Alexandre Rousselin de Saint-Albin
Encyclopedia
Alexander Charles Omer Rousselin de Corbeau, comte
de Saint Albin (1773—1847) was a French
politician.
, of an aristocratic
family from the Dauphiné
, Rousselin de Saint-Albin was educated at the Collège d'Harcourt. He embraced the ideas of the French Revolution
with enthusiasm, sympathised with the Jacobin Club
, and later edited the journal Feuille du salut public. As civil commissioner in Troyes
, he was accused of by some of enforcing the Reign of Terror
, and by the Revolutionary Tribunal
of being a moderate, and he was imprisoned for a short time in 1794.
On his release from the Citoyen during the Thermidorian Reaction
, Rousselin held offices in the Ministry of the Interior, and under the Directory
he became secretary-general, and then civil commissioner of the Seine
département. Attached to the party of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
, he was looked on with suspicion by the police of the First French Empire
, and during the later years of the Empire spent his time in retirement at Provence
. During the Hundred Days
, however, he served under Lazare Carnot
at the Ministry of the Interior.
Under the Bourbon Restoration
he defended Liberal
principles in the Constitutionnel, of which he was the founder. Although Louis Philippe
had been his friend since the days of 1789, he accepted no office from the July Monarchy
. He retired from the Constitutionnel in 1838, and died on nine years later.
:
Comte
Comte is a title of Catalan, Occitan and French nobility. In the English language, the title is equivalent to count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl...
de Saint Albin (1773—1847) 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...
politician.
Biography
Born in ParisParis
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...
, of an aristocratic
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...
family from the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
, Rousselin de Saint-Albin was educated at the Collège d'Harcourt. He embraced the ideas of the French Revolution
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...
with enthusiasm, sympathised with the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
, and later edited the journal Feuille du salut public. As civil commissioner in Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, he was accused of by some of enforcing the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, and by the Revolutionary Tribunal
Revolutionary Tribunal
The Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....
of being a moderate, and he was imprisoned for a short time in 1794.
On his release from the Citoyen during the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
, Rousselin held offices in the Ministry of the Interior, and under the Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
he became secretary-general, and then civil commissioner of the Seine
Seine (département)
Seine was a département of France encompassing Paris and its immediate suburbs. Its préfecture was Paris and its official number was 75. The Seine département was abolished in 1968 and its territory divided among four new départements....
département. Attached to the party of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
Charles XIV John of Sweden
Charles XIV & III John, also Carl John, Swedish and Norwegian: Karl Johan was King of Sweden and King of Norway from 1818 until his death...
, he was looked on with suspicion by the police of the First 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...
, and during the later years of the Empire spent his time in retirement at Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. During 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...
, however, he served under Lazare Carnot
Lazare Carnot
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot , the Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars, was a French politician, engineer, and mathematician.-Education and early life:...
at the Ministry of the Interior.
Under the 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...
he defended Liberal
Liberalism
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,...
principles in the Constitutionnel, of which he was the founder. Although Louis Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
had been his friend since the days of 1789, he accepted no office from the 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...
. He retired from the Constitutionnel in 1838, and died on nine years later.
Works
His chief literary works deal with the soldiers of the French Revolutionary WarsFrench Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
:
- Vie de Lazare HocheLazare HocheLouis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army.Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises...
, général des armées de la République française (2 vols., 1798) - Notice historique sur le général MarbotJean-Baptiste-Antoine-Marcelin, Baron de MarbotJean Baptiste Antoine Marcellin Marbot , French soldier, son of General Jean Antoine Marbot , who died in the defence of Genoa under Masséna, was born at La Riviere ....
(1800); M. de Championnel (1860) - notices of others were posthumously published by his son, Hortensius de Saint Albin, as Documents relatifs à la Revolution Française (1873).