RECENTLY, the name of Talleyrand Perigord — Charles Maurice de, Prince De Benevent (1754 - 1838) — has been quoted in the media repeatedly in the context of American diplomacy in the Middle East.
This fascinating and skillful French diplomat and statesmen, despite his notoriety, was mainly known for his capacity to survive under all conditions. He held high offices during the French Revolution, under Napoleon and even after the latter’s fall, under the restored Bourbon monarchy and King Louis Philipe.
Belonging to an old aristocratic family of France, he would have traditionally joined the army. But being club-footed, Talleyrand joined the church. There, he read philosophy and political works of eminent persons and developed interest in politics. During this period, he also had a mistress. Owing to this kind of immoral behaviour, he was expelled from the church.
Despite being expelled from the church, he continued to be in the company of ecclesiasts and defended their controversial privileges in the Estates General. For that, at the time of revolution, the clergy befittingly paid him back by appointing him to a coveted position of bishopric.
Talleyrand actively participated in politics during the upheaval at the time of revolution and was appointed a deputy by the clergy in the elections to the assembly. At the opening session of the Estates General, his political acumen caught attention of the participants when he voted against the interests of clergy, his patron, in favour of abolishing tithe to clear the state debt. Thereafter, Talleyrand became one of the most ardent revolutionary deputies. His involvement with revolutionaries resulted in his excommunication by the pope and his resignation from bishopric.
Talleyrand’s talent as a deft negotiator was first recognized in the successful parlays held between France and England to prevent the latter to join Prussia and Austria against the former. Though he was successful in neutralizing England in war between France and Prussia, monarchy was overthrown in France and the king along with his spouse were assassinated, which alienated England. This created a very difficult situation for Talleyrand, as he was unable to return to France. Subsequently, he was expelled from London. In January 1774, he went to the US, where he built a fortune by engaging himself in some profitable financial projects.
In the Directory period, Talleyrand was able to remove his name as an emigre as he had left France on an official visit. However, he came back to France and took seat at the Institute National, to which he was elected in absentia. His working with revolutionaries helped him to rise to the position of foreign minister, a post he held even after Napoleon took control of the affairs. He was also actively involved in Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition, which, however, ended in failure.
Again, due to the withdrawal of three US diplomats of whom, as the story goes, Talleyrand demanded bribes, made the Franco-American relationship tense, for which he was solely responsible and was therefore forced to resign.
After returning from Egypt, Napoleon needed support to legitimize his action and also for establishing a consulate, which he set up, himself being the first consular dictator. He, therefore, again sought services of Talleyrand as his foreign minister. This time he played a key role in pacifying belligerent states, which brought peace to Europe at least for six years.
From the time Napoleon took over the reins of government, his relationship with Pope Pius VII had not been good. It was Talleyrand’s diplomatic skill, which brought it to normal (1801). However, his aim to prevent renewal of war between France and England remained illusive, but this time his failure to achieve this goal did not make him resign. He fully supported Napoleon to establish himself as ‘consul for life’ (1802), thereby assuring him that he would never reconcile with the Bourbons. This strategy helped him to become the grand chamberlain when Napoleon finally became France’s emperor (1804). Later on, as Napoleon’s ambitions for expansion grew to unimaginable limits, Telleyrand found himself sidelined as his cautious pieces of advice were ignored in most decisions. He resigned for the third time, now from the office of grand chamberlain, but this did not deter Napoleon to consult his old ally whenever the need for it arose.
Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, but his Grande Arme could not face inclement weather conditions and stubborn resistance put up by forces of Alexander I. After the disastrous retreat from Russia, Napoleon made efforts to bring Talleyrand back to the ministry. But by this time Talleyrand had established contacts with monarchs to bring the house of Bourbons back to power. Talleyrand participated in the negotiation between allies, which demanded the toppling of Napoleon’s government, and succeeded in obtaining favourable terms for France by allowing her to retain frontiers as they were in 1792. During Napoleon’s comeback period, Talleyrand did not return to France and remained in Vienna. After Napoleon’s defeat in Waterloo (1815) at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Welleslely, Louis XVIII returned to Paris and the Bourbons were again established as monarchs in France and Talleyrand rejoined the government as foreign minister. This time ultra revolutionaries, however, did not like his entry into the government and finally succeeded in forcing him to resign. Despite severing links with the government, Talleyrand remained involved in the affairs of Europe. From 1830 to 1834, he was on diplomatic assignment in London where he negotiated a settlement between France and England. According to this settlement, a neutral kingdom of Belgium came into existence. He was also instrumental in signing the alliance between France, Great Britain, Spain and Portugal in 1834.
