Victor de Broglie | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Print of de Broglie potentially byNicolas Eustache Maurin | |
| Member of theAcadémie française | |
| In office 1 March 1855 – 25 January 1870 | |
| Preceded by | Louis de Beaupoil |
| Succeeded by | Prosper Duvergier de Hauranne |
| Member of the National Assembly forEure | |
| In office 28 May 1849 – 3 December 1851 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Canel |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Pont-Audemer |
| France Ambassador to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1847–1848 | |
| Appointed by | Louis Philippe I |
| Preceded by | Louis de Beaupoil |
| Succeeded by | Gustave de Beaumont |
| Prime Minister of France | |
| In office 12 March 1835 – 22 February 1836 | |
| Monarch | Louis Philippe I |
| Preceded by | Édouard Mortier |
| Succeeded by | Adolphe Thiers |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Achille Léonce Victor Charles de Broglie (1785-11-28)28 November 1785 |
| Died | 25 January 1870(1870-01-25) (aged 84) Paris,French Empire |
| Political party | Doctrinaires(1815–1830) Resistance Party(1830–1848) Party of Order(1848–1851) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Pauline Louise Albert Paul |
| Profession | Diplomat |
| Signature |  |
Victor de Broglie, 3rdDuke of Broglie (French:[viktɔʁdəbʁɔj,-bʁœj]; 28 November 1785 – 25 January 1870), brieflyVictor de Broglie,[1] was aFrenchpeer,statesman, anddiplomat. He was the thirdduke of Broglie and served aspresident of theCouncil during theJuly Monarchy, from August 1830 to November 1830 and from March 1835 to February 1836. Victor de Broglie was close to the liberalDoctrinaires who opposed theultra-royalists and were absorbed, underLouis-Philippe's rule, by theOrléanists.
Victor de Broglie was born inParis on 28 November 1785, the youngest child and only son ofCharles-Louis-Victor, prince de Broglie, and grandson ofVictor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie. While his grandfatheremigrated, his parents were imprisoned during theTerror. His father wasguillotined in 1794, but his mother, the former Countess Sophie de Rosen (Paris 10 Mar 1764 – Paris 31 Oct 1828) managed to escape toSwitzerland, where she remained until thefall of Robespierre.[2] She then returned to Paris with her children – three older daughters and one son[citation needed]– and lived there quietly until 1796, when she married theMarc-René-Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d'Argenson, grandson ofLouis XV's minister of war.[2] On his grandfather's death in 1804, Victor de Broglie became the thirdduc de Broglie.[2]
Under the care of his stepfather, the young duke received a careful and liberal education and made hisentrée into thearistocratic and literary society ofParis under theFirst French Empire. In 1821, his wife Albertine, the daughter ofErik Magnus Staël von Holstein (Albertine's biological father may have beenBenjamin Constant)[3] andMadame de Staël, gave birth toAlbert, who would become the fourth duke of Broglie.[2] His first-born daughterLouise would publish novels and biographies, and be famously painted byIngres; another son,Auguste, would have an ecclesiastical and academic career.
In 1809, de Broglie was appointed a member of theCouncil of State, over which the emperorNapoleon presided in person. In addition, he was sent by the Emperor on diplomatic missions, as anattaché, to various countries. Though he had never been in sympathy with the principles of the Empire, the duc de Broglie was not one of those who rejoiced at its downfall. In common with all men of experience and sense, he realized the danger to France of the rise to power of the forces of violent reaction. WithDecazes andRichelieu, he saw that the only hope for a calm future lay in the reconciliation of theRestoration with theFrench Revolution. By the influence of his uncle,Amédée de Broglie, his right to a peerage had been recognized, and to his own great surprise he received, in June 1814, a summons fromLouis XVIII to theChamber of Peers. There, after theHundred Days, he distinguished himself by his courageous defence ofMarshal Ney, for whose acquittal he, alone of all the peers, both spoke and voted.[2]
After this defiant act of opposition it was perhaps fortunate that his impending marriage gave him an excuse for leaving the country. On 15 February 1816, he was married atLeghorn toAlbertine, baroness Staël von Holstein, the daughter ofMadame de Staël. He returned to Paris at the end of the year, but took no part in politics until theelections of September 1816 broke the power of theultraroyalists and substituted for theChambre introuvable a moderate assembly composed of liberalDoctrinaires. De Broglie's political attitude during the years that followed is best summed up in his own words:[2]
From 1812 to 1822 all the efforts of men of sense and character were directed to reconciling the Restoration and the Revolution, the old régime and the new France. From 1822 to 1827 all their efforts were directed to resisting the growing power of thecounter-revolution. From 1827 to 1830 all their efforts aimed at moderating and regulating the reaction in a contrary sense.[2]
During the last critical years ofCharles X's reign, de Broglie identified himself with the liberal party – theDoctrinaires, among whomRoyer-Collard andGuizot were the most prominent. TheJuly Revolution of 1830 placed him in a difficult position; he knew nothing of the intrigues which placedLouis Philippe on the throne; the revolution accomplished, however, he was ready to uphold thefait accompli with characteristic loyalty, and on 9 August 1830 took office in the new government asPresident of the Council andMinister of Public Worship and Education. As he had foreseen, the ministry was short-lived, and on 2 November he was once more out of office.[2]
During the critical time that followed, he consistently supported the principles which triumphed with the fall ofLaffitte, representative of the center-leftParti du mouvement, and the accession to power ofCasimir Perier, leader of the center-rightParti de la résistance, in March 1831. After the death of the latter and theinsurrection of June 1832, De Broglie took office once more asMinister for Foreign Affairs (11 October).[2]
His tenure of the foreign office was coincident with a very critical period in international relations. But for the sympathy of Britain underPalmerston, theJuly Monarchy would have been completely isolated in Europe, and this sympathy the aggressive policy of France inBelgium and on theMediterranean coast ofAfrica had been in danger of alienating. TheBelgian crisis had been settled, so far as the two powers were concerned, before De Broglie took office, but the concerted military and naval action for the coercion of theDutch, which led to the French occupation ofAntwerp, was carried out under his auspices. The good understanding of which this was the symbol characterized also the relations of De Broglie and Palmerston during the crisis of the first war ofMuhammad Ali with thePorte, and in the affairs of the Spanish peninsula their common sympathy with constitutional liberty led to an agreement for common action, which took shape in theQuadruple Alliance between Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, signed atLondon on 22 April 1834. De Broglie had retired from office in the March preceding, and did not return to power until March of the following year, when he becamehead of the cabinet.[2]
One of De Broglie's first act on his return was to have the National Assembly ratify the 4 July 1831 treaty with the United States, which it had rejected during his first term. His cabinet also voted the 1835 laws restrictingfreedom of press, followingGiuseppe Fieschi's attempted assassination against Louis-Philippe in July 1835.[citation needed]
In 1836, the government having been defeated on a proposal to reduce the five percents tax, he once more resigned.[2]
He had remained in power long enough to prove what honesty of purpose, experience of affairs, and common sense can accomplish when allied with authority. The debt that France and Europe owed him may be measured by comparing the results of his policy with that of his successors under not dissimilar circumstances. He had found France isolated and Europe full of the rumours of war; he left her strong in the English alliance and the respect of Liberal Europe, and Europe freed from the restless apprehensions which were to be stirred into life again by the attitude ofThiers in the Eastern Question and of Guizot in the affair of theSpanish Marriages.
From 1836 to 1848, De Broglie held almost completely aloof from politics, to which his scholarly temperament little inclined him, a disinclination strengthened by the death of his wife on 22 September 1838. His friendship for Guizot, however, induced him to accept a temporary mission in 1845, and in 1847 to go as Frenchambassador toLondon.[2]
Therevolution of 1848 was a great blow to him, for he realized that it meant the final ruin of the constitutional monarchy, in his view the political system best suited to France. He took his seat, however, in the republicanNational Assembly and in theConvention of 1848, and, as a member of the section known as the "Burgraves", fought against bothsocialism and what he foresaw as a comingautocratic reaction. He shared with his colleagues the indignity of the2 December 1851 coup, and remained for the remainder of his life one of the bitterest enemies of theSecond Empire, though he was heard to remark, with that caustic wit for which he was famous, that the empire was the government which the poorer classes in France desired and the rich deserved.[2]
The last twenty years of his life were devoted chiefly to philosophical and literary pursuits. Having been brought up by his stepfather in the sceptical opinions of the time, he gradually arrived at a sincere belief in theChristian religion. "I shall die," he said, "a penitent Christian and an impenitent Liberal".[2]
His literary works, though few of them have been published, were rewarded in 1856 by a seat in theAcadémie française, replacingLouis de Beaupoil de Saint-Aulaire, and he was also a member of theAcadémie des sciences morales et politiques. In the labors of those learned bodies he took an active and assiduous part.[2]
Besides hisSouvenirs, in 4 vols. (Paris, 1885–1888), the duc de Broglie left numerous works, of which only some have been published. Of these may be mentioned:[2]
This last was confiscated by the imperial government before publication.[2]
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Broglie, de",Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 4 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 626–628
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 12 March 1835 – 22 February 1836 | Succeeded by |
| French nobility | ||
| Preceded by | Duc de Broglie 1804–1870 | Succeeded by |
| Cultural offices | ||
| Preceded by | Seat 24 Académie française 1855–1870 | Succeeded by |
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First ministry of Louis-Philippe (11 August 1830 to 2 November 1830) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
| Interior | .svg) | |
| Justice | ||
| Foreign Affairs | ||
| War | ||
| Finance | ||
| Navy and Colonies | ||
| Public Education, Religious Affairs | ||
| Ministers without portfolio | ||
First cabinet of Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult (11 October 1832 to 18 July 1834) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
| President of the council | ||
| War | ||
| Interior | ||
| Justice | ||
| Foreign Affairs | ||
| Finance | ||
| Navy and Colonies | ||
| Public Education and Religious Affairs | ||
| Commerce and Public Works | ||
| Commerce | ||
Cabinet of Victor de Broglie (12 March 1835 to 22 February 1836) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
| President of the council | ||
| Foreign Affairs | ||
| Interior |
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| Justice | ||
| War |
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| Finance | ||
| Navy and Colonies | ||
| Public Education | ||
| Commerce | ||
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