Portrait of Mirabeau

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau (March 9, 1749 – April 2, 1791) was a French writer, popular orator and statesman. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Year 1749 ( MDCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1791 ( MDCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. During the French Revolution, he was a moderate, favoring a constitutional monarchy built on the model of Great Britain. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands He unsuccessfully conducted secret negotiations with the French monarchy in an effort to reconcile it with the Revolution.

Family history

The family of Riqueti (sometimes spelled Riquet), originally of the small town of Digne, became wealthy through merchant trading in Marseille. Digne-les-Bains or simply and historically Digne ( Occitan: Dinha in classical norm or Digno in Mistralian norm is a commune of Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ In 1570, Jean Riqueti bought the château and seigniory of Mirabeau, which had belonged to the great Provençal family of Barras. Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France In 1685, Honoré Riqueti obtained the title marquis de Mirabeau. He died in 1737.

His son, Jean Antoine, grandfather of Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, served with distinction through all the later campaigns of the reign of Louis XIV. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent At the Battle of Cassano (1705), he suffered a neck wound so severe he thereafter had to wear a silver stock. The Battle of Cassano, fought on 16 August 1705, was a hard fought battle in the Italian theatre of the War of the Spanish Succession. Year 1705 ( MDCCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Because he tended to be blunt and tactless, he never rose above the rank of colonel. On retiring from 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.

Early life

Honoré 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. Le Bignon-Mirabeau is a Town and commune in the Loiret département of northern-central France. Nemours is a town and commune of the Seine-et-Marne département, in France. Victor de Riquetti marquis de Mirabeau ( October 5, 1715, Pertuis &ndash July 13, 1789) was a French Economist of the When he was three years old, a virulent attack of smallpox left his face disfigured. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. This, combined with Mirabeau's resemblance to his maternal ancestors and his fondness for his mother, contributed to his father's dislike of him ^[1]. Destined for the army, he was entered at military boarding school in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city 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. Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmond 1st Earl of Minto (born Edinburgh, Scotland, 23 April 1751 - died Stevenage, England, On leaving school in 1767 he received a commission in a cavalry regiment which his grandfather had commanded years before. Year 1767 ( MDCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on

Mirabeau's love affairs are well-known, owing to the celebrity of the letters to "Sophie". In spite of his ugliness, 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 Ile de Ré. In French history lettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers and closed with the royal seal or Île de Ré (formerly also Île de Rhé; in English Isle of Rhé) is an Island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, On being released, the young count obtained leave to accompany the French expedition to Corsica as a volunteer. Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily 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 very factually incorrect, but his desire to learn of a country that had been previously unstudied emphasizes Mirabeau’s endless curiosity and inquisitiveness, particularly into the traditions and customs of society. This aspect of Mirabeau’s personality contributed to his popular success in the later years of the Revolution. ^[1] 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 marquess de Marignane. Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Marignane is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern Emilie, who was 18 years old, was apparently engaged to a much older nobleman, the Comte the Valbelle. Nonetheless, Mirabeau pursued her for several months expecting that his marriage to her would benefit him from the allowance that the couple would received from their parents. After several months of failed attempts at being introduced to the heiress, Mirabeau bribed one of the marquess's maids to let him into their residence, where he pretended to have had a sexual encounter with Emilie. To avoid losing face, her father saw that they got married just a couple of days after that incident. Mirabeau received a small allowance of 6000 livres from his father and never received the expected 3000 livres allowance from the marquess.

Mirabeau, who was already facing financial trouble and increasing debt, could not keep up with the expensive lifestyle his wife was used to and their extravagances forced his father to send him into semi-exile in 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 experienced during that time.

His violent disposition led him to quarrel with 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. Fortress The Château was built in 1524–31 on the orders of King François I as a defense against attacks from the sea Year 1774 ( MDCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a 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. Year 1775 ( MDCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Fort de Joux or Château de Joux is a Castle, transformed into a Fort, located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux, in the Doubs département Pontarlier ( Latin: Ariolica) is a commune and one of the two Sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the In a house of a friend he met Marie Thérèse de Monnier, his "Sophie", and the two fell in love. He escaped to Switzerland, where Sophie joined him; they then went to the United Provinces, where he lived by hack work for the booksellers; meanwhile Mirabeau had been condemned to death at Pontarlier for seduction and abduction, and in May 1777 he was seized by the French police, and imprisoned by a lettre de cachet in the castle of Vincennes. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation "United Netherlands" redirects here For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" see United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Hack writer is a Colloquial, usually Pejorative, term used to refer to a Writer who is paid to write low-quality quickly put-together articles or books The Château de Vincennes is a massive 14th and 17th century French royal castle in the town of Vincennes, to the

The early part of his confinement is marked by the indecent letters to Sophie (first published in 1793), and 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. Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, Marquis de Sade ( June 2, 1740 – December 2, 1814) ( was a French aristocrat ^[2] 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 applied in an attempt to show that the system of lettres de cachet was not only philosophically unjust but also constitutionally illegal. In French history lettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers and closed with the royal seal or It shows, though in a rather diffuse and declamatory form, the application of wide historical knowledge, keen philosophical perception, and genuine eloquence to a practical purpose which was the great characteristic of Mirabeau, both as a political thinker and as a statesman.

Before the French Revolution

His release from Vincennes (August 1782) began 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 M. de Monnier to pay the costs of the whole law proceedings. Upon his release, he found that his Sophie had consoled herself with 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. Aix (ɛks or Aix-en-Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Ais de Provença in classical norm or Ais de Prouvènço in Mistralian norm to distinguish She naturally objected, and he finally lost the case 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 the parlement of Paris, and attacked the ruling powers so violently that he had to leave France and return to Holland, where he tried to live by writing. This article is for the Ancien Régime institution For the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution see French Parliament. Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. A maritime and economic power in the 17th century Holland today consists of the Dutch provinces of

About this time he met Mme de Nehra, the daughter of Zwier van Haren, a Dutch statesman and political writer. She was an educated, refined woman, capable of appreciating Mirabeau's good points. His life was strengthened by the love of Mme de Nehra, his adopted son, Lucas de Montigny, and his little dog Chico. After a time in Holland he went to England, where his treatise on lettres de cachet had been much admired, being translated into English in 1787, and where he was soon admitted into the best Whig literary and political society of London, through his old school friend Gilbert Elliot, who had become a leading Whig member of parliament. The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Gilbert Elliot may refer to Sir Gilbert Elliot (1680-1764, MP for Roxburghsire 1708&ndash1715 Sir Gilbert Elliot (1722-1777, MP for Roxburghsire Of all his English friends none seem to have been as close as Lord Shelburne and Sir Samuel Romilly. William Petty-FitzMaurice 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC (2 May 1737 &ndash 7 May 1805 known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784 by which Sir Samuel Romilly ( March 1, 1757 – November 2, 1818) was an English legal reformer Romilly was introduced to Mirabeau by Sir Francis D'Ivernois (1757-1842), and undertook the translation of Mirabeu's the Considérations sur l'ordre de Cincinnatus into English. The Society of the Cincinnati is a historic organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the

It was the only important work Mirabeau wrote in the year 1785, and it is a good specimen of his method. Year 1785 ( MDCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common He had read a pamphlet published in America attacking the proposed order, which sought to form a bond of association between the officers who had fought in the American Revolutionary War against England; the arguments struck him as true and valuable, so he re-arranged them in his own fashion, and rewrote them in his own oratorical style. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots"

He soon found such work did not pay enough to keep his retinue, and sought employment from the French foreign office, either as a writer or a diplomat. He first sent Mme de Nehra to Paris to make peace with the authorities, and then returned himself, hoping to get a job through an old literary collaborateur of his, Durival, 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 by 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. Étienne Clavière ( January 27, 1735 - December 8, 1793) was a Swiss -born French Financier and politician of From them he learnt about the abuse of stock-jobbing, and seizing their ideas he began to regard stock-jobbing, or agiotage, as the source of all evil, and to attack in his usual vehement style the Banque de St-Charles and the Compagnie des Eaux. In Economics and Finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price differential between two or more Markets striking a combination of matching This pamphlet brought him into controversy with Caron de Beaumarchais, who certainly did not get the best of it, but it lost him any chance of employment with the government. Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (24 January 1732 &ndash 18 May 1799 was a watch-maker inventor musician politician fugitive spy publisher arms-dealer and revolutionary

However, his ability was too great to be overlooked by the foreign minister, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes. Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes ( December 20, 1717 &mdash February 13, 1787) was a French statesman and diplomat After a preliminary trip to Berlin at the beginning of 1786 he was despatched in July 1786 on a secret mission to the court of Prussia, from which he returned in January 1787, and of which he gave a full account in his Histoire secrete de la cour de Berlin (1789). Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Year 1786 ( MDCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The result, upon Mirabeau’s return, was his heightened fame with the Parisian populace at the cost of extreme embarrassment on part of the French government. In 1787, a public outcry ensued after Mirabeau published his observations of the Prussian court, entitled “The Secret History of the Court of Berlin, or Correspondence of a French Traveler”. This account denounced the Prussian court as scandalous and corrupt, described the King of Prussia as weak and over-emotional, and labeled Prince Henry of Prussia, brother of Frederick the Great and a guest of the French court, as narrow-minded and incompetent. Furthermore, Mirabeau cleverly classified the publication of the account as posthumous, suggesting that the book was published without the express consent or knowledge of the author. Therefore, Mirabeau appeared blameless and denied ever writing the account. After hastily apologizing to the Prussian government, Versailles censored the book. However, this caused even more people to read it, and ultimately increased Mirabeau’s fame. Mirabeau’s study of Prussian absolutism provided the impetus to write pamphlets upon his return to Paris that denounced the French monarchy as absolutist and despotic. The circulation of these pamphlets caused the revolutionaries to latch on to Mirabeau as a leader of the revolution and a carrier of democratic ideals that would lead eventually lead to a politically stable government^[3]. The months he spent in Berlin were significant in Prussian history, for while he was there Frederick the Great died. Frederick II (Friedrich II January 24 1712 August 17 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740&ndash1786 from the The letters just mentioned show clearly what Mirabeau did and what he saw, and equally clearly how unfit he was to be a diplomat. He failed to conciliate the new king Frederick William II, and thus ended Mirabeau's one attempt at diplomacy. Frederick William II (Friedrich Wilhelm II September 25 1744 &ndash November 16 1797) was the fourth King of Prussia, reigning from

During his journey he had made the acquaintance of Jakob Mauvillon, an expert on Prussia; Mirabeau made use of his expertise in his De la monarchie prussienne sous Frédéric le Grand (London, 1788). Jakob Mauvillon (1743-03-08 in Leipzig – 1794-01-11 in Braunschweig) son of Eleazar Mauvillon, was an 18th century figure in German liberalism While this book gave him a good reputation as an historian, in the same year he lost a chance of political employment. He had offered himself as a candidate for secretary to the Assembly of Notables which the King Louis XVI had just convened. Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre To bring his name before the public, he published another financial work, the Dénonciation de l'agiotage, which contained such violent diatribes that he not only lost his election but also was obliged to retire to Tongeren. Tongeren ( French: Tongres, German: Tongern) is a City and municipality located in the province of Limburg He further injured his prospects by publishing the reports he had sent in during his secret mission at Berlin. But 1789 was at hand; the Estates-General was summoned; Mirabeau's period of probation was over. In France under the Ancien Regime, the States-General or Estates-General (French états généraux) was a Legislative assembly

During the Revolution

Sketch of Mirabeau on a terrace

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, but was rejected. The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (Les États-Généraux de 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France He appealed to the Third Estate and was elected to the Estates in both Aix and Marseille. The Estates of the realm were the broad divisions of society usually distinguishing Nobility, Clergy, and Commoners recognized in the Middle Ages Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ He chose to accept the seat for the former city, and was present at the opening of the Estates-General on May 4, 1789. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common From this time the record of Mirabeau's life forms the best history of the first two years of the National Constituent Assembly. The National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the At every important crisis his voice was heard, though his advice was not always followed. He possessed both logical acuteness and passionate enthusiasm. From the beginning he recognized that government exists in order for 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 the people. He had studied the British system of government, and he hoped to establish in France a system similar in principle but without slavish imitation. In the first stage of the Estates-General, Mirabeau was very important. He was soon recognized as a leader, to the chagrin of Jean Joseph Mounier, because he always knew his own mind, and was prompt in emergencies. Jean Joseph Mounier ( November 12, 1758 - 28 January, 1806) was a French Politician. He is attributed with the successful consolidation of the National Assembly. The National Assembly is either a Legislature, or the Lower house of a Bicameral legislature in some countries

After the storming of the Bastille, he warned the Assembly of the futility of passing fine-sounding decrees and urged the necessity of action. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. He declared that the night of August 4 was but an orgy, giving the people immense theoretical liberty while not assisting them to practical freedom, overthrowing the old régime before a new one could be constituted. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. His failure to control the theorizers showed Mirabeau, after the removal of the king and the Assembly to Paris, that his eloquence would not enable him to guide the Assembly by himself, and that he must get additional support. He wished to establish a strong ministry, which should be responsible like an English ministry, but to an assembly chosen to represent the people of France better than the British House of Commons at that time represented Great Britain. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords

He first thought of becoming a minister at a very early date, if we may believe a story contained in the Mémoires of the duchesse d'Abrantes, to the effect that in May 1789 Queen Marie Antoinette tried to bribe him, but that he refused this and expressed his wish to be a minister. Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen (November 2 1755 &ndash October 16 1793 known to history as Marie Antoinette ( pronounced /maʀi ɑ̃ntwanɛt/ The indignation with which the queen repelled the idea may have made him think of the Duke of Orléans as a possible constitutional king, because his title would of necessity be parliamentary. Louis Philippe II Joseph Duke of Orléans ( 13 April 1747 at Château de Saint Cloud, Saint-Cloud, France &ndash 6 November But the weakness of the Duke of Orléans was too palpable, and in a famous remark Mirabeau expressed his utter contempt for him. He also attempted to form an alliance with Lafayette, but the two could not agree on a personal level, and Lafayette had his own theories about a new French constitution. Mirabeau tried for a time to act with Necker, and obtained the sanction of the Assembly to 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. Jacques Necker ( September 30, 1732 &ndash April 9, 1804) was a French statesman of Swiss origin and finance "

The Comte de la Marck was a close friend of 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 he consulted Mirabeau as to what measures the king ought to take, and Mirabeau, delighted at the opportunity, drew up an admirable state paper, which was presented to the king by Monsieur, afterwards Louis XVIII. The March on Versailles, also known as The Bread March of Women, and The Women's March on Versailles, was an event in the French Revolution. Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre.

This Mémoire gives insight into Mirabeau's genius for politics: The main position was that the king is not free in Paris; he must therefore leave Paris towards the interior of France to a provincial capital, best of all to Rouen, and there he must appeal to the people and summon a great convention. Rouen (ʁwɑ̃ in French) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital It would be ruin to appeal to the nobility, as the queen advised. When this great convention met the king must show himself ready to recognize that great changes have taken place, that feudalism and absolutism have for ever disappeared, and that a new relationship between king and people has arisen, which must be loyally observed on both sides for the future. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed An autocracy is a Form of government in which the Political power is held by a single self-appointed ruler 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 the king, and far too positive regarding the altered condition of the monarchy to be palatable to the queen. Mirabeau followed up his Mémoire by a scheme of a great ministry to contain all men of mark; Necker as prime minister, "to render him as powerless as he is incapable, and yet preserve his popularity for the king", the duc de Liancourt, the Duc de la Rochefoucauld, La Marck, Talleyrand, Bishop of Autun, Mirabeau without portfolio, Target, mayor of Paris, Lafayette generalissimo of the army, Louis Philippe, comte de Ségur as foreign minister, Mounier and le Chapelier. François Alexandre Frédéric duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt ( January 11, 1747 &ndash March 27, 1827) was a French Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord 1st Sovereign Prince of Beneventum (2 February 1754 17 May 1838 the Prince of Diplomats, was a French Gui-Jean-Baptiste Target ( December 17, 1733 &ndash 1807 was a French Lawyer and Politician. Isaac René Guy Le Chapelier, also known as Jean Le Chapelier ( June 12, 1754 &ndash April 22, 1794) was a French jurist

This scheme got noised abroad, and was ruined by a decree of the Assembly of November 7, 1789, that no member of the Assembly could become a minister; this decree destroyed any chance of harmony between ministers and parliament which existed in England, and so at once overthrew Mirabeau's hopes. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The queen utterly refused to take Mirabeau's counsel, and La Marck left Paris. However, in April 1790 he was suddenly recalled by the comte de Mercy-Argenteau, the Austrian ambassador to Paris and the queen's most trusted political adviser. Florimond Claude comte de Mercy-Argenteau ( 20 April 1727 in Liège, Belgium - 25 August 1794 in London, Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich An ambassador is the highest ranking Diplomat who represents their country From this time to Mirabeau's death he became 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. From May 1790 to his death in April 1791 Mirabeau remained in close connection with the court, and drew up many state papers for it. In return the court paid his debts; but it ought never to be said that he was bribed, for the court's gold never made him swerve from his political principles; never, for instance, was he a royalist. He regarded himself as a minister, though an unavowed one, and believed himself worthy of his hire.

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 and no longer posed a threat. Lafayete, however, was very powerful due to the fact that he held a monopoly on 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 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. Mirabeau’s prospects with the crown were good until 1790, when the Chatelet presented to the National Assemby that the incitors of the October days were the duc d’Orleans and Mirabeau himself. The charges were later removed, but for Mirabeau, the accusation had brought the realization that his strategy of working closely with both the Assembly and the court was beginning to backfire. In a later 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 maintained the belief that the decision to go to war, even civil war, should come only from the king. In a letter of confidence to Mirabeau, Louis wrote that as a Christian king, he could not declare war on his subjects. However, that wouldn’t stop him from reciprocating if his subjects declared war first. In order to avoid provoking a civil war, the king refrained from confronting the Constituent Assembly, and waited instead for a constitution that he could submit to. Once the civil constitution of the clergy destroyed this hope, Louis adopted a strategy of strengthening royal authority and the church’s position, and accepted the use of force, through civil war, to accomplish this. Mirabeau's involvement with the court is interesting for the insights it provides into the mind of Louis XIV as it is for the effects it produced in the Revolution^[4].

On the question of the veto he took a practical view, and seeing that the royal power was already sufficiently weakened, declared for the king's absolute veto and against the suspensive veto. He knew from his British experience that such a veto would be rarely used unless the king felt 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 would bring about a bloodless revolution, as in England in 1688. The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union He saw that much of the Assembly's inefficiency arose from the members' inexperience and their incurable verbosity; so, to establish some system of rules, he got his friend Romilly to draw up a detailed account of the rules and customs of the British House of Commons, which he translated into French, but which the Assembly, puffed up by a belief in its own merits, refused to use. On the subject of peace and war he supported the king's authority, with some success. Again Mirabeau almost alone of the Assembly held that 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. François Claude Amour marquis de Bouillé (1739 Cluzel-Saint-Èble &ndash November 14 1800, London) was a Nancy (nɑ̃si archaic Nanzig Nanzeg is a city and commune in the Lorraine région of northeastern France Lastly, in matters of finance he showed his wisdom: he attacked Necker's "caisse d'escompte," which was to have the whole control of the taxes, as absorbing the Assembly's power of the purse; and he heartily approved of the system of assignats, but with the reservation that the issue should be limited to no more than one-half the value of the lands to be sold. Assignats were paper money issued by the National Constituent Assembly in France during the French Revolution.

In foreign affairs, he held that the French people should conduct their Revolution as they would, and that no foreign nation had any right to interfere with the country's internal affairs. But he knew that neighbouring nations were disturbed by the progress of the Revolution and feared its influence on their own peoples; and that foreign monarchs were being importuned by French emigres to interfere on behalf of the French monarchy. To prevent this interference, or rather to give no pretext for it, was his guiding principle in 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 in 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 the Assembly. Armand Marc comte de Montmorin de Saint Herem (1745-1792 was a French statesman Mirabeau's exertions in this respect show him as a statesman; and his influence is best shown by the confusion in this department after his death.

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. By this time, it is evident that the King had lost all confidence in his former advisor, and Mirabeau’s plans never took effect. Although he had been only recently elected president of the National Assembly, despite the continuous medical attention paid to him by his friend and physician, Cabanis, Mirabeau would survive to perform his duties until his death on 2 April 1791. The National Assembly of France is the lower legislative house under the French Fifth Republic. Pierre Jean George Cabanis ( June 5, 1757 - May 5, 1808) was a French Physiologist. Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1791 ( MDCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common As he lay on his death bed, weak and unable to speak, Mirabeau's last action before passing was to write one word: "dormir" (to sleep). During the king’s trial, 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 the monarchy and the revolution and had taken payment for it. ^[5]

He received a grand burial, and it was for him that The Panthéon in Paris was created as a burial place for great Frenchmen. The Panthéon ( Latin Pantheon, from Greek Pantheon meaning "All the gods" is a building in the Latin Quarter Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city In 1792, his secret dealings with the king were uncovered, and his remains were removed from the Pantheon in 1794. Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

At the time of his death, Mirabeau greatly feared for the future of any constitutional Monarchy in France, as he recognised that many powerful and radically inclined interests would not give such arrangements their support.

Collaborators

His first literary work, except the bombastic but eloquent Essai sur le despotisme (Neufchâtel, 1775), was a translation of Robert Watson's Philip II, done in Holland with the help of Durival; his Considerations sur l'ordre de Cincinnatus (London, 1788) was based on a pamphlet by Aedanus Burke (1743-1802), of South Carolina, who opposed the aristocratic tendencies of the Society of the Cincinnati, and the notes to it were by Target; his financial writings were suggested by the Genevese exile, Clavière. Aedanus Burke ( 16 June 1743 - 30 March 1802) was a soldier judge and United States Representative from South Carolina South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. Étienne Clavière ( January 27, 1735 - December 8, 1793) was a Swiss -born French Financier and politician of

During the Revolution he received yet more help; men were proud to labour for him, and did not murmur because he absorbed all 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 an old friend of Romilly's, who willingly prepared for him those famous addresses which Mirabeau used to make the Assembly, pass by sudden bursts of eloquent declamation; Clavière helped him in finance and not only worked out his figures but also even wrote his financial discourses; Lamourette wrote 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. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy ( "Constitution civile du clergé") was a law passed on July 12, 1790 during the French Revolution

As an orator his eloquence has been likened to that of both Bossuet and Vergniaud, but it had neither the polish of the old 17th century bishop nor the flashes of genius of the young Girondin. Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet ( September 27, 1627 - April 12, 1704) was a French Bishop and theologian, renowned It was rather parliamentary oratory in which he excelled, and his true compeers are Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox rather than any French speakers. Edmund Burke ( 12 January, 1729 9 July, 1797) was an Irish statesman author orator Political theorist, and The Right Honourable Charles James Fox ( 24 January 1749 &ndash 13 September 1806) was a prominent British Whig Personally he had that which is the truest mark of nobility of mind, a power of attracting love and winning faithful friends- quote by Thomas Carlyle.

References

Meunier, Dauphin (1908). La Comtesse de Mirabeau, (1752-1800), d'Après des Documents Inédits. Perrin et Cie. , Libraires-Editeurs.  

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone