CHATEAUBRIAND François René, vicomte de [Saint-Malo, 1768 - - Lot 161

CHATEAUBRIAND François René, vicomte de [Saint-Malo, 1768 - Paris, 1848], French writer. Autograph letter signed, addressed to a count [General Bourmont]. Paris, January 17, 1824; 4 pages small in-4 on two bifeuillets. Very important political letter, a few months after the restoration of King Ferdinand VII to the Spanish throne following the expedition led by France in the summer of 1823. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chateaubriand addresses General Louis Comte de Bourmont (1773-1846), commander-in-chief of the French troops occupying Spain, and explains to him what France's attitude in Spain should be after this expedition, which was, in the words he himself would use in his Mémoires d'outre-tombe, the great political event of his life, but which led Spain into a decade of despotism and brutal repression against the liberals. After assuring his correspondent that he would do everything in his power to improve Monsieur Delaroche Saint-André's lot, Chateaubriand talks to him at length about the situation in Spain, outlining the interests of France, which must remain firm and maintain its influence over a king it has freed, and urging Bois-le-Comte to reach an understanding with the French ambassador, the Marquis de Talaru, who has his full confidence. "I am convinced, Monsieur le Comte, that if we lose our influence in Spain, it will be absolutely our fault. When you are master of a country's strongholds, and you can also provide that country with the money it lacks, I don't know what you can't do [...] Any ministry that displeases France must go. Any ministry that pleases France should stay. [...] It is we who must dictate the amnesty, arrange the loans, dismiss and reform the army. It's not a question of giving Spain this or that kind of government, but of finding within it a force with which to re-establish order and justice. Is the clergy that force? We must rely on him, the master at the head of the State, on condition that he will do all the things it is reasonable to do for the salvation of the monarchy. Thus, he must lend himself to the arrangements that will still be able to save part of the colonies, pay the interest on a loan, sign our special treaties, &c, &c. [...] it is up to France, it is up to our ambassador to appoint the men who should be placed at the head of the State". Aware of the intrigues and jealousies Bois-le-Comte may encounter, he assures him that the slanders spread by M. Royer [the deputy Pierre Royer-Collard?] are inconceivable, that he himself writes to the ambassador three times a week and that he is not the one to be taught to be a royalist. "I strongly urge you, Monsieur Le Comte, to get together with M. l'Ambassadeur to strike a strong blow. In a fortnight, we must win the signature of all our treaties and the fulfillment of all the things on which M. de Talaru has instructions. M. de Talaru has carte blanche; I take responsibility for everything he does. Go straight to the King, both of you, and if we refuse to do what you think is useful for the salvation of Spain, Monsieur Talaru will receive orders immediately. We would be forced to abandon the unfortunate monarch we have delivered to a destiny whose course it would no longer be in our power to change". He adds in a postscript that two policies are still possible: either to convene the old Cortes now, or to wait for a strong administration to restore order in the country. "There are affairs such as those of the colonies (which is everything for Spain) that a political body like the old Cortes can alone finish, for I doubt that the king and ministers would ever dare to take a decisive side on this point. But also the old Cortes now can bring back unrest. &c, &c. One would have to be on the spot, as you are, to judge the appropriateness". Established with his staff in Madrid, Bourmont was responsible for organizing the French presence and assisting the reconstruction of the Spanish monarchy. Having developed ties with Ferdinand VII, considered "weak" and "irresolute", his disagreement with the Marquis de Talaru was reflected in his recall to Paris in April 1824, Talaru having the full confidence of Chateaubriand who, again in Mémoires d'outre-tombe, paints a brief portrait of General de Bourmont: "an officer of merit, adept at getting out of difficult situations; but one of those men who, when placed in the front line, see the obstacles and cannot overcome them, made as they are to be led, not to lead". On the same January 17, Chateaubriand had addressed the mayor in the same terms.