Talleyrand He was one of those men who clung to power and did not detach himself from it until he died, a man who managed to have enormous power without having the responsibilities of being the leader of a government, but rather his greatest and closest adviser.
Born into a noble family who claimed descent from Adalbert , Count of Périgord, subject of Hugo Capet in 990, something that specialists doubt, he came into this world on February 2, 1751 as the firstborn, however he contracted Marfan syndrome , which weakened various structures of the body, preventing him from becoming a military man and was relegated to an ecclesiastical career, losing his birthright at the same time. This disease, which caused a deformity in his leg and a subsequent limp, earned him the nickname of Diable Boiteux — »Devil lame» —, where his physical deficiency was added to his character as a cunning politician. Despite this problem he was equally educated as a nobleman with refined manners befitting his social stratum, giving him a high level of sophistication that he would maintain throughout his life.
In the church, a career he took without a vocation, he continued to live as a nobleman, sybaritic, libertine and unscrupulous, but that did not prevent him from continuing to rise, since his lineage pushed him up the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Thus, in 1780 he was already general agent of the clergy and bishop of Autun.
His first appearance in the public life of politics was in the Estates General that he summoned Louis XVI , being one of the ecclesiastical representatives who accepted the principles of the Revolution, linking up with the defenders of the constitutional monarchy and moderate liberalism. Despite this moderate position in the face of the events that were taking place in France, on July 14, 1789, no one hesitated to appoint him a member of the Constitution Committee of the National Assembly, and in September 1791 he signed the Constitution presented to the king. Such was his importance during the Revolution that he celebrated the mass that commemorated the first anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille , consecrating an image of himself as the «Priest of the Revolution». Despite belonging to the church and the nobility, he will not hesitate to participate in the confiscation of assets and to propose a law of equal distribution of inheritances, suppressing the right of primogeniture.
In 1790, the year in which he was the President of the Assembly, he swore the civil constitution and definitively separated from the church, dedicating himself exclusively to his political career. This decision entails that he was excommunicated by Pope Pius VI. In 1792 his career as a politician and diplomat soars, he is sent as ambassador to London, achieving the neutrality of the English. Avoiding Terror , as a diplomat he will remain in England until 1794, when an accusation decree is signed against him that forces him to leave for the United States where he will dedicate himself to trade and real estate prospecting.
After the fall of Robespierre and the end of the Terror , Talleyrand returns to France where he will take advantage of the tense political situation to achieve his final political promotion. He was appointed foreign minister for the first time, being able to defend his style of politics from a vantage point. It was around this time that he met an ambitious young general, Napoleon Bonaparte . Both wanted to take advantage of the moment to position themselves in power permanently, and Talleyrand sees in the young Bonaparte the way to achieve it. The unlimited ambition of the Corsican military is exploited by Talleyrand who manages to make himself essential for the military's future plans. It is therefore not surprising that Talleyrand would join Napoleon's conspiracy, which would lead to the Coup d'état of Brumaire 18 , and managing to prevail as foreign minister during the political purge carried out by Napoleon. In addition, the expansionist desire of the new consul meant an essential role for Talleyrand, both because of his contacts, as well as because of his skills and his lineage. Still, the libertine politician had to marry Catherine Grand by obligation of Napoleon himself, who considered it essential to have a wife.
Despite the support shown towards Napoleon during all this time, Talleyrand does not see with good eyes the aggressive and expansionist pressure that the emperor is exerting towards Austria and Great Britain, and in 1807 Talleyrand resigns, but without giving up his titles, and even collaborating with him in some diplomatic tasks such as the Erfurt Conference , in which the European monarchs agreed on the new political order of the continent.
Despite this estrangement, secretly Talleyrand was already plotting against the emperor with Fouché , Minister of Police of the French Empire. Upon discovering it, Napoleon did not hesitate to call a public trial against both and, although Fouché managed to elude him, the nobleman did not hesitate to attend the trial where his argumentative ability and his knowledge of the laws humiliated Napoleon who, annoyed, insulted him. Talleyrand replied:
It's a shame that such a great man is so rude.
With this phrase, Talleyrand managed to publicly crush the emperor. Consequently, when the allied armies defeated Napoleon in 1814, Talleyrand helped restore the Bourbons to the throne of France, forming part of the provisional government, first as prime minister, until the return of Louis XVIII , and then as foreign minister.
In 1815, after the fall and final exile of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna designed a European balance destined to endure. Talleyrand was the representative of France, and he knew how to take advantage of the differences between the former allies to ensure that France's military defeat did not translate into excessive diplomatic punishment. However, the animosity of the ultra-realists, who did not forgive him for his commitment to the Revolution, separated him from active politics. He remained a member of the Chamber of Peers and participated in the liberal opposition against the absolutism of Charles X . He supported the Revolution of 1830 that brought Luis Felipe de Orleans to the throne. , collaborating with the new constitutional regime as ambassador in London and delegate at the conference that was to resolve the situation in Belgium. After failing in his attempt to extend the borders of France at the expense of the new Belgian kingdom, he retired from politics in 1834.
In his "splendid solitude" in Valençay, a castle bought at the expense of Napoleon, he wrote his memoirs in which he claimed " never to have betrayed a government that had not betrayed itself first »And never put« his own interests in opposition to those of France «. In 1837, he leaves the castle and manages to reconcile with the church before his death on May 17, 1838, being buried in a chapel near his castle.
Today Talleyrand is a controversial character, considered by many as one of the greatest traitors in history, and by many others as an idealist who never broke his convictions, always acting in favor of the interests of France. What is clear is that Talleyrand marked the first precedent of modern diplomacy, participating in the signing of alliances and treaties, as well as in the dissolution and creation of coalitions, which have earned him the nickname of the Prince of Diplomats . Surely the writers of «House of Cards »They saw in this politician a reference for his plots.
Collaboration of Francesc Marí Company