Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Western Sieve episode five hundred and
Speaker 1: two to Egypt. By seventeen ninety seven, Napoleon Bonaparte had
Speaker 1: become the hero of the Republic. His victories in Italy
Speaker 1: had humbled Austria and filled France's coffers with plunder. But
Speaker 1: his rising fame made the Directory uneasy. They feared a
Speaker 1: man who commanded both an army and increasingly a legend.
Speaker 1: Sending him far from Paris seemed like the right thing
Speaker 1: to do. At the same time, France remained locked in
Speaker 1: a rivalry with Britain. A direct invasion of England was
Speaker 1: impossible as long as the Royal Navy ruled the Channel,
Speaker 1: but the idea of striking at Britain's trade routes, particularly
Speaker 1: its link to India, tempted French imaginations. Napoleon told the Directory,
Speaker 1: we must go to the Orient, where all great reputations
Speaker 1: are made. Egypt, nominally ruled by the Ottoman Empire but
Speaker 1: in practice dominated by the fierce Mameluke Bays, offered both
Speaker 1: strategic and symbolic allure. If France could seize Egypt, it
Speaker 1: might threaten British India and revive French influence in the East,
Speaker 1: Napoleon declared to his officers, we shall found there Egypt,
Speaker 1: a colony that will change the face of the world.
Speaker 1: So it was that on July the third, seventeen ninety seven,
Speaker 1: Talirand proposed a French expedition against Egypt. But of course
Speaker 1: you might be wondering, wait, who's Teleyrand? And so I
Speaker 1: think it's high time we introduce this critical player in
Speaker 1: the Napoleonic period who will outlive the Emperor himself, Charles
Speaker 1: Maurice de Taland Pettigo. By the time Europe reached the
Speaker 1: summer of seventeen ninety seven, one of the most improbable
Speaker 1: survivors of the French Revolution, a nobleman turned revolutionary, a
Speaker 1: bishop turned to political exile, and now, as the tides
Speaker 1: of the directory shifted towards stability and diplomacy, France's best negotiator.
Speaker 1: His life up to that moment reads as a study
Speaker 1: in adaptability, or, as his critics would later say, opportunism.
Speaker 1: Yet beneath his polished cynicism lay one of the most
Speaker 1: perceptive and important political minds of the age. Born in
Speaker 1: Paris on February second, seventeen fifty four, into one of
Speaker 1: the oldest noble families of France. Talleyrand seemed destined for prominence,
Speaker 1: but not for action. A childhood injury, most likely a
Speaker 1: genital club foot, though he later claimed it was caused
Speaker 1: by a fall, left him permanently lame. He would later
Speaker 1: remark with bitter wit, I was disinherited by my leg
Speaker 1: His father, a soldier, deemed him unfit for military service,
Speaker 1: and steered him toward the church, an institution that could
Speaker 1: offer power without the sword. Tallyrand's early education was with
Speaker 1: the clergy at the Cole des Arcorps and the Seminary
Speaker 1: of Saint Sopice, where he later impressed teachers with his
Speaker 1: intelligence his memory, an ironic detachment even from piety itself.
Speaker 1: Ordained a priest in seventeen seventy nine, he soon became
Speaker 1: Abbe de Perigo and began a lifelong pattern using institutions
Speaker 1: not for faith or ideology, but for influence. In seventeen eighty,
Speaker 1: tali Rand gained the lucrative position of Agent General des Clerget,
Speaker 1: making him responsible for the church's financial affairs, a perfect
Speaker 1: training ground for the fiscal machinations of later years. He
Speaker 1: moved very easily throughout the world of Versailles. He could
Speaker 1: cultivate relationships with financiers, courtiers, and even the famously pragmatic
Speaker 1: Queen Marie Antoinette. His charm was legendary. He had a
Speaker 1: soft voice. His wit was cutting but never vulgar. His
Speaker 1: conversation could be both worldly and discreet. In seventeen eighty eight,
Speaker 1: through a mix of influence and intrigue, he was appointed
Speaker 1: Bishop of Attune. It seemed like nothing could come between
Speaker 1: him and rising up the ranks of monarchical power. Yet he,
Speaker 1: as himself, would later admit, quote I never had the vocation.
Speaker 1: His diocese saw little of him. He preferred Paris and
Speaker 1: the company of thinkers like Minabu, who shared his conviction
Speaker 1: that reform, not rebellion, might yet save the monarchy. When
Speaker 1: Louis the sixteenth some in the Estates General in seventeen
Speaker 1: eighty nine, Talimrand was chosen to represent the clergy of Attune.
Speaker 1: His speech on June tenth, calmly inviting the clergy to
Speaker 1: join the Third Estate, helped precipitate the formation of the
Speaker 1: National Assembly. Within weeks the revolution had begun. Tallyrand quickly
Speaker 1: aligned himself with moderate reformers. He supported the confiscation of
Speaker 1: church lands to stabilize France's finances, proposing in November of
Speaker 1: seventeen eighty nine quote that the property of the clergy
Speaker 1: is at the disposal of the nation end quote. The
Speaker 1: motion passed, and with it the secularization of French property began.
Speaker 1: In seventeen ninety he affreciated at the first massed celebrating
Speaker 1: of the Fete de la Ferriacion, blessing the Republic before
Speaker 1: a crowd of hundreds of thousands. His image as the
Speaker 1: Bishop of Liberty became immortalized and scandalized the Church, and
Speaker 1: of course in Rome, Pope Pius the Six condemned tally
Speaker 1: Rand's actions, and in early seventeen ninety one, after tally
Speaker 1: Rand consented to the civil constitution of the clergy, he
Speaker 1: was formally excommunicated. Unperturbed, easibly resigned his bishopric, remarking, I
Speaker 1: have always found religion useful to those who govern, and
Speaker 1: it has never though harmed those who are governed. When
Speaker 1: the monarchy began to crumble in seventeen ninety two, tally
Speaker 1: Rand saw the storm before others did, accepted a mission
Speaker 1: to London in January of that year, carrying a letter
Speaker 1: from Louis the sixteenth to George the third. His goal
Speaker 1: was to avert war between Britain and France, or at
Speaker 1: the very least to buy time, but the king's letter
Speaker 1: was already meaningless. Revolutionaries in Paris controlled the agenda. Now
Speaker 1: Tallyrand lingered in London as an unofficial envoy, cultivating contacts
Speaker 1: with William Pitt and Charles James Fox. When the French
Speaker 1: Republic was proclaimed and Louis the sixteenth executed in January
Speaker 1: seventeen ninety three, France declared war on Britain. Tallyrand was
Speaker 1: ordered home, but he wisely refused the order in state poot.
Speaker 1: In December, the revolutionary government placed him on a list
Speaker 1: of emigres. His property was confiscated and his name was
Speaker 1: marked for arrest. In exile, he wrote his memoir Sur
Speaker 1: Relacion's Commercial Estate Estates Anglais, in which he argued for
Speaker 1: liberal economic policies and the importance of transatlantic commerce, arguments
Speaker 1: that would resurface in his diplomacy, as we'll see in
Speaker 1: later years. By seventeen ninety four, fearing arrest in Britain
Speaker 1: as a potential spy, he crossed the Atlantic and landed
Speaker 1: in the American city of Philadelphia. There he moved among
Speaker 1: American intellectuals and merchants, including both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson,
Speaker 1: both of whom admired his intellect but distrusted his slippery nature.
Speaker 1: In a letter to a friend, Jefferson described him as
Speaker 1: a man of great sagacity, but of non principle. The
Speaker 1: fall of Robespierre in July seventeen ninety four marked a
Speaker 1: shift in France and an opportunity for tallyrandt In seventeen
Speaker 1: ninety six, through the influence of his friends, including the
Speaker 1: scientist and politician Madame de Stael, he secured removal from
Speaker 1: the Migrae list, and he returned to Paris. The France
Speaker 1: he found was unrecognizable, weary of terror, governed by the corrupts,
Speaker 1: but pragmatic, directory and desperate for stability, tally Rand, now
Speaker 1: forty two, reinvented himself once again. He declared himself no
Speaker 1: longer a priest. He donned the fashionable close of the
Speaker 1: directorial elite and began attending salons where diplomacy, intrigue, and
Speaker 1: business mixed freely. Speech, tally Rand said, was given to
Speaker 1: man to disguise his thoughts. Madame de Stell, ever, the
Speaker 1: social catalyst, recommended him to barras one of the five
Speaker 1: directors at the time. In July seventeen ninety seven, the
Speaker 1: government needed a new Minister of Foreign Affairs, someone with
Speaker 1: aristocratic polish but no royalist illusions. Bur Us proposed Talirand,
Speaker 1: as he later put it, with characteristic irony. I accepted.
Speaker 1: I have never refused anything except responsibility. By the time
Speaker 1: Tallyrand took up the portfolio of Foreign Affairs on July
Speaker 1: the sixteenth, seventeen ninety seven, France's armies were triumphants under
Speaker 1: the young General Bonaparte in Italy, but its diplomacy was
Speaker 1: still chaotic. The Directory needed someone who could negotiate peace
Speaker 1: without surrendering advantage, and who could speak to kings and
Speaker 1: republics alike. Talirand immediately set about reorganizing the ministry. He
Speaker 1: sought to stabilize France's relations with Austria and Prussia and
Speaker 1: to explore peace with Britain, and to profit from the
Speaker 1: Republic's victories. With a blend of realism and greed behind
Speaker 1: his polished smile, a clear ambition to make himself indispensable
Speaker 1: to any future regime, whatever its form. In fact, he
Speaker 1: once said, regimes parish, but institutions endure, and so do
Speaker 1: the clever men who serve them. Will find out just
Speaker 1: how true this is for tally Rand before too long.
Speaker 1: By July seventeen ninety seven, the Revolution had consumed nobles, priests, Jacobins,
Speaker 1: and monarchists alike, but not Tallyrand. The former Bishop of Attune, excommunicated, priest, exile,
Speaker 1: philosopher of self preservation, He had returned to power once more,
Speaker 1: poised to steer the di palmacy of France, just as
Speaker 1: Europe prepared for peace, or, in the alternative, for another
Speaker 1: round of war. Within two years he would meet the
Speaker 1: man who would define the next act of his career,
Speaker 1: Napoleon Bonapartes. But in the summer of seventeen ninety seven,
Speaker 1: as Napoleon was talking about Egypt, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Speaker 1: stood at the center of power, urban, enigmatic, and of
Speaker 1: course indestructively French. He is perhaps second to Napoleon, the
Speaker 1: most important figure in French history throughout this period, and
Speaker 1: we will see why that, of course, will be after
Speaker 1: Napoleon's critical expedition to Egypt in May seventeen ninety eight,
Speaker 1: the greatest expedition since Alexander the greats marched to Persia.
Speaker 1: Sailed from Toulon more than three hundred ships, carried thirty
Speaker 1: eight thousand soldiers, ten thousand sailors, and an entourage unlike
Speaker 1: any army in history. There were one hundred and seventy
Speaker 1: six savants, scientists, engineers, botanists, artists, and mathematicians enlightened by Napoleon,
Speaker 1: to quote unquote enlighten the Orient. Among them were men
Speaker 1: like the mathematician Gaspard mon, chemist Claude Though, and the
Speaker 1: future discoverer of the Rosetta stone. Napoleon kept the destination
Speaker 1: secret even from his officers. Some believed they were bound
Speaker 1: for Malta and others for Ireland. The fleet captured Malta
Speaker 1: on June tenth, after a token resistance by the Knights
Speaker 1: of Saint John, whose medieval order seemed an absurd relic
Speaker 1: in this new age of reason. Napoleon told his men,
Speaker 1: in a few days, we have conquered the strongest fortress
Speaker 1: in Europe and ended an empire of six hundred years.
Speaker 1: Hyperbole a bit well, perhaps factually accurate. On July the first,
Speaker 1: the French landed near Alexandria. The heat was suffocating, the
Speaker 1: light blinding, and the sand seemed to stretch to infinity.
Speaker 1: The city fell easy, but to conquer Egypt, the true
Speaker 1: test lay ahead, because Napoleon had to face the Mamelukes,
Speaker 1: the mounted warrior elite who still ruled from Cairo. Marching
Speaker 1: south along the Nile, the French endured thirst, mirages, and
Speaker 1: ambushes at Embabe, across the river from Cairo, Murad Bay
Speaker 1: and Ibraham By gathered some sixty thousand men, many of
Speaker 1: the magnificent horsemen glittering in silk and gold. On July
Speaker 1: the twenty first, seventeen ninety eight, under the burning Egyptian sun,
Speaker 1: Napoleon formed his troops into a massive hollow square, each
Speaker 1: bristling with cannon and muskets. He told his soldiers, from
Speaker 1: the summit of these pyramids forty centuries looked down upon you.
Speaker 1: It was pure theater. I guess what, folks, It worked.
Speaker 1: The Mamlukes charged again and again, their horses crashing into
Speaker 1: walls of discipline fire. Within hours their army broke, the
Speaker 1: Nile ran red, and thousands lay dead. The battle was
Speaker 1: won by geometry, wrote one French officer. Cairo surrendered soon
Speaker 1: after Napoleon entered the city. As both conqueror and reformer.
Speaker 1: He promised respect for Islam, attended prayers at Al Hazar,
Speaker 1: and issued proclamation declaring that the French were quote true
Speaker 1: friends of the prophet. But his enlightenment zeal baffled the Egyptians.
Speaker 1: One proclamation he wrote announced to people of Egypt, I
Speaker 1: am more a Muslim than the Mamelukes. Few believed him.
Speaker 1: While Napoleon celebrated in Cairo, disaster approached from the sea.
Speaker 1: The French fleet had anchored at Abukir Bay near Alexandria
Speaker 1: to guard the coast, but Admiral Bruce made a fatal mistake.
Speaker 1: He assumed that the British, led by Horatio Nelson, would
Speaker 1: not dare to attack in the narrow waters between the
Speaker 1: shore and the French line. On the evening of August first,
Speaker 1: seventeen ninety eight, Nelson struck in a brilliantly executed as
Speaker 1: so the British ships slipped between the French fleet and
Speaker 1: the shore, raking their enemy with broadsides from both sides.
Speaker 1: The battle lasted through the night. The Mediterranean lit by
Speaker 1: the burning flagship Leorient, which exploded in a column of
Speaker 1: fire visible for miles. When dawn came, the French navy
Speaker 1: was shattered. Only two total ships escaped. Nelson reportedly triumphantly
Speaker 1: reported back to London, quote, Bonaparte's army is stranded, his
Speaker 1: hopes of empire are buried in the sea. He wasn't
Speaker 1: quite right on that part, But all that being said,
Speaker 1: Napoleon was in fact now kind of stranded in Egypt,
Speaker 1: cut off from France, really, with no way to return.
Speaker 1: Isolated but unbroken, Napoleon turned to the task of governing.
Speaker 1: He reorganized Egypt's taxation, established hospitals, and founded an Institute
Speaker 1: of Egypt for his various scientific savants, and began mapping, measuring,
Speaker 1: and cataloging the country. The scholars produced a monumental survey
Speaker 1: of ancient monuments in natural history, later published as The
Speaker 1: Descripton de Egypt, one of the Enlightenment's greatest works. But
Speaker 1: for the Egyptians, French rule meant conscription, heavy taxes, and sacrilege.
Speaker 1: In October seventeen ninety eight, Cairo erupted in revolt. The
Speaker 1: mob massacred French soldiers and local collaborators. Napoleon responded with
Speaker 1: brutal efficiency. His troops stormed the Alazar Mosque, executed the insurgents,
Speaker 1: and shelled parts of the city. The people must learn,
Speaker 1: he told his officers that we are stronger than the Mamelukes,
Speaker 1: stronger than the Turks, stronger than the fanatics 'uring an
Speaker 1: Ottoman counter attack, Napoleon decided to strike first. In February
Speaker 1: seventeen ninety nine, he led thirteen thousand men across the
Speaker 1: Sayinai Peninsula into Syria modern day Israel and Palestine, intending
Speaker 1: to seize Oker and then march on Constantinople itself. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: it was a march quite literally through hell. The troops
Speaker 1: trudged through burning sand and freezing rain, short on food
Speaker 1: and water. At Jaffa, they stormed the city and massacred
Speaker 1: several thousand captured Ottoman troops. Napoleon justified it as a necessity.
Speaker 1: He couldn't feed them. One soldier wrote, it was a
Speaker 1: terrible example, but perhaps a necessary one. At Ocher, however,
Speaker 1: his luck ran out. The fortress was defended by an
Speaker 1: Ottoman governor, de Zez Pasha and supplied by the British
Speaker 1: navy under commodore Sidney Smith repeated French assault failed. Disease
Speaker 1: ravaged the camp, especially the plague. Napoleon himself visited the
Speaker 1: hospital at Jaffa, a scene immortalized in Antoine Jean Gross's
Speaker 1: later painting Napoleon visiting the plague victims at Jaffa. Whether
Speaker 1: he actually touched the sick and courage or posed for
Speaker 1: effect remains uncertain. In May seventeen ninety nine, after two
Speaker 1: months of futile siege, Napoleon ordered a retreat. Fortune, he
Speaker 1: would later write, bitterly has turned against me, only for
Speaker 1: a moment. Back in Egypt, Napoleon defeated an Ottoman landing
Speaker 1: at Abukir in July seventeen ninety nine, a brief return
Speaker 1: to triumph, but the strategic situation had decisively changed. France
Speaker 1: was at war again in Europe, and the directory, as
Speaker 1: we'll see in a moment, was collapsing. The general realized
Speaker 1: that his destiny lay not in Cairo, but back in Paris.
Speaker 1: On August the twenty second, seventeen ninety nine, leaving the
Speaker 1: army in the hands of General Clebert, Napoleon secretly boarded
Speaker 1: the frigate Marion. He sailed past the British blockade under
Speaker 1: cover of darkness, and reached France in October. His sudden appearances,
Speaker 1: we'll see, electrified the nation now. The Egyptian army that
Speaker 1: he left behind was less fortunate. Cleavert was assassinated in
Speaker 1: eighteen hundred. His successor, General Mineau, surrendered to the British
Speaker 1: and Ottomans in eighteen oh one. The remnants of the
Speaker 1: French expedition returned home under British ex court. Militarily, the
Speaker 1: Egyptian campaign was a failure. France lost its fleet, its army,
Speaker 1: and its hold on the East, but the intellectual and
Speaker 1: cultural consequences were immense. The sciences that Napoleon had taken
Speaker 1: with him carried out one of the first modern scientific
Speaker 1: studies of an ancient civilization. Their discoveries, especially the Rosetta Stone,
Speaker 1: found in seventeen ninety nine near Rosetta, Egypt by a
Speaker 1: French officer, would later enable the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Speaker 1: For Napoleon himself, Egypt had become part of his legend.
Speaker 1: He had not conquered the Orient, but he had brought science,
Speaker 1: reason and ambition to its lands. He left behind pyramids,
Speaker 1: and ruins, bathed in the light of a new mythology,
Speaker 1: the image of Bonaparte not just the general, but a
Speaker 1: modern day Alexander. As he would later reflect, when he
Speaker 1: was in exile from the heights of the Pyramids, I
Speaker 1: first saw the world vast, silent, and full of promise.
Speaker 1: But of course, back in France, things remained tenuous. In
Speaker 1: the summer of seventeen ninety seven, back then, the French
Speaker 1: Revolution and Republic, secured for the first time in years,
Speaker 1: seemed perfect. Its armies, once starving and mutinism, were victorious.
Speaker 1: As we know. Back then, Bonaparte had already humbled Austria
Speaker 1: and northern Italy, But inside France the revolution continued to
Speaker 1: teeter on a knife's edge. The elections in the spring
Speaker 1: of seventeen ninety seven brought a royalist resurgence into the
Speaker 1: councils of legislature, men who spoke of reconciliation but in
Speaker 1: reality wanted a royal restoration. Their newspapers mocked the Republic's
Speaker 1: ideals and whispered of a constitutional monarchy under Louis the eighteenth.
Speaker 1: To the directors who governed France, this was treason, and
Speaker 1: so the stage had now been set domestically for another
Speaker 1: act of revolutionary self defense or self destruction, whichever way
Speaker 1: you want to look at it. On September the fourth,
Speaker 1: seventeen ninety seven, General Pierre Aguiro, a loyal ally of
Speaker 1: Napoleon Bonaparte, surrounded the Tuleery Palace with troops at dawn,
Speaker 1: entered the legislative chambers and arrested the Royalist leaders, the
Speaker 1: director of Francois buffal May, the veteran general Jean Charles Pergat,
Speaker 1: and dozens of deputies, accused of all conspiring against the Republic.
Speaker 1: And we've heard that before. As cannon stood in the courtyards,
Speaker 1: Aziro's proclamation declared, quote, the Republic is one and indivisible,
Speaker 1: Woe to conspirators who seek to betray it. End quote.
Speaker 1: You could have literally taken that quotation from Robespierre himself.
Speaker 1: But it was in every sense not a restoration, not
Speaker 1: a refreshing, nothing that was going to cleanse the republic.
Speaker 1: This was a coup d'etas. It was carried out not
Speaker 1: by monarchists but by republicans against their own elected legislature.
Speaker 1: The Directory justified the action as a defense against the
Speaker 1: return of kings, but it violated the very constitution it
Speaker 1: claimed to preserve. The next day, September the fifth, the
Speaker 1: intimidated councils obediently just ratified the purge that had already
Speaker 1: been carried out. They annulled the elections of more than
Speaker 1: two hundred royal deputies from fifty three departments, and ordered
Speaker 1: the deportation of sixty five leading Royalist politicians and journalists
Speaker 1: to Guiana. Barthaay was removed from the Directory, and Carneault,
Speaker 1: who had refused to condone the coup, fled into exile.
Speaker 1: In their place, the Council elected two more firm Republicans.
Speaker 1: The balance of power in Paris had shifted again. The
Speaker 1: Directory was now a military backed oligarchy, ruling by the
Speaker 1: Bayonets of Aguau and the distant victories of Bonaparte. It
Speaker 1: would soon learn that such power carried both strength and danger.
Speaker 1: Now all this was going on in Paris. This was
Speaker 1: while Bonaparte was still in Italy, and honestly, his army,
Speaker 1: more than any other decree by the Directory, secured the
Speaker 1: Republic's fate. He watched sort of in fascination, and later remarked,
Speaker 1: if I had been in Paris, the coup would not
Speaker 1: have been so bloodless. Bonaparte quietly supported everything that was
Speaker 1: going on through Aguirero, but he resented the director's meddling.
Speaker 1: His victories made the Republic rich. Now he demanded that
Speaker 1: they use them to make it secure. Of course, the
Speaker 1: Army of Italy still faced the Habsburg, so there was
Speaker 1: a long way to go. At the same time, on
Speaker 1: the September the twenty third, the Directory rewarded Aguiro by
Speaker 1: giving him command of a new army of the Rhine.
Speaker 1: A sense of gratitude and exile combined. Meanwhile, Bonaparte was
Speaker 1: ordered to conclude peace on Austria when the most advantageous
Speaker 1: terms possible, and if the Austrians refused, well, then the
Speaker 1: Director said he was to march on Vienna himself, which
Speaker 1: of course he did, resulting in the Treaty of Campo Formio,
Speaker 1: the first great diplomatic triumph of the French Revolution. It
Speaker 1: was around the same time that Buonaparte eliminated the ancient
Speaker 1: Republic of Venice, which he wrote simply has ceased to exist,
Speaker 1: and the treaty confirmed what everybody now understood. France's conquests
Speaker 1: were no longer the people's victories. These were Bonapartes victories.
Speaker 1: The Directory hailed him as the savior of Europe. He
Speaker 1: privately dismissed them as just simply mediocre. He told his
Speaker 1: secretary quote, the pair is ripe, and I saw soon
Speaker 1: take the tree now. In December seventeen ninety seven, anti
Speaker 1: French riots also broke out in Rome, after months of
Speaker 1: tension between the papal government and the French embassy that
Speaker 1: was stationed there. A mob, inflamed by rumors that the
Speaker 1: French sought to kidnap the Pope, attacked the Palazzio Corsini,
Speaker 1: the residence of the French ambassador Joseph Bonaparte. In the chaos,
Speaker 1: General Mutine Dunhaupe, a French officer and aide to the ambassador,
Speaker 1: was killed, probably accidentally by Papal soldiers. The Pope Pious
Speaker 1: the sixth hastened to apologize, but the Directory rejected his
Speaker 1: plea and demanded vengeance Rome. They decided had to play
Speaker 1: for the blood of a Frenchman. The French legislation on
Speaker 1: January the fifth, seventeen ninety eight, authorized an emergency loan
Speaker 1: of eighty million francs to fund quote expeditions necessary for
Speaker 1: the safety of the republic. The language was vague, but
Speaker 1: the meaning was clear. A campaign of vengeance was coming,
Speaker 1: and so on January eleventh, the Directory ordered General Luis Berthaer,
Speaker 1: one of Bonaparte's most capable lieutenant, to march on the
Speaker 1: city of Rome. The radical press back in Paris declared,
Speaker 1: let the thunder of France make the Tiara tremble. Bonaparte,
Speaker 1: though still in Italy, saw an opportunity. If he could
Speaker 1: seize control over central Italy, he could complete the cordon
Speaker 1: of French satellite republics that now stretched from the Alps
Speaker 1: to the Adriatic. Meanwhile, in Paris, a larger vision started
Speaker 1: to take shape. As we talked about previously, Charles Maurice
Speaker 1: de Tallyrand, the smooth and worldly Foreign Minister, started to
Speaker 1: lay the groundwork for endaring an ambitious project, the French
Speaker 1: Ambitious Expedition to Egypt. The goal, of course, was to
Speaker 1: strike at Britain in directly by cutting off the trade
Speaker 1: with India. And as we know, that's exactly what Bonaparte
Speaker 1: is going to attempt to do. Now, Wow, this was
Speaker 1: all going on on February tenth, seventeen ninety eight, birth
Speaker 1: Year's army did enter Rome unopposed. Five days later, he
Speaker 1: proclaimed the creation of the Roman Republic, modeled after the French,
Speaker 1: with liberty trees planted in the Piazza de Popolio and
Speaker 1: papal arms torn down. Pius the sixth was then taken prisoner,
Speaker 1: eventually dying in exile in the next year, the first
Speaker 1: pope in centuries to be a captive of a foreign power.
Speaker 1: North of the Alps, France's revolution spread quickly, now into Switzerland.
Speaker 1: The Vaud region, long restive under the rule of the Bernice,
Speaker 1: declared its independence on January the twenty fourth, with French encouragement.
Speaker 1: The Directory promptly ordered its troops to support the rebels
Speaker 1: in the region, and so by early March, French forces
Speaker 1: had entered Berne itself, looting its treasury and now extinguishing
Speaker 1: the old Swiss Confederation. Now there was a new Helbenic Republic,
Speaker 1: which was proclaimed on March the twenty second, a secularized,
Speaker 1: centralized state, replacing the patchwork of cantons that had endured
Speaker 1: honestly since the Middle Ages. And that's really one of
Speaker 1: the big takeaways of the Napoleonic period. All of these
Speaker 1: old holdovers from the Middle Ages. They're all just being
Speaker 1: wiped away in the matter of less than a couple
Speaker 1: of years. One Swiss patriot was happy about it, writing,
Speaker 1: liberty has crossed the Alps. Unfortunately, though for many French
Speaker 1: liberty arrived on French bayonets, and so by the spring
Speaker 1: the map of Europe shimmered with tons of new republics.
Speaker 1: There were cis, Alpine republics, Ligurian republics, Helvetic republics, Roman republics,
Speaker 1: all born in the shadow of Bonapartes France. Yet, of course,
Speaker 1: even as Bonaparte reshaped the continent, he turned towards Egypt,
Speaker 1: which we know ultimately didn't work, though in reality it
Speaker 1: was a decent plan. The reality was Europe was changing
Speaker 1: and changing quickly. Even as Bonaparte ruled and then evacuated
Speaker 1: himself from the Nile River, Europe continued to slip towards war.
Speaker 1: There was an Irish uprising that flared up in May,
Speaker 1: which was crushed by the British at Vinegar Hill in July,
Speaker 1: but small French expeditions still tried to aid the Irish cause.
Speaker 1: On August, the twenty second General Umbert landed with a
Speaker 1: token force of a thousand men at Calaia, a northwestern
Speaker 1: province of Ireland. Miraculously, he defeated a much larger British
Speaker 1: army at Castlebar five days later and proclaimed the Irish
Speaker 1: Republic born, just as the French had declared so many
Speaker 1: other republics born. This time. The success was fleeting surrounded
Speaker 1: at Ballamock on September the ninth, Umbert surrendered. A second expedition,
Speaker 1: sailing from Brest on September the sixteenth, was wrecked by
Speaker 1: stormed and captured by the Royal Navy. At home, the
Speaker 1: Directory continued to face massive amounts of unrest. Peasants in
Speaker 1: the south of France rose in royalist revolt that same September,
Speaker 1: quickly crushed by government troops. To maintain its armies, the
Speaker 1: Directory decreed the Jardains Law on September the fifth, imposing
Speaker 1: universal conscription on all young men between twenty and twenty five,
Speaker 1: the first ever modern draft. The law declared every Frenchman
Speaker 1: is a soldier and owes himself to the defense of
Speaker 1: the nation. In Belgium, annexed as a French territory, a
Speaker 1: peasant insurrection irrupted in October, provoked by forced conscription and
Speaker 1: anti clerical measures. The revolt was drowned in blood. French
Speaker 1: troops massacred the rebels and has set in early December,
Speaker 1: and hundreds of priests were deported to the interior. But
Speaker 1: these were all symptoms of a bigger problem. The French Republic,
Speaker 1: exhaust rusted by war and repression, now ruled through fear
Speaker 1: and taxation. In November, desperate for revenue, the directors imposed
Speaker 1: new taxes, even on doors and windows, and sought new
Speaker 1: loans to fund its ever growing armies. Abroad, enemies continued
Speaker 1: to gather. On November sixteenth, Austria and Britain signed a
Speaker 1: new accord to restore the seventeen eighty nine frontiers of France.
Speaker 1: This is the beginning of the Second Coalition. Within weeks, Russia, Naples,
Speaker 1: and the Ottoman Empire would join them, and so by
Speaker 1: the end of the year the French Republic was again
Speaker 1: encircled in Italy. King Ferdinand the fourth of Naples, encouraged
Speaker 1: by the victory of Nelson's fleet off the coast of
Speaker 1: Alexandria and by British ambassador Lady Hamilton, declared war on
Speaker 1: France and marched north toward Rome. But the Neapolitan army
Speaker 1: collapsed in panic before the veterans of the Republic. On
Speaker 1: December sixth, the French general Champonet crushed the Royalists and
Speaker 1: drove them back to Naples. By December the fourteenth, his
Speaker 1: forces re entered Rome, restoring the Roman Republic. One week later,
Speaker 1: on December the twenty first, they assaulted Naples, forcing Ferdinand
Speaker 1: to flee aboard Horatio Nelson's flagship. The Directory for the
Speaker 1: moment seemed victorious again, but the victory was hollow. Just
Speaker 1: before the start of seventeen ninety nine. On December the
Speaker 1: twenty ninth, seventeen ninety eight, the Alliance of Britain, Russia
Speaker 1: and Naples formally signed the treaty that will create the
Speaker 1: Second Coalition, a league of monarchies pledged to the destruction
Speaker 1: of the French Republic, and so across Europe armies mobilized.
Speaker 1: Danger was everywhere, and Napoleon slipped free of the blockade
Speaker 1: in Egypt and was on his way home. And this
Speaker 1: is the pen ultimate moment of the French Republic, because
Speaker 1: next time the revolution ends and the age of Bonaparte
Speaker 1: truly begins.