Was Talleyrand a patriot?

Résumé du document

Prince Charles-Maurice Talleyrand is a mysterious and enigmatic character, often misunderstood, and always demonized. This diplomat, who referred to himself as a prince, came from one of the best lineages, and fulfilled some of the most important tasks as the head of the French state for almost 50 years. The following are among his chief accomplishments: he blessed the Fête de la Fédération in 1790, and had the idea of nationalizing the clergy's land. He served as foreign minister under Napoléon and negotiated the peace at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. He ended his career as France's ambassador to England. Talleyrand was everywhere. He successfully served successively Royalist and Republican regimes. This versatility darkened his image, but was not a problem for him. He liked being the subject of discussion even if it was in a negative way. He was a "Silk stocking filled with filth" according to the famous comment of Napoleon. Talleyrand suffered a bad reputation. Through his memoirs Talleyrand tried to repair his own image. He burnt or hid his papers to prevent criticism. Primary sources of Talleyrand's biography now often come from his contemporaries, who were hostile to him. Thus, it is really difficult to restore his image or to make a true and fair judgment on his decisions.

Extraits

[...] Several piece of evidence can reinforce Talleyrand's claim as patriot. In his conception, France is eternal, political regimes not. Talleyrand is thus an opportunist, who knows when a regime must be abandoned. Nonetheless, Talleyrand served always French interests or what he saw as French interests. In the introduction of his memoirs, Talleyrand highlights the fact that have never considered the interests of any party, my own, or those of my friends, before the true interests of France”.[5] Objectively, Talleyrand helped France in some crucial areas. [...]

[...] He was alone against Europe. He could not enter in discussions rooms. He could not speak to defend his country. Clever as he was, he led intrigues to divide the European sovereigns. He used women to achieve his goals. Finally, he succeeded to keep the French national territory intact, while France was defeated. He perhaps saved France from dismemberment and certainly had preserved her great place in Europe. There is no doubt, that in the Congress of Vienna he acted as a true patriot. [...]

[...] Was Talleyrand a patriot? Prince Charles-Maurice Talleyrand is a mysterious and enigmatic character, often misunderstood, always demonized. This diplomat, who referred himself as a prince, came from one of the best lineages, fulfilled some of the most important tasks at the top of the French state for almost 50 years. Among his chief accomplishments, he blessed the Fête de la Fédération in 1790, he had the idea of nationalizing the clergy's land, he served as foreign minister under the Directory and Napoléon, he negotiated the peace at the Congress of Vienna in 1815,finally he ended as France's ambassador to England. [...]

[...] Duff Cooper (1932). Talleyrand. Lecombe (1910). Talleyrand the man. Leon Nöel (1975). EnigmatiqueTalleyrand. Fayard Jean Orieux (1970). Talleyrand ou le sphinx incompris. Flammarion Gaston Palewski (1976). Le miroir de Talleyrand. Perrin. J. Bernard (1976). Talleyrand André Beau (1992). Talleyrand, chronique indiscrète de la vie d'un prince. [...]

[...] Talleyrand had become wealthy. He did not hesitate to sell his duties. He had a privileged access to the French sovereign and he abused of his position. He could influence the French sovereign and he received considerable funds, when he acted as foreign minister. Corruption was widespread at this time. The methods of Talleyrand are familiar to us, because his demands led to a diplomatic fiasco with the United States. Talleyrand wanted bribes to accept to negotiate with Americans. Americans refused and a quasi-war occurred in 1800 between France and the United States. [...]