Prince Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand was a leading personality in late 18th- and early 19th-century France whose career spanned the reign of King Louis XVI, the French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon I's regime, and the restoration of the monarchy. His activities, particularly in foreign affairs, were often decisive and shaped the fortune of his country.
Talleyrand was born in Paris on February 2, 1754 to a prominent aristocratic family. He was the son of a general in the army of French king Louis XV. Talleyrand was to have followed his father into a military career, but a childhood injury left him with an injured foot and a permanent limp.
When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, Talleyrand immediately became an ardent supporter and participant. He sat in the French National Assembly, helped to draft a new constitution, and introduced an education bill that removed public instruction from the hands of the Church and placed it in those of the state. He also supported both the nationalization of Church property and the civil constitution of the clergy, which forced priests to swear an oath of loyalty to the revolutionary government. As the revolution grew more radical, however, France became a dangerous place for aristocrats like Talleyrand, and he emigrated first to England and then the United States.
After the fall of Maximilien Robespierre and the end of the radical phase of the revolution, Talleyrand was able to return to France. He arrived in Paris in September 1796 and was made foreign minister of the republican regime on July 15, 1797. Revolutionary France had been at war since 1792, and the new foreign minister pursued a policy of peace. Peace proved elusive, however, and it was during that time that he formed his fateful bond with Napoleon. Talleyrand supported Napoleon's coup d'état in November 1799 and became foreign minister in the new regime, a post he would hold for the next eight years. He continued to work for peace, and helped by Napoleon's victories on the battlefield, he signed treaties with Austria in 1801 and Great Britain in 1802.
During this period, tensions with the United States had surfaced in regard to French pirate ships raiding and seizing U.S. commercial vessels. The United States sent three diplomats to France to meet with Talleyrand. The U.S. diplomats were met by three representatives of the French foreign ministry and were referred to by the Americans only as "Messrs. X, Y, and Z" (the incident has subsequently been referred to as the XYZ Affair). Talleyrand's men indicated to the U.S. ministers that no treaty could even be discussed unless the United States agreed to loan France $12 million and pay a $250,000 bribe to Talleyrand himself. Under those circumstances, the outraged Americans withdrew and declared the mission a failure.
After Napoleon had added the Russians to the list of the defeated and signed the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, it seemed that France could finally be at peace after 15 years of continuous war. Yet the British had resumed hostilities, and Napoleon showed no signs of ceasing his military initiatives; he involved himself in a war with Spain and set up a continental blockade against the British. Talleyrand opposed both the continuation of the war and Napoleon's plans for the Continental System, which denied the British access to a Europe that Napoleon had brought completely under his control. In protest, Talleyrand left his post as foreign minister in August 1807.
Talleyrand believed Napoleon's policies were not in the best interests of France, and he began to conspire against the imperial regime. After Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign of 1812 and his defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in 1814, Talleyrand was involved in bringing about the restoration of the monarchy under King Louis XVIII. Appointed to represent France at the Congress of Vienna by the new king, Talleyrand's work was interrupted by the return of Napoleon in March 1815. Napoleon's return to power proved brief, however, as he was defeated by the allied powers for the last time at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. With Napoleon safely exiled to the remote island of Saint-Helena, Talleyrand resumed his work as foreign minister for Louis XVIII. At the Congress of Vienna, he was successful in exploiting divisions among the allies and in pinning responsibility for the wars on Napoleon alone. France thus emerged from the peace conference with much of its territory and power intact.