Julien Bessières
Encyclopedia
Henri Géraud Julien, Chevalier Bessières et de l'Empire
(30 July 1777, Gramat
, Lot - 30 July 1840, Paris
) was a French scientist and diplomat. He was a cousin of marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières
and Bertrand Bessières
.
during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt but fell ill and had to return to France on board the Livornese
tartane
Madona di Montenego, setting sail on 26 October 1798. Among his travelling companions on the voyage back were his fellow Commission members François Pouqueville
and P. S. Girard, as well as the engineers officer Jean Étienne Casimir Poitevin de Maureilhan and the artillery officer Joseph Claude Marie Charbonnel. The ship was attacked and captured by the Albanian pirate Ourochs, who took its passengers prisoner and sold them separately to various Ottoman
officials. Bessières Poitevin and Charbonnel were sold to Ali Pasha
and in 1800 the three men were imprisoned in the Fortezza Nuova on Corfu
, from which they escaped on the night of 21/22 November that year. They got back to France and on arrival Bessières was made director of droits réunis for the Hautes-Alpes
(1803).
In 1804 he went back to meet Ali Pasha, becoming his agent, and in 1805 he was made France's consul general to Venice. From 1807 to 1810 he served as French imperial commissaire (i.e. in charge of all civilian affairs) back on Corfu. He then served as intendant
of Navarre, préfet of Gers
(1813), préfet of the Aveyron
(15 July 1814) then préfet of the Ariège
(Hundred Days
). Also during the First Empire he became a Commander of the Légion d'honneur
and a Chevalier de l'Empire
.
Under the Bourbon Restoration
he was elected as the député
for the Dordogne
in 1827, adhering to the constitutional royalist party. He was re-elected in 1830 under the July Monarchy
but then beaten in the 1831 elections, and only returned to the Chambre on 21 June 1834 after being elected by two circonscriptions
- his 'fiefdom' of Sarlat and Figeac
in Lot. An ordinance of 3 October 1837 made him a peer of France and on his death in 1840 he was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery
.
Nobility of the First French Empire
Napoleon Bonaparte created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution....
(30 July 1777, Gramat
Gramat
Gramat is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France....
, Lot - 30 July 1840, 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...
) was a French scientist and diplomat. He was a cousin of marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st Duc d' Istria was a Marshal of France of the Napoleonic Era. His younger brother, Bertrand, followed in his footsteps and eventually became a Divisional General...
and Bertrand Bessières
Bertrand Bessières
Bertrand Bessières, 1st Baron Bessières , was a French general of the Napoleonic Wars...
.
Life
He was a member of the Commission des Sciences et des ArtsEgyptian Institute of Sciences and Arts
The Commission des Sciences et des Arts or "Commission of the Sciences and Arts" was a French learned body set up on 16 March 1798. It was made up of 167 members, of which all but 16 joined Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt and produced the Description de l'Égypte...
during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt but fell ill and had to return to France on board the Livornese
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
tartane
Tartane
A Tartane or tartan was a small ship used both as a fishing ship and for coastal trading in the Mediterranean. They were in use for over 300 years until the late 19th century. A tartane had a single mast on which was rigged a large lateen sail, and with a bowsprit and fore-sail. When the wind was...
Madona di Montenego, setting sail on 26 October 1798. Among his travelling companions on the voyage back were his fellow Commission members François Pouqueville
Francois Pouqueville
François Charles Hugues Laurent Pouqueville was a French diplomat, writer, explorer, physician and historian, member of the ....
and P. S. Girard, as well as the engineers officer Jean Étienne Casimir Poitevin de Maureilhan and the artillery officer Joseph Claude Marie Charbonnel. The ship was attacked and captured by the Albanian pirate Ourochs, who took its passengers prisoner and sold them separately to various Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
officials. Bessières Poitevin and Charbonnel were sold to Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...
and in 1800 the three men were imprisoned in the Fortezza Nuova on Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, from which they escaped on the night of 21/22 November that year. They got back to France and on arrival Bessières was made director of droits réunis for the Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes is a department in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.- History :Hautes-Alpes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
(1803).
In 1804 he went back to meet Ali Pasha, becoming his agent, and in 1805 he was made France's consul general to Venice. From 1807 to 1810 he served as French imperial commissaire (i.e. in charge of all civilian affairs) back on Corfu. He then served as intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
of Navarre, préfet of Gers
Gers
The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...
(1813), préfet of the Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....
(15 July 1814) then préfet of the Ariège
Ariège
Ariège is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River.- History :Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans....
(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...
). Also during the First Empire he became a Commander of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and a Chevalier de l'Empire
Nobility of the First French Empire
Napoleon Bonaparte created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution....
.
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 was elected as the député
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
for the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
in 1827, adhering to the constitutional royalist party. He was re-elected in 1830 under 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...
but then beaten in the 1831 elections, and only returned to the Chambre on 21 June 1834 after being elected by two circonscriptions
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
- his 'fiefdom' of Sarlat and Figeac
Figeac
Figeac is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.Figeac is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:Figeac is on the via Podiensis, a major hiking medieval pilgrimage trail which is part of the Way of St. James...
in Lot. An ordinance of 3 October 1837 made him a peer of France and on his death in 1840 he was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
.