Vincent-Marie Viénot, Count Of Vaublanc
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Vincent-Marie Viénot de Vaublanc, 1st baron Viénot de Vaublanc and of the Empire as known as "count de Vaublanc" ' (2 March 1756 – 21 August 1845) was a French
royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
, writer and artist. He was a deputy for the
Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the ÃŽle-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
' in the French Legislative Assembly, served as President of the same body, and from 26 September 1815 to 7 May 1816, he was the French
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 ...
. His political career had him rubbing shoulders with
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
,
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, the Count of Artois (the future
Charles X of France Charles X (Charles Philippe; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother of reigning kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported th ...
), and finally
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 â€“ 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. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
. He was banished and recalled four times by different regimes, never arrested, succeeding each time in regaining official favour. In a long and eventful career, he was successively a monarchist deputy during the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
and under the ''
Directoire The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory governed the French First Republ ...
'', an exile during the Terror, a deputy under
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
,
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 ...
to
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 â€“ 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. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
and eventually, at the end of his political career, a simple ultra-royalist deputy. He is remembered now for the fiery eloquence of his speeches, and for his controversial reorganisation of the ''
Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
'' in 1816 while Minister of the Interior. A man of order, he was a moderate supporter of the Revolution of 1789 and ended his political life under the Restoration as a radical counterrevolutionary.


Military education under the Ancien Régime

Born and raised at Fort-Dauphin,
Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
(now
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,
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 ...
), into an aristocratic family from
Bourgogne Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. T ...
, he was the eldest son of Vivant-François Viénot de Vaublanc, commanding officer of Fort Saint-Louis in Fort-Dauphin. He saw
Metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
for the first time at the age of seven. After military education at the '' Prytanée National Militaire'' in
La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most p ...
, and at the ''
École Militaire École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
'' in Paris from 1770 to 1774, he was decorated with the
Order of Saint Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by Crusaders during the 1130s at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose car ...
(before he had even set foot outside the school) by the Comte de
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
, the future
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 â€“ 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. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
, Grand Master of the Order. He was admitted as second-lieutenant to the Régiment de la Sarre, which was controlled by the Duc de Liancourt from 1776 to 1782, and in which his uncle Charles was lieutenant-colonel. He was garrisoned successively at
Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
, at
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and at
Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, before obtaining for Saint-Domingue to attend to family affairs. There he married one Mademoiselle de Fontenelle, and returned to France in 1782 with a daughter. He purchased the office of for Dammarie-les-Lys, near
Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the ÃŽle-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, ...
, and a house in the region, giving his profession as gentleman-farmer. The responsibility of his station was to act as arbiter in legal disputes which involved points of honour, and this permitted him to make the acquaintance of a number of aristocrats in the region. It also gave him the time to study agriculture, literature and the arts.


Political career during the French Revolution


Convocation of the French States-General (1789–1791)

Seduced at first by the new ideas of the Revolution, he threw himself into a political career by becoming an aristocratic member of the ''
bailliage A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...
'' of Melun in 1789. He was elected secretary of this assembly, under its president M. de Gouy d'Arcy, of Melun, a fellow member of the famous explorer
Louis Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (; 12 November 1729 – 31 August 1811) was a French military officer and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. B ...
. The Assembly was assigned the task of drawing up a list of grievances to be submitted to the King and naming a deputy to the States-General. Vaublanc supported Fréteau de Saint-Just, an elected for the of Melun who was to become a member of the National Constituent Assembly. In 1790, Vaublanc became a member and later president of the ''
conseil général The departmental councils ( ; singular, ''conseil départemental'' ) of France are representative assemblies elected by universal suffrage in 98 of the country's 101 departments. Prior to the 2015 French departmental elections they were known ...
'' of
Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the ÃŽle-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
. This gave him the right to preside over the administrative directory of this '.


Losing ground to the Jacobins under the Legislative Assembly (1791)

After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the electoral colleges reconvened to elect new deputies. Vaublanc was elected president of that of Seine-et-Marne. On 1 September 1791, he was elected deputy of Seine-et-Marne at the Legislative Assembly, the eighth out of eleven, by 273 votes out of 345. He was one of the few to have any political experience, notably on the question of the
Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...
, in an assembly composed essentially of political novices. Faithful to their promises, not one former member of the Constituent Assembly had been admitted.


A leader of the Club des Feuillants (1791–1792)

From this point on, he took the name of Viénot-Vaublanc, which he retained until the end of the First Empire in 1814. From the very moment of his appearance, he made himself conspicuous by delivering a speech which denounced the humiliating terms on which
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
was to be received by the Assembly the next day. As a result of these statements, he was elected president from 15 November to 28 November 1791 by the assembly, the majority of whom were royalist. On 29 November, Vaublanc was assigned the task of composing a message to the King, asking him to withdraw his veto of the decree of 9 November, a decree designed to slow the massive emigrations (then encouraged by the priests and the nobility) by threatening reprisals against German princes who continued to offer refuge to the armies of French noblemen (such as those of the Comte d'Artois, and of the
Prince of Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The f ...
). The assembly was so pleased with his work that they asked him to read it to the King personally. Louis XVI replied that he would take the request into serious consideration, and, several days later, personally announced his decision on the matter. On this occasion Vaublanc made a name for himself by informing the assembly "that the King had made the first bow, and he had only returned the gesture." The anecdote reveals the shift in constitutional forces: the legislative power, embodied in the Legislative Assembly, was clearly ascendant over the executive, embodied in Louis XVI, who was now no more than the "King of the French" or . Vaublanc now sided with the constitutional monarchists and joined the (dubbed the ''
Club des Feuillants The Society of the Friends of the ConstitutionIt was the original name of the Jacobin Club until its radicalization after the Republic's birth. (), better known as Feuillants Club ( ), was a political grouping that emerged during the French Revo ...
'') with 263 other colleagues out of the 745 deputies. He became one of its principal figures, along with Jacques Claude Beugnot, Mathieu Dumas and Jaucourt, after the departure of Barnave and C. Lameth. He vigorously opposed revolutionary governments and was characterised by his loyalty to the King, his opposition to repressive measures against rebellious priests and to laws confiscating the goods of émigrés, and his denunciation of the massacres at Avignon. Debate became steadily more extreme. The crowds attending these debates often shouted at him (as they did at
Charles de Lacretelle Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
) "'' À la lanterne!''"
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, his hostile colleague in the Legislative Assembly in 1791, said of him: "There are, at all meetings, these noisy air-headed orators, who produce a great effect through the constant repetition of redundant inanities."
Brissot Jacques Pierre Brissot (, 15 January 1754 – 31 October 1793), also known as Brissot de Warville, was a French journalist, abolitionist, and revolutionary leading the faction of Girondins (initially called Brissotins) at the National Conventio ...
, one of the chief
Girondist The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...
s in the Legislative Assembly, nicknamed him '' bicaméristes''.


The fall of the monarchy (1792)

In 1792, he defended the
Comte de Rochambeau Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807) was a French Royal Army officer who played a critical role in the Franco-American victory at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. ...
before the Assembly and obtained his acquittal. Following the majority of the Assembly who sought to abolish slavery in the
Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...
, he nevertheless took aim in a speech of 20 March at those hardline abolitionists like
Brissot Jacques Pierre Brissot (, 15 January 1754 – 31 October 1793), also known as Brissot de Warville, was a French journalist, abolitionist, and revolutionary leading the faction of Girondins (initially called Brissotins) at the National Conventio ...
who knew little of life in the colonies and of the risks of civil war given the diversity of ethnicities and social conflicts in
Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
. He supported the law of 4 April 1792 which granted citizenship to all "coloured men and free Negroes". At the meeting of 10 April, he declared himself in favour of the progressive abolition of the slave trade throughout the colonies, following the examples of Denmark and Great Britain. On 3 May 1792, he supported the proposition of Beugnot which provoked an accusatory decree from Marat and the abbé Royou, and on 8 May, at the Assembly, he addressed the Jacobins in these terms: "You wish, sirs, to save the Constitution; and yet, you cannot do so without beating down factions and the factious, without setting everything besides the rule of law to one side, without dying with the Law and for the Law, and I declare that I shall not be the last who shall die with you, in order to see it preserved; believe it, sirs...." On 18 June, he was elected a member of the (Committee of Twelve), created by Marat to examine the State of France and to propose means of preserving the Constitution, liberty, and the Empire. He gave his resignation on 30 July.


The defence of La Fayette

Following the events of 20 June 1792, La Fayette arrived in Paris on 28 June, hoping to convince the King to leave in order to head the armies assembled in the north. At the head of the National Guard, he tried to close down the political ''clubs'', but his attempt failed, partly because of the Court's refusal to support him. In reaction to this, the left wing of the Assembly decided to charge Lafayette with treason. On 8 August 1792, ill at ease and shocked by the course of events, Vaublanc delivered a speech before the Assembly, in which he defended, vigorously, and courageously, against the lively opposition of the Jacobins who dominated the Assembly and of the man in the street, General La Fayette, who stood accused of violating the Constitution. He later claimed to have succeeded (with the help of
Quatremère de Quincy Antoine-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy (21 October 1755 – 28 December 1849) was a French armchair archaeologist and architectural theorist, a Freemason, and an effective arts administrator and influential writer on art. Life Born in Paris, ...
) in rallying 200 undecided deputies to his position. La Fayette was acquitted, by 406 votes out of 630. On departure, Vaublanc and about thirty other deputies were threatened, insulted and jostled by the hostile crowd which had attended the debate. Some deputies even took refuge in the guardroom of the Royal Palace, later exiting through the windows.
Hippolyte Taine Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) was a French historian, critic and philosopher. He was the chief theoretical influence on French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism and one of the first practitione ...
wrote: "After the principal defender of La Fayette, M. de Vaublanc, had been assaulted three times, he took the precaution of not immediately returning home; but the rabble besieged his house, shouting that eighty citizens must die by their hands, and that he should be the first; twelve men climbed to his apartment, ransacked it, and continued the search in neighbouring houses, hoping for members of his family if he himself could not be seized; he was informed that if he returned to his domicile he would be slaughtered." As a result, on 9 August, Vaublanc asked for the removal of the and . The request was rejected by a majority of the Assembly.


August 10

On 10 August 1792, the day that marked the downfall of the Legislative Assembly and the Monarchy at the hands of the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
, he witnessed from his carriage the toppling of the statue of
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
in what is now the
Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as the Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as the Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madelein ...
. He enjoined the Assembly to leave Paris for royalist
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
to escape the revolutionary pressures, and he avoided an assassination attempt when he was narrowly saved from a sabre cut by a young officer of genius, Captain Louis Bertrand de Sivray, who was to make a name for himself as general. He was one of the eyewitnesses of the arrival of the Royal Family, who, after the March on the
Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...
, placed themselves under the protection of the Legislative Assembly at the . The incident is described in his memoirs.


Exiled during the Convention and the Reign of Terror (1792–1795)

The second volume of his memoirs provides insight into the general atmosphere at the time of the Terror, as felt by an aristocratic royalist, who was at risk of being arrested at any moment and finishing up on the scaffold, and yet forced to travel back and forth over the territory of the brand new French Republic. On the evening of 10 August he was obliged to take refuge at the home of Armand-Gaston Camus, the Assembly's archivist. Several days later he moved to the Hotel Strasbourg, on the rue Neuve Saint Eustache. On 3 September 1792, hearing a commotion in the courtyard, he thought himself betrayed; but it was in fact the passage of a rabble brandishing the head of the
Princesse de Lamballe Princesse (French 'princess') may refer to: *"Princesse", single hit for Julie Zenatti * Princesse (Nekfeu song) * La Princesse 15-metre (50-foot) mechanical spider designed and operated by French performance art company La Machine. See also *Pr ...
on a pole. The
Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...
, newly established, published a decree in which it was revealed that he was on the list of outlaws drawn up by the Municipality of Paris. This forced him to leave the city, first for
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, where he reunited with his family, then for his country house at Bélombres near Melun. He lived in hiding for several months; it was there that he learnt that the newspaper ''Gorsas'' accused him among others of having "accepted 300,000 francs from the Queen for the purpose of organising the Counter-Revolution in
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
", and that he "met with them secretly." The Law of Suspects went to the vote on 17 September 1793. His name appeared within. A revolutionary detachment came and ransacked his house, and he "fled by the highways" entirely on foot, throwing himself on the mercy of chance. He wandered from inn to inn, entering (he later wrote) every town in a terror of being recognised, especially when going to local authorities in order to get his passport stamped. At the trial of
Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...
, on 14 October and 16 October 1793, his name appeared next to that of Jaucourt in the papers of the prosecutors. Opting at first for the south of France, and
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
in particular, he changed direction after having learnt of the ferocious oppression led there by Tallien, the Convention's representative, and the dangers that travel in those regions entailed. He passed through
Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
, and
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 ...
, where he stayed for one month. Wishing to avoid taking the risk of enlisting in the National Guard, where he could well be recognised, he feigned illness and obtained a medical certificate which would allow him to take a thermal cure at Castéra-Verduzan in the
Gers Gers (; or , ) is a departments of France, department in the regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southwestern France. Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to ...
region. To allay suspicions, he took the precaution of regularly pricking his gums in order to simulate "incurable
scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...
." It was while at this spa that he learnt of the fall of
Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 â€“ 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 ...
on 27 July 1794. He waited four months for his proscription to be lifted before returning to Paris.


A counterrevolutionary activist under the Directory (1795–1799)

On his return to Paris in the spring of 1795, he published his "Reflections on the foundations of a constitution" (), under the pseudonym of L.-P. de Ségur, tabled by his friend Bresson, then a deputy at the National Convention. In this work, he advocated the creation of two parliamentary chambers instead of one (as was the case under the Convention), in the belief that having only one chamber had been one of the causes of the Terror. He also advocated the installation of a single person as head of the Executive, for the sake of efficiency, as opposed to the Directory's five. After the appearance of this book, the committee entrusted with the drawing up of the Constitution of Year III (comprising Daunou and François-Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas) invited him to elaborate on his theories, but he refused. His ideas were nevertheless broadly followed, and two chambers representing the Legislature saw the light of day with the names "
Council of Ancients The Council of Ancients or Council of Elders () was a house of the French bicameral legislature under the Constitution of the Year III, during the period commonly known as the Directory (French: ''Directoire''), from 22 August 1795 until 9 Nov ...
(Elders)" and "
Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...
" ( and ). Opposed to the Decree of Two Thirds, he took on an active rôle with
Antoine Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada ...
at the time of the insurrection of 13 Vendemaire IV (5 October 1795). On this occasion, he discovered the tactical genius of Bonaparte, who became known as . He was a member of the central royalist committee entrusted with replacing the Convention. On 17 October, as head of the royalist faction of the Faubourg Poissonnière, he was condemned to death ''in absentia'' by a military commission presided over by General Lostange, which had its headquarters at the Théâtre-Français. This obliged him to go into hiding for a second time, mostly at the residence of Sophie Cottin, a friend of Bresson's wife. He took advantage of his stay there by making sketches of Cottin. Several days later, the Convention, forced to hold new elections, assembled the electoral colleges. This election brought a majority of royalists into the Senate and into the Council of 500. The college of Melun elected Vaublanc as deputy for Seine-et-Marne and as a member of the Council of 500; however he had to wait for his friends Desfourneaux and Pastoret to overturn his sentence (by reason of unconstitutionality). This was made easier because of the fear inspired in the Assembly by at the end of August 1796. On 2 September 1796, he delivered the famous speech "I swear hatred for royalty!" which, according to legend, was interrupted by a highlander who shouted "Speak up!" — to which Vaublanc responded instantly: "Keep it down!" The elections of Year V (May 1797), in which one third of the representatives were replaced, turned the tables in favour of the royalists, who achieved a majority in both chambers. On 20 May 1797 (20 prairial V),
Charles 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 ...
was elected president of the Council of 500 and Barbé-Marbois of the Council of Elders. Vaublanc himself was named of the Council of 500. On the same day, the Legislature proceeded to replace the republican Director, Le Tourneur (who had gained the position by drawing straws), with the moderate royalist François de Barthélémy, at that time the French ambassador to Switzerland. Vaublanc voted against his nomination, preferring General Beurnonville, who was known for his forcefulness. The new majority supported freedom of the press, which allowed attacks on the Directory to be made with impunity. The
Club de Clichy The Clichy Club () was a Political faction, political group active during the French Revolution from 1794 to 1797. History During the French Revolution, the Clichy Club formed in 1794 following the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, 9 Thermidor an ...
, of which Vaublanc was a prominent member, began to control the two councils, and directly threatened the Directory. He was appointed to their committee of inspectors, and given the rôle of policing the councils and maintaining their security from within. As a result, he had the power to give orders to the councils' brigadiers. The Directory, cornered, counterattacked with the 80,000-strong army of Sambre-et-Meuse, which approached Paris under the command of Hoche. At the same time, Vaublanc pleaded for and obtained from the Council an order dissolving all clubs, including those of the Jacobins. On 16 July 1797, under pressure from the councils, the three republican directors, Barras, Reubell and La Reveillière-Lépeaux, ordered a ministerial reshuffle disadvantaging the royalists. On 3 September, Vaublanc, with his colleague Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse and other , was a hair's breadth from achieving a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
against the triumvirate of republican directors. Their plan, which convinced the director
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist, military officer, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. His military refo ...
, was simple. Vaublanc was charged with delivering a speech on 4 September before the Council of 500 which would demand the impeachment of the triumvirate. Meanwhile, 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 ...
, who had been persuaded by Carnot to join the conspiracy at the head of the Legislature's Guard, would come to arrest the directors.''Mémoires'' (tome II, livre IV, chapitre IV) Unfortunately for him, General Bonaparte, then head of the Armée d'Italie, intercepted a royalist agent,
Louis-Alexandre de Launay, comte d'Antraigues Emmanuel Henri Louis Alexandre de Launay, comte d'Antraigues (25 December 1753 – 22 July 1812) was a French pamphleteer, diplomat, spy and political adventurer during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Early life At the age of 14, d'An ...
, in possession of documents revealing the conspiracy and the treason of Pichegru. He sent General
Pierre Augereau Charles Pierre François Augereau, duc de Castiglione (; 21 October 1757 – 12 June 1816) was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. After serving in the ...
and his army to Paris, where the general advertised the treason with posters in the streets. The principal conspirators were either arrested and deported to
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 ...
(like Pichegru and Barthélémy), or forced to flee (like Carnot and Vaublanc). The latter managed to escape the city limits of Paris, which was then still in a state of siege, by hiding in a carriage. This escape was achieved through the connivance of Rochambeau. Vaublanc made it to Italy with the help of various disguises; on his way he passed through Switzerland, where he stayed with his friend Pastoret.


Under Napoleon

The
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
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 ...
VIII (10 November 1799), and the accession to power of the '' Consulat'', which gave amnesty to the proscribed, permitted him to return to France, where he was presented to Bonaparte.


Deputy to the ''Corps législatif'' (1800–1805)

In 1800, Vaublanc was elected by the conservative Senate to be deputy for
Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...
, one of 300 members of the Legislature (), and to fulfil the duties of ''questeur'' for a five-year term. Among those duties was that of issuing regular reports on the Consulate for the rest of his life. The admiration and respect which he felt towards Napoleon for having "reestablished order in France and put an end to the persecution of priests" can be seen in several of his speeches at this time: for example that of 24 floréal X to the consuls, in his capacity as deputy to the Legislature, a speech which is flattering to the First Consul, or that of 24 nivôse XIII (13 January 1805), this time delivered before Napoléon I, who had in the meantime become , when together with
Jean-Pierre Louis de Fontanes Jean-Pierre or Jean Pierre may refer to: People * Karine Jean-Pierre b.1977, White House Deputy Press Secretary for President Joe Biden 2021- * Jean-Pierre, Count of Montalivet (1766–1823), French statesman and Peer of France * Eugenia Pierre ( ...
, Acting President of the Legislature, Vaublanc attended the inauguration of a marble statue of the Emperor in the hall of the Legislature, which had been commissioned to honour the "father of the Civil Code." He was President of the Legislature from 21 April to 7 May 1803. On 4 November 1804, Pope
Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...
stayed the night at Vaublanc's house in
Montargis Montargis () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Centre-Val de Loire ''région'', and the second in the Loiret ''département'' after Orléans. It is near ...
, 28 rue de Loing, while travelling to Paris for the coronation of the Emperor.


Prefect of Moselle (1805–1814)

At the end of his term as deputy, in 1805 the electoral college of Seine-et-Marne put him up as a candidate for the Senate, but he was not retained. Interested by the administrative and territorial reorganisations that were taking place, he managed to obtain a prefecture, and on 1 February 1805 at Metz he was named (prefect or chief administrator of the département of Moselle). He became known for his activism and for his habit of roaming his département on horseback and not by stagecoach as was customary for prefects. Napoleon rewarded him for his zeal: he was made Commander of the
Légion d'honneur 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 society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, knighted on 28 November 1809, made on 19 December 1809 (a hereditary title), and was bestowed on 17 July 1810 with a
majorat ''Majorat'' () is a French term for an arrangement giving the right of succession to a specific parcel of property associated with a title of nobility to a single heir, based on male primogeniture. A majorat ( fideicommis) would be inherited by ...
in
Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. In June of that year he had an audience with the Emperor at the time of his passage through Metz, during which, according to the third volume of his Memoirs, he strongly objected to the idea of a campaign against Russia. During the campaign of 1813, after the withdrawal of the Mainz Army from Leipzig, a large number of wounded soldiers took refuge in Metz, resulting in a
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
epidemic of which Vaublanc fell victim; he escaped death narrowly. In 1814, he opened the gates of Metz to welcome the coalition forces.


Under Louis XVIII


For the First Restoration and against the Hundred Days (1814–1815)

Maintained as Prefect of Moselle after the First Restoration, he was made an of the Legion of Honour on 23 August 1814. After the return of Napoleon he kept Metz loyal to Louis XVIII and, with Marshal Oudinot, the military governor of Metz, he attempted to hinder any Bonapartist rallies. An , published by Marshal Davout in , forced him to flee towards
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, joining Louis XVIII at
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
. It is said that, on meeting the officer assigned to arrest him, he said: "Do not worry about me. Better worry about your own self; no-one must see you leaving by the large courtyard", and led him to a side exit before galloping away on his horse. On his arrival, he encountered Chateaubriand, who mentions him in his ''
Mémoires d'Outre-tombe ''Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe'' () is the memoir of François-René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848), collected and published posthumously in two volumes in 1849 and 1850, respectively. Chateaubriand, a writer, politician, diplomat and historian, rema ...
'': "M. de Vaublanc and M. Capelle joined us. The former said he had everything he could possibly need in his portfolio. You want
Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...
? here you go; Bossuet? there you are." He submitted to the King, via the Comte d'Artois, several essays on the state of the country, and predicted that His Majesty "would be on his way back to Paris in two months or less." After the Second Restoration, in order to thank him for his loyalty Louis XVIII named him State Councillor on the spot, and, on 27 December 1815, Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honour 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 society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
. In July, he sent him to
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
to be Prefect of
Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...
, and to liberate five to six hundred Bonapartist prisoners, a surprising act which was appropriate under the circumstances (Marseille being under English control, and convulsed by anti-Bonapartist violence).


Ultra-royalist Minister of the Interior (1815–1816)

Wishing to live down his Bonapartist past, he became known as one of the most fervent leaders of the party of "Ultras", even going so far (while Minister of the Interior) as to remove the letter N from the bridges of Paris. On 26 September 1815, thanks largely to the support of his friend the Comte d'Artois, the King named him
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 ...
and of Public Instruction. The new President of the Council, the Duc de Richelieu, who had been forced to nominate him, had a ruling on his nomination suspended, but he was not quick enough and on hearing the good news Vaublanc wasted no time in establishing himself firmly in his new ministry. This nomination demonstrates the influence that the Comte d'Artois exercised over the governments of his brother. He kept a rival court at the Marsan Pavilion and sought to restore Absolutism by rolling back the innovations that had been ushered in by the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
. Rudolf von Thadden, a contemporary German historian, summed up the comments of Martignac on 2 April 1829 by saying that his nomination was due more to his background than to his talents.


Breathless devotion

Vaublanc, at the head of his ministry, engaged immediately in Counter-Revolutionary activity that was so frenetic that even the King was to be describe it as "breathless devotion". On the tabling by the
Keeper of the Seals The title keeper of the seals or equivalent is used in several contexts, denoting the person entitled to keep and authorize use of the great seal of a given country. The title may or may not be linked to a particular cabinet or ministerial offi ...
of a law that would reestablish or "special courts" before the Chamber of Deputies (nicknamed the ''
Chambre introuvable The ( French for "Unobtainable Chamber") was the first Chamber of Deputies elected after the Second Bourbon Restoration in 1815. It was dominated by Ultra-royalists who completely refused to accept the results of the French Revolution. The n ...
''), Vaublanc shouted out: "France wants its King!" To great applause, both the deputies and the public gallery rose to their feet and repeated "Yes, France wants its King!" On 2 October 1815, one of his first measures was to send out a circular to all the departmental prefects informing them of their priorities in this troubled time: "The very first priority should be given to the maintenance of order (...) true vigilance foresees disorderliness and renders the use of force unnecessary." He used his powers to lock down the prefectural system to the advantage of the royalists, by transferring or sacking twenty-two prefects. By the end of his incumbency not one prefect even slightly implicated in the events of the Hundred Days was still in office. On 18 November, he signed a statute that replaced the general staff of the National Guard with a committee of three Inspectors-General who were the members of the council of the Colonel-General — none other than the Comte d'Artois. The statute also removed the right of the other ministers to review any nominations to these positions. This permitted the Ultras to infiltrate the organisation more easily. By a statute of 13 January 1816, he shortened the terms of mayors and deputy-mayors by two years; Vaublanc explained this measure to a prefect thus: "By accelerating the turn-over of mayors and deputy-mayors, you must get those people out of the way who, without a formal recall, would continue in a station to which they appear ill-suited." In countersigning the statute of 21 March 1816, he aided the controversial reorganisation of the ''
Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...
'', perhaps persuaded by a letter from Jean Baptiste Antoine Suard, secretary in perpetuity of the ''
Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
'': "I can never tire of repeating that there is manifest in this institute a remnant of the Revolutionary spirit, whose influence must urgently be quelled by wise foresight working through statutes which you shall put into effect"; this statute gave him the direct power to name nine of the eleven academicians. This radical submission of academia to "royal benevolence" met a mixed reception. In particular, the liberals reproached him for replacing the poet Antoine Vincent Arnault with the Duc de Richelieu, Pierre Louis Roederer with the Duc de Lévis, and Charles-Guillaume Etienne with the Comte Choiseul-Gouffier. The new had no significant literary achievements. This affair earned him the nickname '' Maupeou'' . Throughout this time of purging, he proposed the creation of a Ministry of Fine Arts for Chateaubriand, but this idea was turned down by the Duc de Richelieu. On 6 April 1816 Vaublanc was elected of the Academy of Fine Arts, from which he had ousted the painter
Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
.


Fall from grace

In his capacity as Minister of the Interior, he had to draft a new electoral law. Vaublanc proposed, without much enthusiasm (and with the precedent of Article 37 from the Charter of 1814), an annual re-election of one fifth of the Chamber according to a two-tier system aimed at keeping the Chamber in Royalist hands. This proposal was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies, on 3 April 1816, by 89 votes to 57. Hoping to stay in power as long as possible, the Chamber tabled a counter-proposal involving a general election every five years, which in turn was rejected by the Government. As a result of the impasse, France briefly had no electoral law. On 10 April 1816, to a full house, the Police Minister Decazes heckled him: "You are nothing more than the Minister of the Comte d'Artois and you want to be more powerful than the Ministers of the King!" Vaublanc responded scathingly: "If I were more powerful than you, I would make full use of those powers to have you charged with high treason for you are, M. Decazes, indeed a traitor both to King and country." On 13 April 1816, he aided the expulsion of some students from the Polytechnic, perpetrators of "disturbances and indiscipline", the majority in fact being Bonapartists who were being expelled for political reasons. France's allies, still present in the country, became uneasy about the dissensions within the French government. The Russian Ambassador, a Corsican named
Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo Count Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo (, , ''Karl Osipovich Potso di Borgo''; 8 March 1764 – 15 February 1842) was a Corsican politician, who later became a Russian diplomat. He was an official representative of his homeland in Paris before ent ...
, went so far as to blame Vaublanc for a large part of it: "One of the principal sources of the disorder has been the heterogeneous composition of the ministry; the defection of that of the Interior has greatly weakened the authority and the influence of the Crown on the Chambers." The battle of personalities within the Ministry of the Interior (Vaublanc versus Richelieu and Decazes), the tight links between Vaublanc and the future
Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...
, the hysterical outburst of 10 April, and Vaublanc's report to the King in which he absurdly insisted on "the indispensability of a firmer and more resolute pace" all led to his downfall. Richelieu demanded that the King dismiss Vaublanc, threatening to resign if he did not. The King finally acquiesced, and, when he asked for the statute so he could countersign it, the episode (according to the account of
Louis-Mathieu Molé Louis-Mathieu, comte Molé (; 24 January 1781 â€“ 23 November 1855) was a French statesman and a close friend and associate of Louis Philippe I, King of the French during the July Monarchy (1830–1848). Biography Molé was born in Paris. ...
) descended into farce.Molé: "M. de Richelieu started to obey, but found that he had forgotten or lost the key to his portfolio; feeling how important it was not to let slip this opportunity, the blood rushed into his face, and, vexed beyond endurance, he finally took his portfolio in both hands, tore it in half, and extracted the statute, whereupon the King, without showing the least sign of emotion or surprise, signed the nomination of M. Lainé to the post of Minister of the Interior." Replaced by Joseph Louis Joachim Lainé shortly after the failure of his plans for electoral reform, he left on 8 May 1816, the same day as the Minister of Justice,
François Barbé-Marbois François, marquis de Barbé-Marbois (31 January 1745 – 12 February 1837) was a French civil servant, diplomat, and politician. He was ambassador of France to the United States (1784–1785), where he married the daughter of the Governor ...
, who had been sacked at the insistence of the Comte d'Artois in a tit-for-tat deal. The King recompensed Vaublanc with the titles of State Minister and Member of the Privy Council.


Deputy of the chamber (1820–1827) and afterwards

On 13 November 1820 he was elected to the Chamber as deputy for
Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...
. He was re-elected on 10 October 1821, became a vice-president of the Chamber during the 1822 session, was re-elected again on 6 March 1824, but lost in 1827. He was at the same time selected to be deputy for
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
, where he was the co-proprietor of a sugar plantation in the parish of Basse-terre. In this capacity he recommended several changes in the judiciary and in the administration of the colonies, including the construction of storehouses. With two of his colleagues in the chamber, Comte de la Breteche and Baron de Vitrolles, he oversaw some ultra-royalist periodicals, starting with and . In January 1823, he came out in favour of the Spanish Expedition, and was named a member of the board of inquiry, presided over by Marshal Macdonald. He had just been reappointed to the State Council (on 25 July) with the written promise of a
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
, when the statues of July 1830 deposed
Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...
. He retired from public life after the accession of
Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
and worked on his memoirs until his sight failed. He died at the age of eighty-nine, on 21 August 1845, in Paris at his house on the rue du Bac.


Notes


Works by Viénot de Vaublanc

* 1792 ''Rapport sur les honneurs et récompenses militaires, le 28 janvier 1792, fait à l'Assemblée nationale, au nom du Comité d'instruction publique''. * 1795 ''Réflexions sur les bases d'une constitution'' under the pseudonym L.-P. de Segur. * 1808 ''Rivalité de la France et de l'Angleterre''. * 1818 ''Tables synchroniques de l'histoire de France''. * 1819 ''Le dernier des Césars ou la chute de l'Empire romain d'Orient''. * 1822 ''Du commerce de la France en 1820 et 1821''. * 1828 ''Des administrations provinciales et municipales''. * 1833 ''Mémoires sur la Révolution de France et recherches sur les causes qui ont amené la Révolution de 1789 et celles qui l'ont suivie'' (4 volumes). Paris: G.A. Dentu. Article about the work, Wikipedia (fr)
Online edition (photographed), Gallica
* 1833 ''Essai sur l'instruction et l'éducation d'un prince au XIXeme siècle, destiné au duc de Bordeaux''. * 1838 ''Fastes mémorables de la France''. * 1839 ''Souvenirs'' (2 volumes). * 1839 ''Soliman II, Attila, Aristomène'' (tragedies). * 1843 ''De la navigation des colonies''.


Additional bibliography

* Chateaubriand François-René de. ''Mémoires d'outre-tombe''. Paris: Penaud, 1848-50
Digital edition, Gallica
*Lever, Evelyne. ''Louis XVIII.'' Collection Pluriel. Paris: Fayard, 2012 (1988). . * Michaud, Louis-Gabriel. ''Biographie universelle ancienne et moderne''. 2. udg. Paris: Desplaces, 1843-65. "Vaublanc", 2 entries, vol 43, pp 10–16
Online edition (photographed), Gallica
* Mignet, François-Auguste. ''Histoire de la révolution française depuis 1789 jusqu'en 1814.'' Paris: Firmin Didot, 1824. * Robert, Adolphe, and Gaston Cougny. ''Dictionnaire des parlementaires français de 1789 à 1889.'' Paris: Edgar Bourloton, 1889-1891. "Vincent Marie Viénot de Vaublanc" entry
Database of parliamentarians since 1789, Assemblée Nationale, see "Biographie"
* Schama, Simon. '' Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution''. New York: Random House, 1989. . * Taine, Hippolyte. ''Les origines de la France contemporaine: L'ancien régime, La révolution, L'anarchie, la conquête jacobine''. Collection Bouquins. Paris: Robert Lafont, 2011 (1875-1893). . * Thadden, Rudolf von. ''Restauration und napoleonisches Erbe: Der Verwaltungszentralismus als politisches Problem in Frankreich (1814–1830). '' Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1955, 1972
OCLC 729290
* Thiers, Adolphe. ''Histoire de la révolution française''. Paris: Lecointe & Durey, 1823-1827
Digital edition, Project Gutenberg
* Waresquiel, Emmanuel de, and Benoît Yvert. ''Histoire de la Restauration 1814-1830: Naissance de la France moderne.'' Collection Tempus. Paris: Perrin, 2002 (1996). .


External links

*
Dahesh Museum of Art The Dahesh Museum of Art is the only museum in the United States devoted to the collection and exhibition of European academic art of the 19th and 20th century. The collection, located in Manhattan, New York City, originated with Lebanese write ...

Photo of a bust
by Charles Dupaty * Samuel Maunder, ''The Biographical Treasury'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaublanc, Vincent-Marie Vienot, Count Of 1756 births 1845 deaths People from Saint-Domingue People from Fort-Liberté Counts of Vaublanc French Ultra-royalists French interior ministers Members of the Legislative Assembly (France) Members of the Council of Five Hundred Members of the Corps législatif Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Prefects of Bouches-du-Rhône Prefects of Moselle (department) French Army officers French general councillors 17th-century French historians 18th-century French historians French poets French political philosophers French political writers Historians of the French Revolution French Roman Catholic writers French male essayists French male poets 18th-century French essayists Royalist insurgents during the French Revolution Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour People sentenced to death in absentia by France