Benoît Chassériau (also known as Benito Chassériau or Chasserieux; 19 August 1780 – 27 September 1844) was a French diplomat, French spy and

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 ...

Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past role as a link in the route ...

,‘Indiana University Publications: Social science series, Volumes 8–10 p.58 – Publisher Indiana University, 1939‘Selected Writings of Bolivar: 1823–1830’ – Ed. Colonial Press, 1951 – Latin America comrade in arms of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

. He was the father of the artist

Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau (; ; September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a Dominican-born French Romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to A ...

Biography

Chassériau came very early in the administration and made the memorable Egypt campaign. Although very young, he administered as Financial Controller, two important provinces of Upper Egypt from 1798 to 1801 under the command of general François-Étienne Damas and then under general Augustin-Daniel Belliard. From 1802 until 1807, he was Treasurer-General and Secretary General of the French colony,

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. Appointed Treasurer-General during the expedition to Santo Domingo in 1802, Chassériau held the position of Secretary General in the government of general Jean-Louis Ferrand in the eastern part of Santo Domingo, ceded to France by the Treaty of Basel. During the invasion of the peninsula by the imperial armies, this part of the territory of Santo Domingo, remained more Spanish than French. Taken prisoner, Chassériau managed to escape but maritime war prevented him from returning to France. He visited the West Indies and the mainland of Spanish America. Chassériau was one of the French exiles at the origin of the city of

Aigleville Aigleville () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France France, official ...

and the

Vine and Olive Colony The Vine and Olive Colony was an effort by a group of French Bonapartists who, fearing for their lives after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Bourbon Restoration, attempted to establish an agricultural settlement growing wine grapes and oli ...

. In 1813

appointed Chassériau

and the Police in

with his friend Antoine Leleux, who had the portfolio of War.‘Simón Bolívar, más allá del mito: una reconstrucción documental de la vida de El Libertador, don Simón Bolívar, sus relaciones con El Protector, don José de San Martín y sus conexiones con la pequeña y grande historia de América’ – Guillermo Ruíz Rivas – Ediciones Tercer Mundo, 1964 Chassériau as commanderson nom est déformé en espagnol et s'écrit Benito Chaserieux – voir ‘La Independencia de Panamá en 1821: antecedentes, balance y proyecciones’ par Celestino Andrés Araúz – edition Academia Panameña de la Historia, 1980 (page 83) et ‘Panamá y sus relaciones internacionales: Estudio introductorio – Volume 15 of Biblioteca de la cultura panameña Volume 1 of Panamá y sus relaciones internacionales’ par Celestino Andrés Araúz – edition EUPAN, Editorial Universitaria, 1994 (page 17) took a very active part in the first expedition led by independent against

Portobelo Portobelo (Modern Spanish: "Puerto Bello" ("beautiful port"), historically in Portuguese: Porto Belo) is a historic port and corregimiento in Portobelo District, Colón Province, Panama. Located on the northern part of the Isthmus of Panama, it ...

(

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

) and

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

. He left Cartagena with 460 men on board 8 schooners and attacked Portobelo (Panama) on 16 January 1814. This expedition was a failure and was rejected by the Spanish royalists controlled by governor Joaquín Rodríguez Valcárcel. The second expedition conducted in 1819 by Scottish general

Gregor MacGregor General Gregor MacGregor (24 December 1786 – 4 December 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer, and con man who attempted from 1821 to 1837 to draw British and French investors and settlers to "Poyais", a fictional Central American territ ...

was a success. In 1822, Chassériau was the representative of the Masonic loge of the Guajira to the Grand Orient of France. Belonging to a lodge was more a sign of adherence to philosophical or religious principles in a revolutionary goal for freedom and against Spain. Returned to France in 1822,

François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...

, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, sent him on a foreign posting from 1823 until 1824.‘Bulletin de la Société Chateaubriand – Édition La Vallée-aux-Loups, 1979 (page 8 to 10) Chateaubriand gave two informal postings to Chassériau: the first mission was to ensure the mediation of France between Spain and the new state and the second mission to facilitate trade relations between Colombia and the French Caribbean colonies, mainly

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

.‘‘The Beinecke Lesser Antilles Collection at Hamilton College: A Catalogue of Books, Manuscripts, Prints, Maps, and Drawings, 1521–1860’ par Samuel Jones Hough et Penelope R. O. Hough – Editions University Press of Florida, 1994 (pages 292, 293, 297, 299, 300 and 301) From 1826 to 1830, Chassériau was employed by the Department of the Navy as agent in the Danish island of

Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Thomas (, , ) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Along with surrounding minor islands, it is one of t ...

. From 1832 to 1833 he was employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, as a Consul of France in St. Thomas. He was Honorary Consul accredited in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

from 1835 to 1839, and served from 1840 to 1844 as Consul of France in Puerto Rico, which had a population of 450,000 – of which 12,000 were French. Chassériau died in Puerto Rico on 27 September 1844. Benoit-chasseriau

The French friend of Simón Bolívar

Chassériau maintained for many years a friendly relationship with

who in his correspondence called him "''my French friend''". In 1815, Chassériau indirectly saved the life of Bolívar in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. On 10 December 1815 a few hours before the assassination attempt, Chassériau visited Bolivar and gave him money to seek alternative accommodation. Thus, the Liberator left the room where

José Antonio Páez José Antonio Páez Herrera (; 13 June 1790 – 6 May 1873) was a Venezuelan politician and military officer who served as the president of Venezuela three times. The first as the 5th president from 1830 to 1835, the second as the 8th president ...

had slept for several nights and depended on the guesthouse Rafael Pisce at the corner of Prince and White streets. The same night, Pio the servant of Bolivar and Paez plunged a knife into the neck of Captain Felix Amestoy, thinking it was the Liberator.‘Bolívar y los emigrados patriotas en el Caribe (Trinidad, Curazao, San Thomas, Jamaica, Haití)’ – Par Paul Verna – Edition INCE, 1983 (pages 42, 43 and 96)‘Simón Bolívar: Ensayo de interpretación biográfica a través de sus documentos’ – Par Tomás Polanco Alcántara – Edition Academia Nacional de la Historia, 1994 (page 505)‘Petión y Bolívar: una etapa decisiva en la emancipación de Hispanoamérica, 1790–1830’ – Colección Bicentenario – Par Paul Verna – Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, 1980 (page 131) In 1816, Chassériau helped finance Simón Bolívar expedition to los Cayos in the southwestern part of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. To collect 3,000 pesos, Chassériau formed a consortium with Jean Pavageau, Michael Scott, George Robertson, S. Campbell and Maxwell Hyslop. On his part, Chassériau lent the sum of 404 pesos to Simón Bolívar. To express his gratitude, Bolivar asked in 1827 the repayment of the loan by increasing interest at 6% per annum from 1 January 1816.‘Memorias del general O'Leary: Documentos Daniel Florencio O'Leary, Simón Bolívar O'Leary, Manuel Pérez Vila – Ed. Ministerio de la Defensa, 1981‘Robert Sutherland: un amigo de Bolívar en Haití : contribución al estudio de los destierros del Libertador en Haití, y de sus expediciones de Los Cayos y de Jacmel’ – Paul Verna – Ed. Fundación John Boulton, 1966 – Haiti (p. 23 and 25)

Family

Chassériau was the last of 18 children of Jean Chassériau, merchant, ship owner, advisor to the City of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

. He married in 1806, Marie Madeleine Couret de la Blaquière, daughter of a wealthy French owner in Santo Domingo. He was the father of five children: * Frederic-Charles Victor Chassériau (1807–1881), State Councilor and historian of the Navy * the Romantic painter

(1819–1856) * Adèle,

Aline Chassériau ''Aline Chassériau'' is an 1835 oil-on-canvas painting by French romantic artist Théodore Chassériau, which represents Aline Chassériau (1822–1871), the painter's younger sister. Once owned by the artist's brother Frédéric, it was given t ...

and Ernest

Distinctions

* Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

* Knight of the Royal Order of Dannebrog * Knight of Isabella the Catholic * Member of the ''Société royale des antiquaires du Nord'', in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Bibliography

* Jean-Baptiste Nouvion, Patrick Puigmal (Postface), "''The Colombians' French Companion, Benoît Chassériau (1780-1844)''", Paris LAC Editions, 2025 (ISBN 978-2-9565297-8-1) * Conference "''Benoît Chassériau, náufrago de Saint-Domingue, revolucionario en la Tierra Firme y agente de la Francia de la Restauración''" by Daniel Gutiérrez Ardila and Efrain Gonzalo Sanchez, 12 September 2019,

Luis Ángel Arango Library Luis Ángel Arango Library (Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango or BLAA) is a public library located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is one of the largest and most important libraries in the world. It was founded in 1958 as a small library with a few books o ...

, Bogota (

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

) – Conferences for the celebration of the bi-centenary of Colombia organized by the

Bank of the Republic (Colombia) The Bank of the Republic () is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the Regeneration (Colombia), regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian Constitution of 1991, Colombian constituti ...

* Jean-Baptiste Nouvion, ''"Une autre 'affaire de

' ou le projet de conquête de quatre Français en 1820"'' (

Louis-Michel Aury Louis-Michel Aury (1788 – August 30, 1821) was a French privateer operating in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean during the early 19th century. Early life Louis Michel-Aury was born in Paris, France in the 1780s, likely between 21 July 178 ...

, Benoît Chassériau, Jean Pavageau and Jean-Baptiste de Novion), Revue d'histoire diplomatique, Paris, Éditions A. Pedone, no 2, 2019 * Jean-Baptiste Nouvion,Biographical note in Le Figaro – Evene – Jean-Baptiste Nouvion
/ref>Article by Stéphane Guégan about "L'ami des Colombiens, Benoît Chassériau (1780–1844)", published in ''Mots dits LeMonde.fr'' – March 24 2019
and Catalog of the exhibition " Le modèle noir " at

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

, Flammarion – 2019, page 80, note 42 Patrick Puigmal (postface), ''"L'ami des Colombiens, Benoît Chassériau (1780–1844)"'', LAC Editions, Paris, 2018 () * Patrick Puigmal, ''"Diccionario de los militares napoleónicos durante la Independencia de los países bolivarianos : (Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador) / compilación e investigación"'', Centre de Recherches Diego Barros Arana de la Bibliothèque Nationale de Santiago (DIBAM), Chile, 2015 * Daniel Gutiérrez Ardila, ''Benoît Chassériau en Colombie'' in ''"Les commissaires de la Restauration auprès des Etats hispano-américains (1818–1826)"'', Cahiers de l’Institut d’histoire de la Révolution française, Paris – 2014 * William Spence Robertson, ''"France and Latin-American independence"'' (Chassériau mission in Colombia commissioned by the viscount of Chateaubriand), The Johns Hopkins Press,

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 ...

– 1939 * Jean-Louis Vaudoyer, ''"L’histoire de Benoit Chassériau, consul de France à Puerto Rico"'', Conférence du 17 juin 1935 à l'assemblée générale de la

Société des amis du Louvre Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

, Paris – 1935

External links

* Direction des archives du ministère des Affaires étrangères – Dossier individuel No. 889 pour Benoît Chassériau * Conferences for the celebration of the bi-centenary of Colombia organized by the

: "''Benoît Chassériau, náufrago de Saint-Domingue, revolucionario en la Tierra Firme y agente de la Francia de la Restauración''" 12 September 2019 (https://www.banrepcultural.org/proyectos/bicentenario-de-una-nacion-en-el-mundo/conferencias)

Sources

Archives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs – individual file n° 889 Benoît Chassériau

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chasseriau, Benoit Diplomats for France 1780 births 1844 deaths People of the Colombian War of Independence Ministers of the interior of Colombia People of Spanish Texas People from La Rochelle Benoit