Jacques-Antoine Manuel
Encyclopedia
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...
lawyer, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and noted orator.
Biography
Jacques-Antoine Manuel was born in the hamlet of La Conchette, in EnchastrayesEnchastrayes
Enchastrayes is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.The Enciastraia mountain is located in the communal territory, on the boundary with Piedmont, part of northern Italy.-Population:-References:*...
(Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a French department in the south of France, it was formerly part of the province of Provence.- History :Nord-de-Provence was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
), near Barcelonette. His family included judges and attorneys who had established careers in the Ubaye Valley
Ubaye Valley
The Ubaye Valley is an area in the Alpes de Haute-Provence département, in the French Alps and has approximately 7,700 residents. Its residents are called Ubayens. Its chief town is the sous-préfecture of Barcelonnette....
. At age seventeen, he joined the army, soon becoming an officer. He fought in the Italian campaigns under Napoleon Bonaparte, notably in the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole
Battle of the Bridge of Arcole
The Battle of Arcole, or Battle of Arcola saw a bold manœuvre by Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy to outflank the Austrian army under József Alvinczi and cut its line of retreat...
where he was wounded ending his military career.
Manuel returned to civilian life in 1797 and practiced law. In 1814, he was chosen a member of the Chamber of Representatives, and in 1815 he urged the claim of Napoleon's son
Napoleon II of France
Napoléon II , after 1818 known as Franz, Duke of Reichstadt, was the son of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and his second wife, Marie Louise of Austria...
to the French throne and protested against the restoration of the Bourbons. After this event, he actively opposed the government, his eloquence making him the foremost orator among the members of the Left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
.
In February 1823, his opposition to the French march into Spain (the Spanish Expedition) to help Ferdinand VII against his rebellious subjects produced tumult in the Assembly. In his opposition to the French invasion, Manuel implied (although he was unable to finish speaking because he was shouted down) that the Spanish king would be in a similar position as Louis XVI had been during the Revolution, and a cornered Spanish people might react by executing Ferdinand. He meant it as a warning against intervention, but was accused of levying a "defense of regicide." In an illegal interpretation of legislative rules Manuel was expelled by the ultraroyalist majority in the Chambers, but he refused to accept this censure, and force was employed to physically remove him.
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
in his famously scathing work, "Les Châtiments
Les Châtiments
Les Châtiments is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo that fiercely attack the grandeur of Napoléon III's Second Empire.- Historical background :...
" ("Castigations").
Manuel died in 1827 at age 51. His funeral cortege was followed by tens of thousands of mourners on the way to his burial at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Pierre-Jean de Béranger
Pierre-Jean de Béranger
Pierre-Jean de Béranger was a prolific French poet and chansonnier , who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity in the decades following his death...
, the celebrated songwriter, was buried beside him 30 years later.