Jean-Guillaume, baron Hyde de Neuville
Encyclopedia
Jean-Guillaume, baron
Hyde de Neuville (24 January 1776 - 28 May 1857) was a French
aristocrat
, diplomat, and politician.
(Nièvre
), the son of Guillaume Hyde, who belonged to an English
family which had emigrated with the Stuarts
after the rebellion of 1745
.
After studying in the College Cardinal Lemoine, in Paris
, he entered political life at the age of sixteen. He was only seventeen when he successfully defended a man denounced by Joseph Fouché
before the revolutionary
tribunal of Nevers
. From 1793 onwards he was an active agent of the exiled princes: he took part in the Royalist
rising in Berry
in 1796, and after the 18 Brumaire coup
(9 November 1799), under the name of Paul Xavier, he tried to persuade Napoleon Bonaparte
to recall the traditional monarchy.
under the name of Roland, and obtained a gold medal for the propagation of vaccine. An accusation of complicity in the conspiracy of 1800-1801
was speedily retracted, but in 1806 Napoleon consented to refund Neuville's confiscated estate on condition that he should go to the United States. De Neuville settled near New Brunswick, New Jersey
, where his house became a place of refuge for French exiles. In 1813 he was instrumental in deciding his friend, General Moreau
to accept the propositions of the emperor of Russia. He returned to France after the replacement of the French Empire
by the 1814 Bourbon Restoration
.
to London
to attempt the persuasion of the British
government to transfer Napoleon to a remoter and safer place of exile than the isle of Elba
, but the negotiations were cut short by the emperor's return to France in March 1815 (the Hundred Days
). In January 1816 de Neuville became French ambassador at Washington, D.C.
, where he negotiated a commercial treaty. On his return in 1821 he declined the position of ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
, and in November 1822 was elected deputy for Cosne
. Louis XVIII created him a baron, and in 1821 gave him the grand cross of the Legion of honor as a reward for his services.
Shortly afterwards he was appointed French ambassador in Portugal
, where he rescued the old king, John VI
, who had been imprisoned by his son, and was created Count de Pembosta. His efforts to oust British influence culminated, in connection with the coup d'état
of Dom Miguel
(30 April 1824), in his suggestion to the Portuguese minister to invite the armed intervention of Britain. It was assumed that this would be refused, in view of the loudly proclaimed British principle of non-intervention, and that France would then be in a position to undertake a duty that Britain had declined.
The planned action was however prevented by the attitude of the reactionary
party in the government of Paris, which disapproved of the 1822 Portuguese constitution. This ruined Hyde de Neuville's influence in Lisbon
, and he returned to Paris to take his seat in the Chamber of Deputies
.
tendencies, opposed the policy of Jean-Baptiste de Villèle
's cabinet, and in 1828 became a member of the moderate administration of Jean Baptiste Gay de Martignac
as Naval Minister. In this capacity, he showed active sympathy with the cause of Greek independence
. He greatly improved the colonial system of France, and prohibited the slave trade in its American possessions.
During the Jules de Polignac ministry (1829–1830), he was again in opposition, being a firm upholder of the Charter, However, after the 1830 July Revolution
, he entered an all but solitary protest against the exclusion of the legitimate line of the Bourbons from the throne (see July Monarchy
and Orléanist
), and resigned his seat. Under Louis Philippe, he lived quietly upon his estate of l'Étang, near Sancerre
, but in 1837 he took an active part in the discussion of a new treaty of commerce with the United States, and caused several pamphlets to be printed on the subject. He died in Paris.
His wife, the Baroness Hyde de Neuville, was a noted watercolorist
.
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
Hyde de Neuville (24 January 1776 - 28 May 1857) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
aristocrat
French nobility
The French nobility was the privileged order of France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods.In the political system of the Estates General, the nobility made up the Second Estate...
, diplomat, and politician.
Early years; Royalist agent
Jean-Guillaume was born at La Charité-sur-LoireLa Charité-sur-Loire
La Charité-sur-Loire is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-History:The town began as the first of the Cluniac priories on an island site in the Loire....
(Nièvre
Nièvre
Nièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
), the son of Guillaume Hyde, who belonged to an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
family which had emigrated with the Stuarts
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
after the rebellion of 1745
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
.
After studying in the College Cardinal Lemoine, in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he entered political life at the age of sixteen. He was only seventeen when he successfully defended a man denounced by Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. In English texts his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.-Youth:Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes...
before the revolutionary
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
tribunal of Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
. From 1793 onwards he was an active agent of the exiled princes: he took part in the Royalist
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
rising in Berry
Berry (province)
Berry is a region located in the center of France. It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on 4 March 1790....
in 1796, and after the 18 Brumaire coup
18 Brumaire
The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
(9 November 1799), under the name of Paul Xavier, he tried to persuade Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
to recall the traditional monarchy.
United States exile
During the consulate and empire, he practised medicine in LyonsLyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
under the name of Roland, and obtained a gold medal for the propagation of vaccine. An accusation of complicity in the conspiracy of 1800-1801
Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise
The plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise, also known as the Machine infernale plot, was an assassination attempt on the life of the First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, in Paris on 24 December 1800...
was speedily retracted, but in 1806 Napoleon consented to refund Neuville's confiscated estate on condition that he should go to the United States. De Neuville settled near New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
, where his house became a place of refuge for French exiles. In 1813 he was instrumental in deciding his friend, General Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
to accept the propositions of the emperor of Russia. He returned to France after the replacement of the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
by the 1814 Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
.
Diplomat
He was sent by Louis XVIIILouis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to attempt the persuasion of the British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
government to transfer Napoleon to a remoter and safer place of exile than the isle of Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
, but the negotiations were cut short by the emperor's return to France in March 1815 (the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
). In January 1816 de Neuville became French ambassador at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he negotiated a commercial treaty. On his return in 1821 he declined the position of ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, and in November 1822 was elected deputy for Cosne
Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-Demographics:At the 1999 census, the population was 11,399. On 1 January 2005, the estimate was 11,300.-Notable residents:* Roger Marie Bricoux cellist on the...
. Louis XVIII created him a baron, and in 1821 gave him the grand cross of the Legion of honor as a reward for his services.
Shortly afterwards he was appointed French ambassador in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, where he rescued the old king, John VI
John VI of Portugal
John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...
, who had been imprisoned by his son, and was created Count de Pembosta. His efforts to oust British influence culminated, in connection with the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of Dom Miguel
Miguel of Portugal
Dom Miguel I, sometimes Michael , was the King of Portugal between 1828 and 1834, the seventh child and second son of King John VI and his queen, Charlotte of Spain....
(30 April 1824), in his suggestion to the Portuguese minister to invite the armed intervention of Britain. It was assumed that this would be refused, in view of the loudly proclaimed British principle of non-intervention, and that France would then be in a position to undertake a duty that Britain had declined.
The planned action was however prevented by the attitude of the reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
party in the government of Paris, which disapproved of the 1822 Portuguese constitution. This ruined Hyde de Neuville's influence in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, and he returned to Paris to take his seat in the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
.
Deputy and minister
In spite of his pronounced Royalism, he displayed LiberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
tendencies, opposed the policy of Jean-Baptiste de Villèle
Jean-Baptiste Guillaume Joseph, comte de Villèle
Jean-Baptiste Guillaume Joseph Marie Anne Séraphin, comte de Villèle , was a French statesman. Several time Prime minister, he was a leader of the Ultra-royalist faction during the Bourbon Restoration.- Youth :...
's cabinet, and in 1828 became a member of the moderate administration of Jean Baptiste Gay de Martignac
Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac
Jean-Baptiste Sylvère Gay, vicomte de Martignac was a moderate royalist French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration 1814–30 under King Charles X....
as Naval Minister. In this capacity, he showed active sympathy with the cause of Greek independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
. He greatly improved the colonial system of France, and prohibited the slave trade in its American possessions.
During the Jules de Polignac ministry (1829–1830), he was again in opposition, being a firm upholder of the Charter, However, after the 1830 July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
, he entered an all but solitary protest against the exclusion of the legitimate line of the Bourbons from the throne (see July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
and Orléanist
Orléanist
The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...
), and resigned his seat. Under Louis Philippe, he lived quietly upon his estate of l'Étang, near Sancerre
Sancerre
Sancerre is a medieval hilltop town , commune and canton in the Cher department of central France overlooking the Loire River. It is noted for its wine.-History:...
, but in 1837 he took an active part in the discussion of a new treaty of commerce with the United States, and caused several pamphlets to be printed on the subject. He died in Paris.
Works
- Éloge historique du Général Moreau (New York, 1814)
- Observations sur le commerce de la France avec les États-Unis (Paris, 1837)
Legacy and family
His Mémoires et souvenirs (3 vols., 1888), compiled from his notes by his nieces, the vicomtesse de Bardonnet and the baronne Laurençeau, are of major interest for the Revolution and the Restoration.His wife, the Baroness Hyde de Neuville, was a noted watercolorist
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
.