Louis Gustave le Doulcet, comte de Pontécoulant
Encyclopedia
Louis Gustave le Doulcet, comte
de Pontécoulant
(17 November 1764 – 3 April 1853) was a French
politician. He was the father of Louis Adolphe le Doulcet
and Philippe Gustave le Doulcet
.
on the 1764, he began a military career with the Compagnie Écossaise of the Garde du corps du Roi in 1778, becoming Lieutenant Colonel
in 1791. A moderate supporter of the French Revolution
, he was elected to the National Convention
for the départment of Calvados
in 1792, and became commissioner with the Army of the North
during the French Revolutionary Wars
.
He voted for the imprisonment of King Louis XVI
during the war, and his banishment
after the peace. He then attached himself to the Girondist
s, voting in favor of Jean-Paul Marat
's prosecution, and was consequently declared an enemy of the people
in August 1793, being pursued by the Reign of Terror
and taking refuge to Switzerland
.
In July, he had refused to defend his fellow Normand
and Girondist Charlotte Corday
, the assassin of Marat, who wrote him a letter of reproach on her way to the guillotine
.
on 8 March 1795, and was noted for his moderation, especially after defending Prieur de la Marne
and Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet
. President of the Convention in July 1795, he was for some months a member of the Council of Public Safety
.
Doulcet was subsequently elected to the French Directory
's Council of Five Hundred
, but was suspected of Royalist
sympathies, and had to spend some time in retirement between anti-monarchist coup of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797) and the establishment of the Consulate
(the 18 Brumaire coup
of 9 November 1799).
in 1805, and count
of the Empire in 1808, he organized the national guard in Franche-Comté
in 1811, and the defence of the north-eastern frontier in 1813.
During the 1814 Bourbon Restoration
, Louis XVIII
made him a Peer of France
, and although he received a similar honor from Napoleon
during the Hundred Days
, he remained in the upper house after the return of the king. He died in Paris
, leaving memoirs and correspondence from which were extracted four volumes (1861–1865) of Souvenirs historiques et parlementaires, 1764-1848.
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 Pontécoulant
Pontécoulant
Pontécoulant is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
(17 November 1764 – 3 April 1853) 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. He was the father of Louis Adolphe le Doulcet
Louis Adolphe le Doulcet, comte de Pontécoulant
Louis Adolphe le Doulcet, comte de Pontécoulant was a French soldier and musicologist. He was the son of Louis Gustave le Doulcet, comte de Pontécoulant and the older brother of Philippe Gustave le Doulcet....
and Philippe Gustave le Doulcet
Philippe Gustave le Doulcet, Comte de Pontécoulant
Philippe Gustave Doulcet, Comte de Pontécoulant was a French astronomer.He was the younger son of Louis Gustave le Doulcet, Comte de Pontécoulant and was the brother of Louis-Adolphe Pontécoulant. After 1811 he served in the army until 1849...
.
Early life and National Convention
Born in CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
on the 1764, he began a military career with the Compagnie Écossaise of the Garde du corps du Roi in 1778, becoming Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in 1791. A moderate supporter 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...
, he was elected to the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
for the départment of Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
in 1792, and became commissioner with the Army of the North
French Revolutionary Army
The French Revolutionary Army is the term used to refer to the military of France during the period between the fall of the ancien regime under Louis XVI in 1792 and the formation of the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary...
during the French Revolutionary Wars
French 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...
.
He voted for the imprisonment of King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
during the war, and his banishment
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
after the peace. He then attached himself to the Girondist
Girondist
The Girondists were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution...
s, voting in favor of Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat , born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution...
's prosecution, and was consequently declared an enemy of the people
Enemy of the people
The term enemy of the people is a fluid designation of political or class opponents of the group using the term. The term implies that the "enemies" in question are acting against society as a whole. It is similar to the notion of "enemy of the state". The term originated in Roman times as ,...
in August 1793, being pursued by 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 taking refuge to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
In July, he had refused to defend his fellow Normand
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
and Girondist Charlotte Corday
Charlotte Corday
Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont , known to history as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was executed under the guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, who was in part responsible, through his role as a politician and...
, the assassin of Marat, who wrote him a letter of reproach on her way to the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
.
Thermidor and Directory
He returned to the Thermidorian ConventionThermidorian 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...
on 8 March 1795, and was noted for his moderation, especially after defending Prieur de la Marne
Pierre Louis Prieur
Pierre Louis Prieur was a French politician.-Biography:Born in Sommesous , Prieur practised as a lawyer at Châlons-sur-Marne until 1789, when he was elected to the States-General...
and Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet
Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet
Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet was a French politician of the Revolutionary period. His brother, Robert Thomas Lindet, became a constitutional bishop and member of the National Convention...
. President of the Convention in July 1795, he was for some months a member of the Council of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
.
Doulcet was subsequently elected to the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
's Council of Five Hundred
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred , or simply the Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France during the period commonly known as the Directory , from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the...
, but was suspected of 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...
sympathies, and had to spend some time in retirement between anti-monarchist coup of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797) and the establishment of the Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
(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...
of 9 November 1799).
Empire and Restoration
Becoming senator of the First French EmpireFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
in 1805, and count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of the Empire in 1808, he organized the national guard in Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
in 1811, and the defence of the north-eastern frontier in 1813.
During 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...
, Louis XVIII
Louis 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...
made him a Peer of France
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
, and although he received a similar honor from Napoleon
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...
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...
, he remained in the upper house after the return of the king. He died 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...
, leaving memoirs and correspondence from which were extracted four volumes (1861–1865) of Souvenirs historiques et parlementaires, 1764-1848.