles Pichegru (; 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to h ...

, Tronsson-Ducoudray, Laffon-Ladebat, Barbé-Marbois and Job Aymé). Barbé-Marbois attacked him in letters to his close friends in France, published 36 years later under the title ''Journal d'un déporté''. After 18 months as governor, he successfully requested a recall to France on health grounds. Arriving back in France after Napoleon's coup of

18 brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the ...

, he retired to private life. When Napoleon set up prefectures in 1800, some friends wished to put Burnel's name forward, but Burnel remained faithful to the Republic and opposed them. It was only during the French military disasters of 1812 and 1813 that he offered his services to Napoleon. He was rewarded with a pension of 6,000 francs. Denounced as a "former terrorist", a "septembriseur" and secretary to "

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

", he was convoked by the marquis de Vioménil, commander of the 13th military division, to whom he could demonstrate that the accusations were unfounded. He saw the ant de la 13th division militaire, auquel il n'a aucun mal à démontrer l'inanité de ces accusations. He lived to see the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

of 1830, before dying in Rennes in 1835.

Bibliography

*Prosper Jean Levot, ''Biographie bretonne'', vol. I, Cauderan, 1852, « Burnel (Étienne-Laurent-Pierre) », p. 213-217. *Claude Wanquet, ''La France et la première abolition de l'esclavage: 1794-1802'', Karthala Éditions, 1998, 724 p. ire en ligne « L'équipée de Baco et Burnel », p. 293-296. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnel 1762 births 1835 deaths 19th-century French politicians