153-464: Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Count of Mirabeau ( French: [miʁabo] ; 9 March 1749 – 2 April 1791) was a French writer, orator, statesman and a prominent figure of the early stages of the French Revolution . A member of the nobility, Mirabeau had been involved in numerous scandals that had left his reputation in ruins. Well-known for his oratory skills, Mirabeau quickly rose to
306-560: A counter-revolution . In response, the Assembly published the August Decrees which abolished feudalism . Over 25% of French farmland was subject to feudal dues , providing the nobility with most of their income; these were now cancelled, along with church tithes. While their former tenants were supposed to pay them compensation, collecting it proved impossible, and the obligation was annulled in 1793. Other decrees included equality before
459-577: A Christian king, he could not declare war on his own subjects. However, that would not stop him from reacting in kind if his subjects declared war first. In order to avoid provoking a civil war, the king refrained from confronting the Constituent Assembly, and hoped instead for a constitution that he could agree to. Once the Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 1790 destroyed this hope, Louis adopted
612-599: A Jacobin hero would not last long, however. After the deposing of the monarchy in 1792, the French republic would find letters in an iron chest written by Mirabeau to the king about trying to save the monarchy. This would lead to the destruction of his bust in the Jacobin Club and to his denunciation by Robespierre as "an intriguer and political charlatan unworthy of the honor of lying in the Pantheon." In foreign affairs, he held that
765-467: A Parisian mob, and neither Bailly nor Lafayette could prevent it. In rural areas, wild rumours and paranoia resulted in the formation of militia and an agrarian insurrection known as la Grande Peur . The breakdown of law and order and frequent attacks on aristocratic property led much of the nobility to flee abroad. These émigrés funded reactionary forces within France and urged foreign monarchs to back
918-419: A bridge between the king and the revolutionaries. Mirabeau focused his efforts on two main issues: changing the ministry and dealing with impending civil war. His attempts to form political alliances with Lafayette and Necker failed and resulted in open hostility. Necker disappeared from the French court after September 1790 and no longer posed a threat. Lafayette, however, was very powerful due to his control of
1071-439: A campaign for war against Austria and Prussia, often interpreted as a mixture of calculation and idealism. While exploiting popular anti-Austrianism, it reflected a genuine belief in exporting the values of political liberty and popular sovereignty. Simultaneously, conservatives headed by Marie Antoinette also favoured war, seeing it as a way to regain control of the military, and restore royal authority. In December 1791, Louis made
1224-404: A close connection with the queen, and drew up many state papers for her. In return, the king used money from Austria to secretly pay his debts and provide him with a monthly allowance of six thousand francs, with promises of a million or more. Some historians argue Mirabeau was not the traitor that many believed him to be because he continued to uphold his political beliefs and tried to make possible
1377-509: A country gentleman who had insulted his sister, and his exile was changed by lettre de cachet into imprisonment in the Château d'If in 1774. In 1775 he was transferred to the castle of Joux , where he was not closely confined, having full leave to enter the town of Pontarlier . In a house of a friend he met Marie Thérèse de Monnier , known as "Sophie", and the two fell in love. He escaped to Switzerland, where Sophie joined him; they then went to
1530-582: A detailed account of the rules and customs of the British House of Commons, which he translated into French, but which the Assembly refused to use. In addition to his place in the National Assembly, Mirabeau also served as a member of the Jacobin Club until his death. However, historian Charles Kuhlmann believed that "he was a Jacobin in name only and regarded the society as one of the chief obstacles in
1683-660: A distinction opposed by a significant minority, including the Jacobin clubs . By mid-1790, the main elements of a constitutional monarchy were in place, although the constitution was not accepted by Louis until 1791. Food shortages and the worsening economy caused frustration at the lack of progress, and led to popular unrest in Paris. This came to a head in late September 1789, when the Flanders Regiment arrived in Versailles to reinforce
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#17328908380301836-508: A grand burial, and it was for him that the Panthéon in Paris was created as a burial place for great Frenchmen. The street where he died ( rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin ) was renamed rue Mirabeau . In 1792, his secret dealings with the king were uncovered, and in 1794 his remains were removed from the Panthéon and were replaced with those of Jean-Paul Marat . His remains were then buried anonymously in
1989-455: A guest of the French court, as narrow-minded and incompetent. He also wrote contemptuously of Prussia's principal ministers Ewald Friedrich, Count von Hertzberg , and Joachim von Blumenthal . The resulting uproar was an extreme embarrassment for the French government, which quickly censored the book, but could not prevent its widespread notoriety. Mirabeau's episode provided inspiration to many more radical publishers who came to regard Mirabeau as
2142-541: A lasting impact on the selling of church land, the slave trade, and the determination of which citizens could serve in the National Guard . Mirabeau argued for the selling of church lands to private individuals in order to rescue the country from its financial troubles. This argument would be strongly supported by his fellow Jacobins. Although Mirabeau argued for the abolition of slavery , it must be said that, "in spite of their oft-expressed devotion for liberty and equality,
2295-526: A leader of the coming revolution. During his journey to Germany, he had made the acquaintance of Jakob Mauvillon , an expert on Prussia whose expertise Mirabeau made use of in his De la monarchie prussienne sous Frédéric le Grand (London, 1788). In 1788, Mirabeau was approached and asked to offer himself as a candidate for secretary to the Assembly of Notables , which the King Louis XVI had just convened as
2448-406: A leading Whig member of parliament. Of all his English friends, none seem to have been as close to him as Lord Shelburne and Sir Samuel Romilly . Romilly was introduced to Mirabeau by Sir Francis D'Ivernois, who undertook the translation of Mirabeau's Considérations sur l'ordre de Cincinnatus into English. The Considérations was one of several works that Mirabeau wrote in the year 1785, and it
2601-485: A list of grievances, known as Cahiers de doléances . Tax inequality and seigneurial dues (feudal payments owed to landowners) headed the grievances in the cahiers de doleances for the estate. On 5 May 1789, the Estates-General convened at Versailles . Necker outlined the state budget and reiterated the king's decision that each estate should decide on which matters it would agree to meet and vote in common with
2754-488: A majority by forging consensus with monarchiens like Mounier, and independents including Adrien Duport , Barnave and Alexandre Lameth . At one end of the political spectrum, reactionaries like Cazalès and Maury denounced the Revolution in all its forms, with radicals like Maximilien Robespierre at the other. He and Jean-Paul Marat opposed the criteria for "active citizens", gaining them substantial support among
2907-430: A method to circumvent the opposition of the parlements to crown initiatives seeking to reform France's tax structure. His chance to be a leading voice in France as it faced political ferment seemed to be fading as he turned down the crown offer, explaining his reasoning in a letter of 18 April 1788 to the minister Montmorin. In this affair he had sought to bring his name before the public by publishing another financial work,
3060-625: A minister, Mirabeau also assisted the Assembly in drafting civil rights legislation. In August 1789, he played an important role in drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen . In June 1790, Mirabeau met the captive Queen Marie Antoinette in Saint Cloud , where she was less watched and confined than in Paris (where her jailers followed her every step, even in her bedroom). Mirabeau retained
3213-460: A new independent judiciary, with jury trials for criminal cases. However, moderate deputies were uneasy at popular demands for universal suffrage, labour unions and cheap bread, and over the winter of 1790 and 1791, they passed a series of measures intended to disarm popular radicalism. These included exclusion of poorer citizens from the National Guard, limits on use of petitions and posters, and
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#17328908380303366-431: A new relationship between king and people must arise, which must be loyally observed on both sides in the future. To establish this new constitutional position between king and people would not be difficult, because the indivisibility of the monarch and his people is anchored in the heart of the French people. This was Mirabeau's programme, from which he never diverged, but which was far too statesmanlike to be understood by
3519-402: A personal level, and Lafayette had his own theories about a new French constitution. Mirabeau tried for a time to act with Jacques Necker , the French finance minister, and obtained the sanction of the Assembly for Necker's financial scheme, not because it was good, but because, as he said, "no other plan was before them, and something must be done." The Comte de la Marck was a close friend of
3672-555: A philosophical founder of the revolution, wrote it was "manifestly contrary to the law of nature ... that a handful of people should gorge themselves with superfluities, while the hungry multitude goes in want of necessities." The Revolution caused a massive shift of power from the Catholic Church to the state; although the extent of religious belief has been questioned, elimination of tolerance for religious minorities meant by 1789 being French also meant being Catholic. The church
3825-538: A representative body that had last met in 1614. The conflict between the Crown and the parlements became a national political crisis. Both sides issued a series of public statements, the government arguing that it was combating privilege and the parlement defending the ancient rights of the nation. Public opinion was firmly on the side of the parlements , and riots broke out in several towns. Brienne's attempts to raise new loans failed, and on 8 August 1788, he announced that
3978-560: A result, the clergy and nobility could combine to outvote the Third Estate despite representing less than 5% of the population. Following the relaxation of censorship and laws against political clubs, a group of liberal nobles and middle class activists, known as the Society of Thirty, launched a campaign for the doubling of Third Estate representation and individual voting. The public debate saw an average of 25 new political pamphlets published
4131-582: A series of disastrous defeats . In an effort to mobilise popular support, the government ordered non-juring priests to swear the oath or be deported, dissolved the Constitutional Guard and replaced it with 20,000 fédérés ; Louis agreed to disband the Guard, but vetoed the other two proposals, while Lafayette called on the Assembly to suppress the clubs. Marignane Marignane ( French pronunciation: [maʁiɲan] ; Occitan : Marinhana )
4284-503: A series of writings on financial questions. On his return to Paris he had become acquainted with Étienne Clavière , the Genevese exile, and a banker named Panchaud. From them he learnt about the abuse of stock-jobbing , and seizing their ideas he began to regard stock-jobbing, or agiotage (known in English as " arbitrage "), as the source of all evil, and to attack in his usual vehement style
4437-477: A sexual encounter with Emilie. To avoid losing face, her father saw that they got married just a couple of days afterwards. Mirabeau received a small allowance of 6,000 livres from his father, but never received the expected dowry from the marquis. Mirabeau, who was still facing financial trouble and increasing debt, could not keep up with the expensive lifestyle to which his wife was accustomed, and their extravagances forced his father to send him into semi-exile in
4590-550: A significant proportion of the 6 million Frenchmen over 25, while only 10% of those able to vote actually did so. Finally, poor harvests and rising food prices led to unrest among the urban class known as Sans-culottes , who saw the new regime as failing to meet their demands for bread and work. This meant the new constitution was opposed by significant elements inside and outside the Assembly, itself split into three main groups. 264 members were affiliated with Barnave's Feuillants , constitutional monarchists who considered
4743-416: A similar outcome, as it would have been extremely difficult to remake the old monarchy in harmony with the growing democratic ideals of the age. Mirabeau proved himself as one of the strongest early leaders of the revolution. His energy captivated his audience, his leadership was often the lead of the revolutionary ideas, while his work with the king stained his image. Mirabeau's early life, though filled with
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4896-445: A single body, and the following day approved a " suspensive veto " for the king, meaning Louis could delay implementation of a law, but not block it indefinitely. In October, the Assembly voted to restrict political rights, including voting rights, to "active citizens", defined as French males over the age of 25 who paid direct taxes equal to three days' labour. The remainder were designated "passive citizens", restricted to "civil rights",
5049-530: A speech in the Assembly giving foreign powers a month to disband the émigrés or face war, an act greeted with enthusiasm by supporters, but suspicion from opponents. Barnave's inability to build a consensus in the Assembly resulted in the appointment of a new government, chiefly composed of Brissotins . On 20 April 1792, the French Revolutionary Wars began when French armies attacked Austrian and Prussian forces along their borders, before suffering
5202-437: A strategy of strengthening royal authority and the church's position, and accepted the use of force to accomplish this. Mirabeau's involvement with the court is as interesting for the insights it provides into the mind of Louis XVI as it is for the effects it produced in the Revolution. On the question of the royal veto, Mirabeau took a practical view and, seeing that the royal power was already considerably weakened, declared for
5355-427: A terrible reputation among judges and adversaries. However, despite being condemned by the judge, his reputation was greatly enhanced in the eyes of the public. He had withered his opponents, crushed the opposing lawyer and turned the cards in his favor regarding the death sentence. From this day forward, Mirabeau became regarded as a man of the people. Upon his release, he found that his Sophie had consoled herself with
5508-522: A volunteer. During the Corsican expedition, Mirabeau contracted several more gambling debts and engaged in another scandalous love affair. However, he proved his military genius in the Corsican expedition, and also conducted a thorough study of the island during his stay. The study was most likely factually incorrect, but his desire to learn of a country that had been previously unstudied emphasizes Mirabeau's endless curiosity and inquisitiveness, particularly into
5661-410: A week from 25 September 1788. The Abbé Sieyès issued influential pamphlets denouncing the privilege of the clergy and nobility, and arguing the Third Estate represented the nation and should sit alone as a National Assembly. Activists such as Mounier , Barnave and Robespierre organised regional meetings, petitions and literature in support of these demands. In December, the king agreed to double
5814-431: A writer or a diplomat. He first sent Mme de Nehra to Paris to make peace with the authorities, and then returned himself with hopes of getting a job through an old literary collaborateur of his, Durival, who was at this time director of finance at the department of foreign affairs. One of this official's functions was to subsidize political pamphleteers, and Mirabeau hoped to be so employed. However, he ruined his chances with
5967-438: A young officer, after whose death she had committed suicide. From Pontarlier he went to Aix-en-Provence , where he claimed the court's order said that his wife should return to him. She naturally objected, and he finally lost in the third appeal of the case when Emilie's father produced to the court compromising letters from Mirabeau addressed to the marquess. Mirabeau then intervened in the suit between his father and mother before
6120-630: Is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France . It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis , and the largest suburb of the city of Marseille . It is located 18.3 km (11.4 mi) to the northwest of Marseille. The climate is hot-summer mediterranean ( Köppen : Csa ). The city serves as the basis for data from Marseille through
6273-646: Is a good specimen of his method. He had read a pamphlet published in America attacking the order, founded in 1783 as a bond of association between officers who had fought in the American Revolutionary War against Britain. The arguments struck him as true and valuable, so he rearranged them in his own fashion, and rewrote them in his own oratorical style. He supplemented the work with materials provided personally by Benjamin Franklin , who shared Mirabeau's opinions on
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6426-722: The ancien régime ("old regime") proved unable to manage. A financial crisis and widespread social distress led to the convocation of the Estates General in May 1789, its first meeting since 1614. The representatives of the Third Estate broke away, and re-constituted themselves as a National Assembly in June. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris on 14 July was followed by a series of radical measures by
6579-521: The Champ de Mars to sign. Led by Lafayette, the National Guard was ordered to "preserve public order" and responded to a barrage of stones by firing into the crowd , killing between 13 and 50 people. The massacre badly damaged Lafayette's reputation: the authorities responded by closing radical clubs and newspapers, while their leaders went into exile or hiding, including Marat. On 27 August, Emperor Leopold II and King Frederick William II of Prussia issued
6732-587: The Declaration of Pillnitz declaring their support for Louis and hinting at an invasion of France on his behalf. In reality, the meeting between Leopold and Frederick was primarily to discuss the Partitions of Poland ; the Declaration was intended to satisfy Comte d'Artois and other French émigrés but the threat rallied popular support behind the regime. Based on a motion proposed by Robespierre, existing deputies were barred from elections held in early September for
6885-579: The Dénonciation de l'agiotage , however, it had contained diatribes that harmed his chance to serve as secretary, and led him to retire to Tongeren . He further injured his prospects by publishing the reports he had sent back to France during his secret mission to Berlin. But 1789 was at hand; the Estates-General was summoned, and the French Revolution broke out soon afterward. As a result, Mirabeau
7038-569: The Estates General of 1789 , and ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire in November 1799 and the formation of the French Consulate . Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy , while its values and institutions remain central to modern French political discourse. The causes of the revolution were a combination of social, political, and economic factors which
7191-559: The French Legislative Assembly . Although Robespierre himself was one of those excluded, his support in the clubs gave him a political power base not available to Lafayette and Bailly, who resigned respectively as head of the National Guard and the Paris Commune. The new laws were gathered together in the 1791 Constitution , and submitted to Louis XVI, who pledged to defend it "from enemies at home and abroad". On 30 September,
7344-474: The Hôtel de Ville, some 7,000 of them marched on Versailles , where they entered the Assembly to present their demands. They were followed to Versailles by 15,000 members of the National Guard under Lafayette, who was virtually "a prisoner of his own troops". When the National Guard arrived later that evening, Lafayette persuaded Louis the safety of his family required their relocation to Paris. Next morning, some of
7497-544: The United Provinces , where he lived by writing hack work for the booksellers; meanwhile Mirabeau had been condemned to death at Pontarlier for sedition and abduction, and in May 1777 he was seized by the Dutch police, sent to France and imprisoned by a lettre de cachet in the castle of Vincennes . The early part of his confinement is marked by indecent letters to Sophie (first published in 1793 by Pierre Louis Manuel ), and
7650-467: The Vendée , where only a few priests took the oath and the civilian population turned against the revolution. The result was state-led persecution of " Refractory clergy ", many of whom were forced into exile, deported, or executed. The period from October 1789 to spring 1791 is usually seen as one of relative tranquility, when some of the most important legislative reforms were enacted. However, conflict over
7803-498: The parlement of Paris and attacked the ruling powers so violently that he had to leave France and return to the Dutch Republic , where he tried to live by writing. For a period he was employed by the publisher Marc-Michel Rey . About this time he met Madame de Nehra, the daughter of Willem van Haren , a Dutch statesman and political writer. She was an educated, refined woman capable of appreciating Mirabeau's good points. His life
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#17328908380307956-458: The parlements , the nobility, and those subject to new taxes. France primarily funded the Anglo-French War of 1778–1783 through loans. Following the peace, the monarchy borrowed heavily, culminating in a debt crisis. By 1788, half of state revenue was required to service its debt. In 1786, the French finance minister, Calonne , proposed a package of reforms including a universal land tax,
8109-1016: The weather station at the airport , which is inside Marignane's city limits. In the 15th century the Count of Provence owned the land, and from 1603 to the French Revolution it belonged to the Covets. In the 17th century the Covets refurbished the castle. Three chapels and one convent were built in the 17th and 18th century: Notre-Dame de Pitié (1635), Saint-Nicolas (1695), Sainte-Anne (1710, now demolished), and Couvent des Minimes (1695). German troops, afraid of French guerrilla fighters, or francs-tireurs ("free shooters"), burned homes and murdered civilians throughout southern France, including Marignane (156 murdered), Marseilles (211 murdered), Rognac, Vitrolles (383 murdered), and Le Rove (674 murdered). German soldiers murdered Marignane civilians indiscriminately and with impunity, with victims including men, women, and children. Nuns were forcibly stripped naked under
8262-562: The 1989 film La Révolution française . He was also portrayed in the popular video game Assassin's Creed Unity as the leader of the French brotherhood of Assassins. Mirabeau also appeared as one of the character in the Spiders 2022 game Steelrising . French Revolution The French Revolution ( French : Révolution française [ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) was a period of political and societal change in France that began with
8415-417: The Assembly and published on 26 August as a statement of principle. The Assembly now concentrated on the constitution itself. Mounier and his monarchist supporters advocated a bicameral system, with an upper house appointed by the king, who would also have the right to appoint ministers and veto legislation. On 10 September, the majority of the Assembly, led by Sieyès and Talleyrand , voted in favour of
8568-444: The Assembly of the futility of passing fine-sounding decrees and urged the necessity of action. Although the cause of liberty had triumphed, Mirabeau foresaw that the intervention of armed mobs would only drive the path of Revolution further and further along a destructive path of violence. He declared that the night of 4 August (when members of the Constituent Assembly took an oath to end feudalism) accomplished nothing other than to give
8721-493: The Assembly was increasingly divided, while external players like the Paris Commune and National Guard competed for power. One of the most significant was the Jacobin club; originally a forum for general debate, by August 1790 it had over 150 members, split into different factions. The Assembly continued to develop new institutions; in September 1790, the regional Parlements were abolished and their legal functions replaced by
8874-612: The Assembly went into a non-stop session after rumours circulated he was planning to use the Swiss Guards to force it to close. The news brought crowds of protestors into the streets, and soldiers of the elite Gardes Françaises regiment refused to disperse them. On the 14th, many of these soldiers joined the mob in attacking the Bastille , a royal fortress with large stores of arms and ammunition. Its governor, Bernard-René de Launay , surrendered after several hours of fighting that cost
9027-588: The Assembly, among them the abolition of feudalism , state control over the Catholic Church , and a declaration of rights . The next three years were dominated by the struggle for political control, and military defeats following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792 led to an insurrection on 10 August . The monarchy was replaced by the French First Republic in September, and Louis XVI
9180-487: The Assembly. Mirabeau's exertions in this respect showed him to be a statesman; his influence is best demonstrated by the confused state of affairs in this area after his death. Mirabeau's health had been damaged by the excesses of his youth and his strenuous work in politics, and in 1791, he contracted pericarditis . With the continuous medical attention paid to him by his friend and physician Pierre Jean George Cabanis , Mirabeau survived to perform his duties as president of
9333-503: The Banque de St-Charles and the Compagnie des Eaux. This pamphlet brought him into controversy with Pierre Beaumarchais , who certainly did not get the best of it, but it lost him any chance of employment with the government. His abilities were too great, however, to be overlooked by the foreign minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes . After a preliminary trip to Berlin in early 1786, he
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#17328908380309486-520: The Civil Constitution led to a state of near civil war in southern France, which Barnave tried to defuse by relaxing the more punitive provisions. On 29 November, the Assembly approved a decree giving refractory clergy eight days to comply, or face charges of 'conspiracy against the nation', an act opposed even by Robespierre. When Louis vetoed both, his opponents were able to portray him as opposed to reform in general. Brissot accompanied this with
9639-484: The Constituent Assembly was dissolved, and the Legislative Assembly convened the next day. The Legislative Assembly is often dismissed by historians as an ineffective body, compromised by divisions over the role of the monarchy, an issue exacerbated when Louis attempted to prevent or reverse limitations on his powers. At the same time, restricting the vote to those who paid a minimal amount of tax disenfranchised
9792-534: The Crown. The royal family left the palace in disguise on the night of 20 June 1791; late the next day, Louis was recognised as he passed through Varennes , arrested and taken back to Paris. The attempted escape had a profound impact on public opinion; since it was clear Louis had been seeking refuge in Austria, the Assembly now demanded oaths of loyalty to the regime, and began preparing for war, while fear of 'spies and traitors' became pervasive. Despite calls to replace
9945-417: The Estates General, Mirabeau was one figure who stood out. He was widely known to the French public, and not only did the people place great faith in him, they feared him. His great capacity for work and extensive knowledge were easily seen, but the scandals of his private life with women, time in prison, and extensive debt could not be overlooked. At every important crisis his voice was heard, though his advice
10098-402: The Estates-General. However, he stated that the three estates were sacrosanct and it was up to each estate to agree to end their privileges and decide on which matters they would vote in common with the other estates. At the end of the session the Third Estate refused to leave the hall and reiterated their oath not to disperse until a constitution had been agreed. Over the next days more members of
10251-606: The European revolts of the 1780s inspired public debate on issues such as patriotism, liberty, equality, and democracy. These shaped the response of the educated public to the crisis, while scandals such as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace fuelled widespread anger at the court, nobility, and church officials. France faced a series of budgetary crises during the 18th century, as revenues failed to keep pace with expenditure. Although
10404-478: The French "Discount Bank." This book, which condemned the fiscal politics of the state, including the Caisse d'Escompte , as going against the interest of the public, was among the influential literature critical of the French government in the years leading up to the French Revolution. He soon found that such work did not pay enough to keep his retinue, and so he sought employment from the French foreign office, either as
10557-466: The French people should conduct their revolution as they wished, and that no foreign nation had any right to interfere with the country's internal affairs. But he knew that neighboring nations were disturbed by the progress of the revolution, feared its influence on their own peoples, and that foreign monarchs were being importuned by French émigrés to intervene on behalf of the French monarchy. To prevent this intervention, or rather to give no pretext for it,
10710-469: The French'. Historian John McManners argues "in eighteenth-century France, throne and altar were commonly spoken of as in close alliance; their simultaneous collapse ... would one day provide the final proof of their interdependence." One suggestion is that after a century of persecution, some French Protestants actively supported an anti-Catholic regime, a resentment fuelled by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire . Jean-Jacques Rousseau , considered
10863-400: The June 1791 Le Chapelier Law suppressing trade guilds and any form of worker organisation. The traditional force for preserving law and order was the army, which was increasingly divided between officers, who largely came from the nobility, and ordinary soldiers. In August 1790, the loyalist General Bouillé suppressed a serious mutiny at Nancy ; although congratulated by the Assembly, he
11016-510: The National Assembly until his death on 2 April 1791 in Paris. Even close to the end, he directed debates with eloquence that further increased his popularity. The people of Paris cherished him as one of the fathers of the Revolution. During the Trial of Louis XVI in 1792, Mirabeau's dealings with the royal court were brought to light, and he was largely discredited by the public after it became known that he had secretly acted as an intermediary between
11169-460: The Parisian proletariat, many of whom had been disenfranchised by the measure. On 14 July 1790, celebrations were held throughout France commemorating the fall of the Bastille, with participants swearing an oath of fidelity to "the nation, the law and the king." The Fête de la Fédération in Paris was attended by the royal family, with Talleyrand performing a mass . Despite this show of unity,
11322-429: The Revolution had gone far enough, while another 136 were Jacobin leftists who supported a republic, led by Brissot and usually referred to as Brissotins . The remaining 345 belonged to La Plaine , a centrist faction who switched votes depending on the issue, but many of whom shared doubts as to whether Louis was committed to the Revolution. After he officially accepted the new Constitution, one recorded response
11475-402: The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly of France and that all existing taxes were illegal. Within two days, more than 100 members of the clergy had joined them. Shaken by this challenge to his authority, the king agreed to a reform package that he would announce at a Royal Session of the Estates-General. The Salle des États was closed to prepare for the joint session, but
11628-556: The Third despite representing less than 5% of the population. Although the Catholic Church in France owned nearly 10% of all land, as well as receiving annual tithes paid by peasants, three-quarters of the 303 clergy elected were parish priests, many of whom earned less than unskilled labourers and had more in common with their poor parishioners than with the bishops of the first estate. The Second Estate elected 322 deputies, representing about 400,000 men and women, who owned about 25% of
11781-399: The abolition of grain controls and internal tariffs, and new provincial assemblies appointed by the king. The new taxes, however, were rejected, first by a hand-picked Assembly of Notables dominated by the nobility, then by the parlements when submitted by Calonne's successor Brienne . The notables and parlements argued that the proposed taxes could only be approved by an Estates-General,
11934-406: The absolute veto gave the king the power to stop any law for an indefinite period of time. The suspensive veto, on the other hand, put limitations on the powers of the king. The final compromise was to allow the king a suspensive veto for a period of two years. On the subject of peace and war, Mirabeau supported the king's authority with some success. Again, almost alone in the Assembly, he held that
12087-457: The army, at age eighteen, he entered the military school in Paris in the regiment of Berri-Cavaleria at Saints. Of this school, which had Joseph-Louis Lagrange for its professor of mathematics, there is an amusing account in the life of Gilbert Elliot , who met Mirabeau there. On leaving school in 1767, he received a commission in a cavalry regiment that his grandfather had commanded years before. Mirabeau's love affairs are well-known, owing to
12240-671: The army; Louis Philippe, comte de Ségur , as foreign minister; Jean Joseph Mounier ; and Isaac René Guy le Chapelier . This scheme was leaked, then ruined by a decree of the Assembly of 7 November 1789, such that no member of the Assembly could become a minister. This decree destroyed any chance of the sort of harmony between ministers and parliament that existed in England and dashed Mirabeau's hopes. The queen utterly refused to take Mirabeau's counsel saying, "I hope that we shall never sink so low that we shall have to ask for aid from Mirabeau.", and La Marck left Paris. However, in April 1790, La Marck
12393-562: The authority of the Pope over the French Church. In October, thirty bishops wrote a declaration denouncing the law, further fuelling opposition. When clergy were required to swear loyalty to the Civil Constitution in November 1790, it split the church between the 24% who complied, and the majority who refused. This stiffened popular resistance against state interference, especially in traditionally Catholic areas such as Normandy , Brittany and
12546-474: The calling of the Estates General of 1789 , which became radicalised by the struggle for control of public finances. Louis XVI was willing to consider reforms, but often backed down when faced with opposition from conservative elements within the nobility. Enlightenment critiques of social institutions were widely discussed among the educated French elite. At the same time, the American Revolution and
12699-443: The capital of France, showing a conservative line of thinking: the only way to end the revolution would be to destroy its place of birth. In a meeting with the king and queen, Mirabeau maintained that not only was civil war inevitable, it was necessary for the survival of the monarchy. Mirabeau believed that the decision to go to war, even civil war, must come only from the king. In a letter of confidence to Mirabeau, Louis wrote that, as
12852-420: The celebrity of the letters to Marie Thérèse de Monnier , his "Sophie". In spite of his disfigurement (or perhaps because of it), he won the heart of the lady to whom his colonel was attached; this led to such scandal that his father obtained a lettre de cachet , and Mirabeau was imprisoned in the Île de Ré . On being released, the young nobleman obtained leave to accompany the French expedition to Corsica as
13005-517: The clergy joined the National Assembly. On 27 June, faced with popular demonstrations and mutinies in his French Guards , Louis XVI capitulated. He commanded the members of the first and second estates to join the third in the National Assembly. Even the limited reforms the king had announced went too far for Marie Antoinette and Louis' younger brother the Comte d'Artois . On their advice, Louis dismissed Necker again as chief minister on 11 July. On 12 July,
13158-470: The clubs long remained indifferent to the horrors of slavery and the slave trade" until later in the revolution, after Mirabeau's death. As for the National Guard, the National Assembly passed a decree on 6 December 1790 stating that only active citizens could serve on the National Guard. Due to "an article of the electoral law of October, 1789, only persons whose annual tax amounted to the equivalent of three days' work were recognized as active citizens," leaving
13311-616: The country, where he wrote his earliest extant work, the Essai sur le despotisme . The couple had a son who died early, mostly due to the poor living conditions they were experiencing at that time. Then his wife asked for judicial separation in 1782. She was defended by Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis , who later became one of the editors of the Civil Code. Mirabeau defended his own cause in this trial but lost, holding resentment against Portalis forever. Mirabeau's violent disposition led him to quarrel with
13464-483: The credit and fame. Étienne Dumont , Clavière, Antoine-Adrien Lamourette and Étienne Salonion Reybaz were but a few of the most distinguished of his collaborators. Dumont was a Genevese exile and old friend of Romilly who willingly prepared the famous addresses that Mirabeau used to make to the Assembly marked by sudden bursts of eloquent declamation; Clavière helped him in finance and not only worked out his figures, but also wrote his financial discourses; Lamourette wrote
13617-527: The decree of 6 December to restrict the right to bear arms to the middle and upper classes. The decree of 6 December led to heated debates within the clubs of the Jacobins, especially in Paris. It also pitted Maximilien Robespierre , a rising political figure, against Mirabeau. The evening after the decree was passed, Robespierre would attempt to give a speech against the decree at the Jacobins club in Paris only to be stopped by Mirabeau. He "attempted to stop him on
13770-497: The economy grew solidly, the increase was not reflected in a proportional growth in taxes, their collection being contracted to tax farmers who kept much of it as personal profit. As the nobility and Church benefited from many exemptions, the tax burden fell mainly on peasants. Reform was difficult because new tax laws had to be registered with regional judicial bodies or parlements that were able to block them. The king could impose laws by decree, but this risked open conflict with
13923-468: The graveyard of Clamart . In spite of searches performed in 1889, they were not found. With Mirabeau's death the task of saving the monarchy became much more difficult, as the king was less reconciled than he had ever been with the Revolution, and thus revolutionary leaders became less willing to share power with a king who proved so unwilling to compromise. Some historians, such as Francois Furet, however, believe that even had he lived, there would have been
14076-457: The grounds that no one was allowed to challenge a decree already rendered" by the National Assembly; however, after an hour and a half of uproar Robespierre was allowed to finish. Historians believe that Mirabeau tried to stop Robespierre because he had begun to notice the change in the revolution to a more radical form led by the radical members of the Jacobin party. Mirabeau would serve as a member of
14229-555: The help of Nicolas-Luton Durival . His Considerations sur l'ordre de Cincinnatus (London, 1788) was based on a pamphlet by Aedanus Burke of South Carolina , who opposed the aristocratic tendencies of the Society of the Cincinnati, and the notes to it were by Gui-Jean-Baptiste Target . His financial writings were suggested by the Genevese exile Étienne Clavière . During the Revolution, he received yet more help; men were proud to labour for him, and did not murmur because he absorbed all
14382-474: The ideas of a young man revolting against a stern father, helped give him these qualities. Mirabeau B. Lamar , second president of The Republic of Texas and fourth United States Ambassador to Nicaragua , was named in his honor. His first literary work written after the bombastic, but eloquent Essai sur le despotisme (Neufchâtel, 1775) was a translation of Robert Watson 's Philip II , done in Amsterdam with
14535-459: The king would summon an Estates-General to convene the following May. Brienne resigned and was replaced by Necker . In September 1788, the Parlement of Paris ruled that the Estates-General should convene in the same form as in 1614, meaning that the three estates (the clergy, nobility, and Third Estate or "commons") would meet and vote separately, with votes counted by estate rather than by head. As
14688-409: The king's absolute veto and against the suspensive veto. He knew from his British experience that such a veto would be impractical unless the king knew the people were on his side, and that if it were used unjustifiably, the power of the purse possessed by the representatives of the people could bring about a bloodless revolution . The difference between the suspensive veto and the absolute was simple:
14841-578: The king, and far too assertive of the altered condition of the monarchy to be palatable to the queen. Mirabeau followed up his Mémoire with a scheme for a great ministry containing all the most notable men: Necker would be prime minister, "to render him as powerless as he is incapable, and yet preserve his popularity for the king"; the Duc de la Rochefoucauld ; La Marck; Charles Maurice de Talleyrand , Bishop of Autun ; Mirabeau, without portfolio; Gui-Jean-Baptiste Target , mayor of Paris; Lafayette, as generalissimo of
14994-564: The land and collected seigneurial dues and rents from their tenants. Most delegates were town-dwelling members of the noblesse d'épée , or traditional aristocracy. Courtiers and representatives of the noblesse de robe (those who derived rank from judicial or administrative posts) were underrepresented. Of the 610 deputies of the Third Estate, about two-thirds held legal qualifications and almost half were venal office holders. Less than 100 were in trade or industry and none were peasants or artisans. To assist delegates, each region completed
15147-403: The law, opening public office to all, freedom of worship, and cancellation of special privileges held by provinces and towns. With the suspension of the 13 regional parlements in November, the key institutional pillars of the old regime had all been abolished in less than four months. From its early stages, the Revolution therefore displayed signs of its radical nature; what remained unclear
15300-508: The lives of 83 attackers. Taken to the Hôtel de Ville , he was executed, his head placed on a pike and paraded around the city; the fortress was then torn down in a remarkably short time. Although rumoured to hold many prisoners, the Bastille held only seven: four forgers, a lunatic, a failed assassin, and a deviant nobleman. Nevertheless, as a potent symbol of the Ancien Régime , its destruction
15453-468: The members of the Estates-General were not informed in advance. On 20 June, when the members of the Third Estate found their meeting place closed, they moved to a nearby tennis court and swore not to disperse until a new constitution had been agreed. At the Royal Session the king announced a series of tax and other reforms and stated that no new taxes or loans would be implemented without the consent of
15606-400: The membership of the Estates-General. During the royal session of 23 June 1789 of the National Assembly, Mirabeau replied to the king's envoy who had come to bring the order to dissolve this Assembly : "Tell those who send you that we are here by the will of the people and will leave only by the force of bayonets !" After the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, Mirabeau warned
15759-527: The military and the National Guard. At first, Mirabeau attempted to undermine Lafayette's power, but decided to solve the problem of the ministry, and maintain stability, by removing all ministers and placing the ministry entirely under Lafayette. In effect, Mirabeau suggested that the king distance himself from politics and let the revolution run its course, because it would inevitably destroy itself through its contradictory nature. Furthermore, Mirabeau proposed that, if his plan should fail, Paris should no longer be
15912-466: The monarchy and the revolutionaries and had taken payment for it. Historians in the 21st century discovered secret documents in the archives of Vienna that demonstrate that the Austrian ambassador orchestrated the meetings with the king and queen. Florimond-Claude, comte de Mercy-Argenteau, the ambassador, was the queen's political advisor, with advice tailored to the needs of Austria, not France. He received
16065-442: The monarchy with a republic, Louis retained his position but was generally regarded with acute suspicion and forced to swear allegiance to the constitution. A new decree stated retracting this oath, making war upon the nation, or permitting anyone to do so in his name would be considered abdication. However, radicals led by Jacques Pierre Brissot prepared a petition demanding his deposition, and on 17 July, an immense crowd gathered in
16218-547: The more moderate group called the Société des amis de la Révolution de Paris , which was formed in November 1789. This group would disappear by 1790 due to conflict within the Jacobin Club. After Mirabeau's death, there would be no greater place of mourning than in the Jacobin Clubs throughout Paris. It is said that at "Alençon tears ran from every eye and members fainted" over hearing the news of his death. The mourning of Mirabeau as
16371-555: The nation from the Terror , a venal demagogue lacking political or moral values, or a traitor in the pay of the enemy. The family of Riqueti, with possible distant origins in Italy, became wealthy through merchant trading in Marseilles . In 1570, Jean Riqueti bought the château and seigniory of Mirabeau, which had belonged to the great Provençal family of Barras . In 1685, Honoré Riqueti obtained
16524-716: The obscene Erotica biblion and Ma conversion . In Vincennes, he met the Marquis de Sade , who was also writing erotic works; however the two disliked each other intensely. It was in these writings, however, that Mirabeau developed experience as an orator. He learned how to curb his natural loquacity and his rhetoric became firm, commanding and moving. The prison in which he was held was the first platform to hear his voice. Later during his confinement, he wrote Des Lettres de Cachet et des prisons d'état , published after his liberation (1782). It exhibits an accurate knowledge of French constitutional history, skillfully marshaled to demonstrate that
16677-422: The other estates. On the following day, each estate was to separately verify the credentials of their representatives. The Third Estate, however, voted to invite the other estates to join them in verifying all the representatives of the Estates-General in common and to agree that votes should be counted by head. Fruitless negotiations lasted to 12 June when the Third Estate began verifying its own members. On 17 June,
16830-480: The people immense theoretical liberty while providing them no practical freedom and overthrowing the old régime before a new one could be constituted. His failure to control the theorists demonstrated to Mirabeau that his eloquence could not enable him to guide the Assembly by himself, and that he must get additional support. He wished to establish a strong ministry in the manner of an English ministry. In his view, it should be responsible to an assembly chosen to represent
16983-520: The people of France better than the British House of Commons represented the common people of Great Britain. According to a story contained in the Mémoires of the duchesse d'Abrantes , Mirabeau's first thought of becoming a minister can be traced to May 1789, when Queen Marie Antoinette allegedly tried to bribe him. He refused the bribe, but expressed his wish to be a minister. The indignation with which
17136-510: The people. He had studied the British system of government, and he hoped to establish in France a system similar in principle, yet still distinct. In the first stages of the meetings of the Estates-General, Mirabeau was soon recognized as a leader, because he always knew his own mind and was prompt in emergencies. He is attributed with the successful consolidation of the National Assembly out of
17289-581: The pretext that they were spies or men in disguise. Between August 19 and the recapture of the town by September 9, German soldiers repeatedly raped Marignane women. Rape was nearly as ubiquitous as murder, arson and looting, if never as visible. From 1995 to 2008, the mayor has been Daniel Simonpieri, former member of the Front National and of the MNR . Since 2008, the mayor is Eric Le Dissès. Public secondary schools: Private schools: Marseille Provence Airport
17442-457: The protestors broke into the royal apartments, searching for Marie Antoinette, who escaped. They ransacked the palace, killing several guards. Order was eventually restored, and the royal family and Assembly left for Paris, escorted by the National Guard. Louis had announced his acceptance of the August Decrees and the Declaration, and his official title changed from 'King of France' to 'King of
17595-496: The queen rejected the idea may have made him consider the Duke of Orléans , a cousin of Louis XVI, as a possible constitutional king, because his title would of necessity be parliamentary. But the weakness of the Duke of Orléans was too palpable, and Mirabeau expressed his utter contempt for him. He also attempted to form an alliance with the Marquis de la Fayette , but the two could not agree on
17748-499: The queen, and had been elected a member of the Estates-General. His acquaintance with Mirabeau, begun in 1788, ripened during the following year into a friendship, which La Marck hoped to turn to the advantage of the court. After The March on Versailles of 5 October 1789, he consulted Mirabeau as to what measures the king ought to take, and Mirabeau, delighted at the opportunity, drew up his recommendations. His Mémoire offers insight into Mirabeau's genius for politics. The main position
17901-430: The rentier and mercantile classes, while the living standards fell for wage labourers and peasant farmers who rented their land. Economic recession from 1785, combined with bad harvests in 1787 and 1788, led to high unemployment and food prices, causing a financial and political crisis. While the state also experienced a debt crisis, the level of debt itself was not high compared with Britain's. A significant problem
18054-598: The representation of the Third Estate, but left the question of counting votes for the Estates-General to decide. The Estates-General contained three separate bodies, the First Estate representing 100,000 clergy, the Second the nobility, and the Third the "commons". Since each met separately, and any proposals had to be approved by at least two, the First and Second Estates could outvote
18207-515: The royal bodyguard, and were welcomed with a formal banquet as was common practice. The radical press described this as a 'gluttonous orgy', and claimed the tricolour cockade had been abused, while the Assembly viewed their arrival as an attempt to intimidate them. On 5 October, crowds of women assembled outside the Hôtel de Ville , agitating against high food prices and shortages. These protests quickly turned political, and after seizing weapons stored at
18360-496: The ruling elite , and indecisive policy by Louis XVI and his ministers, the result was a crisis the state was unable to manage. Between 1715 and 1789, the French population grew from 21 to 28 million, 20% of whom lived in towns or cities, Paris alone having over 600,000 inhabitants. This was accompanied by a tripling in the size of the middle class, which comprised almost 10% of the population by 1789. Despite increases in overall prosperity, its benefits were largely restricted to
18513-506: The second period of Mirabeau's life. Mirabeau not only succeeded in reversing the sentence of death against him, but also got an order for Sophie's husband to pay the costs of the whole legal proceedings. It was thought Mirabeau would come out of the lawsuit in Aix ruined: his past convictions in prison, scandalous relationships with women, and the bad relationship with his father the Marquis all gave him
18666-442: The service, he married Françoise de Castellane, with whom he had three sons: Victor (marquis de Mirabeau), Jean Antoine (bailli de Mirabeau) and Louis Alexandre (comte de Mirabeau). Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, was the son of Victor. Honoré-Gabriel Mirabeau was born at Le Bignon , near Nemours , the eldest surviving son of the economist Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau , and his wife Marie-Geneviève de Vassan. He
18819-443: The soldier ceased to be a citizen when he became a soldier; he must submit to the deprivation of his liberty to think and act and must recognize that a soldier's first duty is obedience. With such sentiments, it is no wonder that he approved of the vigorous conduct of the marquis de Bouillé at Nancy , which was to his credit, as Bouillé was opposed to him. Lastly, in matters of finance, he attacked Necker's "caisse d'escompte", which
18972-514: The source of legitimate authority was more apparent in the provinces, where officers of the Ancien Régime had been swept away, but not yet replaced by new structures. This was less obvious in Paris, since the National Guard made it the best policed city in Europe, but disorder in the provinces inevitably affected members of the Assembly. Centrists led by Sieyès, Lafayette, Mirabeau and Bailly created
19125-430: The speeches on the Civil Constitution of the Clergy ; Reybaz not only wrote for him his famous speeches on the assignats, the organization of the national guard, and others, which Mirabeau read word for word at the tribune, but also even the posthumous speech on succession to the estates of intestates , which Talleyrand read in the Assembly as the last work of his dead friend. Mirabeau was played by Sir Peter Ustinov in
19278-503: The state assumed responsibilities such as paying the clergy and caring for the poor, the sick and the orphaned. On 13 February 1790, religious orders and monasteries were dissolved, while monks and nuns were encouraged to return to private life. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 12 July 1790 made them employees of the state, as well as establishing rates of pay and a system for electing priests and bishops. Pope Pius VI and many French Catholics objected to this since it denied
19431-468: The system of lettres de cachet was not only philosophically unjust but constitutionally illegal. It shows, though in a rather diffuse and declamatory form, wide historical knowledge, keen philosophical perception, and genuine eloquence, applied to a practical purpose, which was the great characteristic of Mirabeau, both as a political thinker and as a statesman. His release from Vincennes in August 1782 began
19584-448: The title "marquis de Mirabeau". His son, Jean Antoine, grandfather of Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, served with distinction through all the later campaigns of the reign of Louis XIV . At the Battle of Cassano (1705) , he suffered a neck wound so severe that he had to wear a silver stock ever after. Because he tended to be blunt and tactless, he never rose above the rank of colonel. On retiring from
19737-416: The top of the French political hierarchy following his election to the Estates-General in 1789, and was recognized as a leader of the newly organized National Assembly . Among the revolutionaries, Mirabeau was an advocate of the moderate position of constitutional monarchy built on the model of Great Britain . He was also a leading member of the Jacobin Club . Mirabeau died of pericarditis in 1791 and
19890-516: The topic, but was not in a position to criticize the "noble order" espoused by the Society of the Cincinnati directly, because he was serving as the United States Minister to France at the time. Several other pamphlets Mirabeau wrote in 1785 attacked financial speculation. Among those, De La Caisse d'Escompte was prescient in that it correctly predicted the risky nature and ultimate demise of
20043-402: The traditions and customs of society. Mirabeau learned the value of hard work in the French army. This aspect of Mirabeau's personality contributed to his popular success in later years, during the Revolution. After his return, he tried to keep on good terms with his father, and in 1772 he married a rich heiress, Marie–Marquerite–Emilie de Covet, daughter of the marquis de Marignane . Emilie, who
20196-458: The way of his plans for the restoration of royal authority." In the end, the Jacobins would stand in his way of restoring royal authority, but in the early years of the revolution, Mirabeau was actually a leading figure in the Jacobin Club. Mirabeau reached the height of his influence within the club when he was elected its president in December 1790. During his time in the Jacobin Club, he would have
20349-463: Was " Vive le roi, s'il est de bon foi! ", or "Long live the king – if he keeps his word". Although a minority in the Assembly, control of key committees allowed the Brissotins to provoke Louis into using his veto. They first managed to pass decrees confiscating émigré property and threatening them with the death penalty. This was followed by measures against non-juring priests, whose opposition to
20502-484: Was 18 years old, was apparently engaged to a much older nobleman, the Comte de Valbelle. Nonetheless, Mirabeau pursued her for several months, expecting that their marriage would benefit from the money that the couple would receive from their parents. After several months of failed attempts at being introduced to the heiress, Mirabeau bribed one of the young lady's maids to let him into her residence, where he pretended to have had
20655-469: Was able to exploit a completely new set of political circumstances to expand exponentially his political influence. On hearing of the king's decision to summon the Estates-General , Mirabeau went to Provence , and offered to assist at the preliminary conference of the nobility of his district (the local representatives of the Second Estate ), but was rejected. He appealed instead to the Third Estate and
20808-482: Was also the fifth child and second son of the couple. When he was three years old, a virulent attack of smallpox left his face disfigured. This, combined with Mirabeau's resemblance to his maternal ancestors and his fondness for his mother, contributed to his father's dislike of him. At the age of five, his father had him sent to the strict boarding school of Abbé Choquart in Paris by the false name of " Pierre-Buffière " after an estate possessed by his mother. Destined for
20961-481: Was criticised by Jacobin radicals for the severity of his actions. Growing disorder meant many professional officers either left or became émigrés, further destabilising the institution. Held in the Tuileries Palace under virtual house arrest, Louis XVI was urged by his brother and wife to re-assert his independence by taking refuge with Bouillé, who was based at Montmédy with 10,000 soldiers considered loyal to
21114-604: Was dispatched that July on a mission to the royal court of Prussia . Upon his return in January, Mirabeau published a full account in his Secret History of the Court of Berlin (1787). This account denounced the Prussian court as scandalous and corrupt, described the dying King Frederick the Great as weak and overly emotional, and labeled Prince Henry of Prussia , brother of Frederick the Great and
21267-504: Was elected to the Estates-General in both Aix and Marseilles . He chose to accept the seat for the former city, and was present at the opening of the Estates-General on 4 May 1789 (also his brother, André Boniface was a deputy but elected by the nobility). From this time onward, Mirabeau took a very prominent role in the deliberations of the National Constituent Assembly . Among a large crowd of unfamiliar politicians in
21420-670: Was executed in January 1793. After another revolt in June 1793 , the constitution was suspended, and adequate political power passed from the National Convention to the Committee of Public Safety , led by the Jacobins . About 16,000 people were executed in what was later referred to as Reign of Terror , which ended in July 1794 . Weakened by external threats and internal opposition, the Republic
21573-467: Was greeted by Bailly and accepted a tricolore cockade to loud cheers. However, it was clear power had shifted from his court; he was welcomed as 'Louis XVI, father of the French and king of a free people.' The short-lived unity enforced on the Assembly by a common threat quickly dissipated. Deputies argued over constitutional forms, while civil authority rapidly deteriorated. On 22 July, former Finance Minister Joseph Foullon and his son were lynched by
21726-405: Was not always followed. He possessed both logical acuity and passionate enthusiasm. From the beginning, he recognized that government should exist to allow the population to pursue its daily work in peace, and that for a government to be successful it must be strong. At the same time, he thoroughly understood that for a government to be strong, it must be in harmony with the wishes of the majority of
21879-428: Was regarded as a national hero and a father of the Revolution. He received a grand burial and was the first to be interred at the Panthéon . During the 1792 Trial of Louis XVI , the discovery that Mirabeau had secretly been in the pay of the king brought him into posthumous disgrace, and two years later his remains were removed from the Panthéon. Historians are split on whether Mirabeau was a great leader who almost saved
22032-599: Was replaced in 1795 by the Directory , and four years later, in 1799, the Consulate seized power in a military coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte on 9 November. This event is generally seen as marking the end of the Revolutionary period. The Revolution resulted from multiple long-term and short-term factors, culminating in a social, economic, financial and political crisis in the late 1780s. Combined with resistance to reform by
22185-471: Was strengthened by the love of Mme de Nehra, his adopted son, Lucas de Montigny, and his little dog Chico. After a time in the Dutch Republic he went to England, where his treatise on lettres de cachet was much admired after it was translated into English in 1787. He was soon admitted into the best Whig literary and political society of London through his old school friend Gilbert Elliot , who had become
22338-424: Was suddenly recalled by the comte de Mercy-Argenteau , the Austrian ambassador to Paris, and became the queen's most trusted political adviser. From this time to Mirabeau's death, he was the bearer of almost daily communications between Mirabeau and the queen. Mirabeau at first attempted to make an alliance with Lafayette, but it was useless, for Lafayette was not a strong man himself. Besides his schemes to become
22491-400: Was that tax rates varied widely from one region to another, were often different from the official amounts, and collected inconsistently. Its complexity meant uncertainty over the amount contributed by any authorised tax caused resentment among all taxpayers. Attempts to simplify the system were blocked by the regional Parlements which approved financial policy. The resulting impasse led to
22644-431: Was that the king was not free in Paris; he must therefore depart Paris for a provincial capital in the French interior, and there he must appeal to the people and summon a great convention. It would be ruin to appeal to the nobility, as the queen advised. At this great convention the king must show himself ready to recognize that great changes had taken place, that feudalism and absolutism had forever disappeared, and that
22797-406: Was the constitutional mechanism for turning intentions into practical applications. On 9 July, the National Assembly appointed a committee to draft a constitution and statement of rights. Twenty drafts were submitted, which were used by a sub-committee to create a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , with Mirabeau being the most prominent member. The Declaration was approved by
22950-487: Was the guiding principle in his foreign policy. He was elected a member of the comité diplomatique of the Assembly in July 1790, and in this capacity he was able to prevent the Assembly from doing much harm with regard to foreign affairs. He had long known Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin , the foreign secretary, and, as matters became more strained, he entered into daily communication with the minister, advising him on every point, and, while dictating his policy, defended it in
23103-449: Was the largest individual landowner in France, controlling nearly 10% of all estates and levied tithes , effectively a 10% tax on income, collected from peasant farmers in the form of crops. In return, it provided a minimal level of social support. The August decrees abolished tithes, and on 2 November the Assembly confiscated all church property, the value of which was used to back a new paper currency known as assignats . In return,
23256-465: Was to have the whole control of the taxes, as usurping the Assembly's power of the purse, and heartily approved of the system of assignats , with the reservation that the issue should be limited to no more than one-half the value of the lands to be sold. He saw that much of the National Assembly's inefficiency arose from the members' inexperience and their incurable verbosity. To establish some system of rules, he got his friend Samuel Romilly to draw up
23409-544: Was viewed as a triumph and Bastille Day is still celebrated every year. In French culture, some see its fall as the start of the Revolution. Alarmed by the prospect of losing control of the capital, Louis appointed the Marquis de Lafayette commander of the National Guard , with Jean-Sylvain Bailly as head of a new administrative structure known as the Commune . On 17 July, Louis visited Paris accompanied by 100 deputies, where he
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