French statesman 1754

Talleyrand remains the classic case of a successful turncoat in politics. For half a century he served every French regime except that of the Revolutionary "Terror.

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French statesman 1754

A project of the Anne S. Born into the high nobility, he was early destined for the Roman Catholic Church because of a childhood accident that left him partially lame. A representative of the clergy in the States-General of , Talleyrand sided with the revolutionists. He proposed the appropriation of church lands by the state, endorsed the civil constitution of the clergy, and was excommunicated by the pope after consecrating two "constitutional" bishops. In he was sent by the National Assembly on a mission to London to secure Great Britain's neutrality, but the radical turn of the French Revolution nullified his success. A lifelong advocate of constitutional monarchy and peace, Talleyrand sought refuge in England in Sept. In he went to the United States, where he stayed until after the establishment Nov. Made foreign minister in , Talleyrand hitched his career to the rising fortune of Napoleon Bonaparte. In July, , he resigned his post, only to resume it after helping Napoleon gain power under the Consulate Nov. He helped to bring about the Concordat of with the Vatican, shortly after which the ban of excommunication against him was lifted The following year he was appointed to the lucrative position of grand chamberlain under Napoleon, now emperor, who in created him prince of Benevento.

His moral corruption is beyond question: he was an unabashed liar and deceiver; he not only took but sought bribes from those with whom he was negotiating; and he lived with a niece as his mistress for decades. In at Erfurt he encouraged Tsar Alexander I french statesman 1754 resist Napoleon's demands and was dismissed in by the suspicious Napoleon but allowed to reside at his country estate. Inhe was sent twice, unofficially, to London to avert war, and he was cordially received by Pitt and Grenville, french statesman 1754.

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand French Statesman An excommunicated bishop Talleyrand became an extraordinary diplomat, serving first as Foreign Minister during the French Revolution and later under Napoleon until resigning in At the Congress of Vienna he secured favourable terms for France. In he served as French ambassador to England. At that time, Harrison, governor of the Indiana territory, induced a number of individual tribes to give up great areas in the region that is now Indiana and Illinois. At a council in Vincennes in , Tecumseh demanded that land be returned to the Indians. After this demand was rejected he traveled to the Southwest to enlist support of Indian tribes.

For half a century he served every French regime except that of the Revolutionary "Terror. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand was a masterful diplomat of the old school as ambassador and foreign minister. Admired and often distrusted, sometimes even feared by those he served, he was not easily replaced as a negotiator of infinite wiles. Talleyrand has been an extraordinarily difficult figure for historians to understand and appraise. His moral corruption is beyond question: he was an unabashed liar and deceiver; he not only took but sought bribes from those with whom he was negotiating; and he lived with a niece as his mistress for decades. He repeatedly shifted political allegiance without visible compunction and possessed no political principle on which he would stand firm to the last; and he was also at least technically guilty of treason, engaging in secret negotiations with the public enemies of his country while in its service. Yet closer scrutiny of what Talleyrand did shows an apparent steady purpose beneath the crust of arrogant contempt for the ordinary standards of mankind's judgment, expressed in the comment attributed to him on the kidnaping and execution of the Duc d'Enghien at Napoleon's command: "It was worse than a crime, it was a mistake. His fidelity to whichever persons happened to be at the head of the French state lasted at best only as long as their power, but this matchless cynic seems to have possessed genuine devotion for France as a country, and his apparent treasons can be seen as the products of a higher loyalty. Yet this picture of him may be false, for Talleyrand destroyed many of the records by which the truth regarding his career could have been more closely reached.

French statesman 1754

Talleyrand remains the classic case of a successful turncoat in politics. For half a century he served every French regime except that of the Revolutionary "Terror. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand was a masterful diplomat of the old school as ambassador and foreign minister. Admired and often distrusted, sometimes even feared by those he served, he was not easily replaced as a negotiator of infinite wiles. Talleyrand has been an extraordinarily difficult figure for historians to understand and appraise. His moral corruption is beyond question: he was an unabashed liar and deceiver; he not only took but sought bribes from those with whom he was negotiating; and he lived with a niece as his mistress for decades. He repeatedly shifted political allegiance without visible compunction and possessed no political principle on which he would stand firm to the last; and he was also at least technically guilty of treason, engaging in secret negotiations with the public enemies of his country while in its service.

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After studying theology, he became Agent-General of the Clergy in Heads of government of France. From childhood, Talleyrand walked with a limp, which caused him to later be called le diable boiteux [5] French for "the lame devil" among other nicknames. In his Memoirs , he linked this infirmity to an accident at age four, but recent research has shown that his limp was in fact congenital. The problem lies both in the man himself and in the eye of the beholder. Tallis Tallys, Talys, Talles , Thomas. Louis Philippe I. In office 12 April — 9 July He wanted Napoleon to keep peace afterwards, as he thought France had reached its maximum expansion. Bonaparte First Consul. This brilliant feat of diplomacy was partly dimmed by the wrath of the Allies when France welcomed Napoleon back in the Hundred Days , but the final peace terms that emerged from the Vienna negotiations brought France back to its prerevolutionary frontiers.

After studying theology, he became Agent-General of the Clergy in In , just before the French Revolution , he became Bishop of Autun. He worked at the highest levels of successive French governments, most commonly as foreign minister or in some other diplomatic capacity.

Wikisource has the text of a Catholic Encyclopedia article about Talleyrand. Talleyrand held the title until and administered the principality concurrently with his other tasks. Toggle limited content width. Richelieu Dessolles Pasquier M. Bidault Blum. His physical health began to steadily deteriorate and he began using an armchair on wheels provided to him by Louis Philippe I. However, most of the time, Talleyrand worked for peace so as to consolidate France's gains. Passing over into open opposition to the court, he was influential in persuading his fellow ecclesiastics to join the Third Estate in the newly proclaimed National Assembly on June 19, Prime Minister of France Yet this picture of him may be false, for Talleyrand destroyed many of the records by which the truth regarding his career could have been more closely reached.