Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta (; 11 November 1771 – 20 July 1851) was a French general, diplomat, and politician, who served as Naval Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of State under the July Monarchy.
Having joined the French Revolutionary Army in his youth, Sébastiani rose through its ranks before becoming a supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte. Sébastiani was the French Consulate's emissary to The Levant, notably drafting plans to reconquer Ottoman Egypt, and later served as the Empire's Ambassador to The Porte. In the latter capacity, he attempted to increase French influence and signaled pro-Russian activities in the Danubian Principalities, thus provoking the War of 1806–1812. In 1807, Sébastiani organized the defense of Constantinople during the Dardanelles operation. Recalled due to British pressure after the deposition of Selim III, he served in the Peninsular War and resided in the Alhambra, took part in the unsuccessful invasion of Russia, and defended the Champagne region in front of the Sixth Coalition.
Sébastiani recognized the Bourbon Restoration, but rallied with Napoleon during the Hundred Days, being elected to the Chamber for the first time in 1815. Briefly exiled after the return of King Louis XVIII, he was again admitted as a Deputy in 1819, sitting with the Left faction, supporting liberal politics, and coming into conflict with the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle Cabinet. After the July Revolution, he endorsed Louis Philippe I. Sébastiani's time as Foreign Minister saw France's involvement in the Belgian Revolution, its refusal to sanction the November Uprising, the controversial solution to a commercial dispute with the United States, and the French occupation of Ancona. In later years, he progressed in French Government service as an ambassador.
The 1847 murder of his daughter, Françoise, Duchess de Praslin indirectly helped spark the 1848 Revolution.
Early life Born in La Porta, Corsica, Sébastiani was the son of a tailor "Horace Sébastiani", in Charles Mullié, Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850 (wikisource) and well-to-do craftsman,Germain Sarrut, Biographie des Hommes du Jour, H. Krabe, Paris, 1835, p.237 the nephew of Louis Sébastiani de La Porta, a Roman Catholic priest who was later Bishop of Ajaccio,Pierre François Marie Massey de Tyronne, Biographie des députés de la Chambre septennale de 1824 à 1830, J.-G. Dentu, Paris, 1826, p.566–571 and probably a distant relative of the Bonapartes."Marshal Sebastiani. Obituary", in The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. XXXVI, John Bowyer Nichols and Son, London, 1851, p.537–538David Turnbull, The French Revolution of 1830, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London, 1830, p.370–372 Horace Sébastiani had a brother, Tiburce, who rose to the rank of Maréchal de Camp. François Buloz, "Chronique de la quinzaine - 14 avril 1835" , in Revue des Deux Mondes, Tome 2, 1835 (wikisource) Initially destined for a religious career, he left his native island during the French Revolution, and entered the army in 1792. "Sébastiani, Horace François de la Porta", in Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 1888 edition, retrieved 5 May 2007 Briefly dispatched as a secretary to Conte Raffaele Cadorna in Casablanca, Sébastiani participated in the Revolutionary Wars, including campaigns in Corsica, 1793, the Alps, 1794–1797, and at the Battle of Marengo, 1800. Having served as an officer in the 9th Dragoon Regiment, he was promoted to colonel in 1799."Sebastiani, Horace", in Encyclopedia Americana, Vol.XI, B. B. Mussey & Co., Boston, 1851, p.298–299
Sébastiani joined Lucien Bonaparte's entourage, and endorsed Napoleon's political actions, taking an active part in the 18 Brumaire coup (9 November 1799). "Lettres sur les hommes d'état de France - Le Général Horace Sébastiani", in Revue des Deux Mondes, Tome 4, 1833 (wikisource) In 1802, the Consulate sent him on his first diplomatic assignments in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Egypt, and other parts of The Levant. Among his first actions were the settlement of a conflict between Sweden and the Barbary State of Tripoli, as well as obtaining the latter's agreement to recognize the Italian Republic.
Mission to Egypt and 1805 Campaign Sébastiani negotiated with the British military commanders in the aftermath of the French invasion of Egypt (1798), asking them to abide by the newly signed Treaty of Amiens and withdraw from Alexandria; following this he met with Ottoman officials in Cairo, unsuccessfully offering to mediate between them and rebellious beys (see Muhammad Ali's seizure of power). In late 1802, he traveled to Akka, and negotiated a trade agreement with the local pasha.
During this period, Sébastiani theorized that, despite Egyptian Campaign's failure, the French could yet again establish their control over the region.Jeremy Black, From Louis XIV to Napoleon: the Fate of a Great Power, Routledge, London, 1999, p.183Edward Ingram, Empire-Building and Empire-Builders: Twelve Studies, Routledge, London, 1995, p.95–96 He publicized this view in a report, published by Le Moniteur Universel on 30 January 1803, posing a threat for both British and Russian interests; this probably contributed to deescalating relations between the latter two over the prolonged British presence in Malta, with Henry Addington's Cabinet indicating that British troops would remain as long as France held designs to invade Egypt.
Returning to France, he was put in charge of the littoral from the mouth of the Vilaine (in Morbihan) to Brest, before, in 1804, being despatched on a short mission to the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna. Promoted Brigadier-General in 1803, he commanded Grande Armée troops during the Battle of Ulm. After leading a successful attack on Günzburg, Sébastiani followed the Austrians into Moravia (1805), having been promoted Général de division after the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, where he was wounded.
Embassy to Selim III
Appointed French Ambassador to The Porte on 12 April 1806, and gaining his post on 10 August,Alastair Hamilton, Maurits H. van den Boogert, Alexander H. de Groot, Friends and Rivals in the East: Studies in Anglo-Dutch Relations in The Levant from the Seventeenth Century to the Early Nineteenth Century, Brill Publishers, Leiden, 2000, p.231 he attempted to convince Sultan Selim III to exclude the Royal Navy from access through the Dardanelles. According to a biographical essay published by the Revue des Deux Mondes in 1833, Sébastiani faced almost universal hostility from the anti-French diplomatic corps—whose opinions were influenced by the Russian Count Andrei Yakovlevich Budberg and the British Ambassador Charles Arbuthnot. The same article claimed: "France had for its allies only the envoys of Spain and Holland". Among Horace Sébastiani's moves to enlist Ottoman support for Napoleon was the establishment of a printing press in Constantinople, which published works of French literature translated into Turkish and Arabic.
Sébastiani persuaded the Ottomans to take a stand against Russia after bringing attention to the anti-Ottoman conspiracy in Wallachia, formed around Prince Constantine Ypsilantis, as well as to the suspicious policies of Moldavia's Prince Alexander Mourousis.Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995, p.284, 340–341 Ion Ghica, Scrisori către Vasile Alecsandri: "Polcovnicul Ioniţă Ceganu"; "Din timpul zaverii" (wikisource) According to the aristocratic Wallachian memoirist and politician Ion Ghica, Selim "followed the advice of General Sébastiani, who tried to bring him to Napoleon's side", and saw a connection between Ypsilantis and the Serbian Uprising:
The conflict itself started when Russia considered Ypsilantis' deposition to go against the letter of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and the Treaty of Jassy. While the Russian Count and Ambassador Arbuthnot prepared to leave Constantinople, The Porte convened to have the two Princes reinstated. Despite this, Russian troops under General Ivan Michelson and Count Mikhail Miloradovich entered the two Danubian Principalities (see Russo-Turkish War (1806–12)). Prince Ypsilantis had previously escaped to the Russian camp, and was briefly considered by his allies as ruler over both principalities (just before Russian occupation took over); the French Consul to Moldavia, Charles-Frédéric Reinhard, reportedly not informed of Sébastiani's contacts with Selim, was arrested by the Russian troops. As a major consequence of this chain of events, France pulled the strings of Ottoman foreign policy.
During the Anglo-Turkish War in 1807, Sébastiani helped the Ottomans during the Dardanelles operation off Constantinople by a British squadron under Admiral John Duckworth. The operation, occurring at a time when the local Muslim population was celebrating Eid al-Adha, was met with panic, and Sébastiani's group of French military officers was soon the only organized force present on the defending side. In his messages to Selim, Duckworth asked for the French ambassador to be removed, for the Ottoman Navy and the Dardanelles military facilities to be handed over, and for Russia to be granted rule over Wallachia and Moldavia. The Sultan sent envoys requesting Sébastiani to leave Ottoman territory, but the French ambassador explained that he would not do so until being ordered by Selim himself.
As the matter was being debated, Janissary forces on the Anatolian shore organized themselves, and, once increased in strength, began bombarding Duckworth's squadron. Selim subsequently asked Sébastiani and his men (including Louis Gustave le Doulcet and , as well as the embassy's secretary ), to oversee Constantinople's defense and the line of fire nearby Topkapı Palace, organizing maneuvers which caused Duckworth to withdraw.
In 1806, Sébastiani married Jeanne-Françoise-Antoinette (Fanny) , only daughter of François-Henri de Franquetot, marquis de Coigny).Portland (London) Collection: Catalogue of Family and Financial Papers of the Dukes of Portland, 1583–1940 , at the University of Nottingham, retrieved 5 May 2007 She died in childbirth while in Constantinople, just a few days before the Sultan was deposed (14 April 1807),Honoré Fisquet, "Praslin, Charles-Laure-Hugues-Théobald, duc de Choiseul", in Nouvelle biographie générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours, Tome 40, Firmin Didot, Paris, 1862, p.979–980 and left Sébastiani a large fortune. Upon hearing news of her death, Sultan Selim transmitted condolences through his Grand Dragoman.
Embassy to Mustafa IV
The successful rebellion led by Kabakçı Mustafa and the Janissary troops put an end to French diplomatic success. Sébastiani negotiated with Kabakçı, while the British sought support from various factions inside ConstantinopleAntoine de Juchereau de Saint-Denys, Histoire de l'Empire Ottoman depuis 1792 jusqu'en 1844, Tome II, Comptoirs des Imprimeurs-unis, Paris, 1844, p.205, 208–209, 211–215 — the Grand Dragoman, , eventually informed the French Ambassador on the parallel British projects. This resulted in Soutzos' beheading — that which, in Ion Ghica's version of events, caused the Soutzos family to abandon their commitment to France and begin supporting Russia. According to the Revue des Deux Mondes biography, Sébastiani had betrayed Aleko Soutzos' confidence by revealing as many details of Anglo-Ottoman negotiations as to render it clear that the Dragoman had been acting as his spy, and by failing to respect the promise of French protection.