Аннотация: MMMDCXIV. A Moveable Feast. (Barras got the money from Talleyrand?). A historical investigation. - February 7, 2025.
A Moveable Feast. (Barras got the money from Talleyrand?). A historical investigation.
Paul Barras (1755 - 1829) was one of the figures of the Great French Revolution.
After Napoleon's return from the Egyptian expedition, the question arose of the Directory's departure from the historical scene.
Paul Barras played one of the leading roles in the Directory. He was its de facto head.
The main historical version is that Talleyrand (1754 - 1838) arrived at Barras with a huge sum of money. (This happened around November 17th, 1799). The money was a bribe. Barras was close to voluntarily withdraw from the political arena to make way for Napoleon.
According to the main historical version, Barras heard about the offer to voluntarily leave the stage, he was pleased with this offer, and he agreed to leave - without waiting for an offer to receive a bribe for voluntarily giving up power.
According to the main historical version, Talleyrand, realizing that all the money (prepared for a bribe) remained at his (Talleyrand's) disposal, felt a huge surge of joy and threw himself on Barras' neck (almost with kisses of joy).
Naturally, he explained his joy not by receiving unexpected huge amount of money (prepared for a bribe), but by the positive political result of his mediation efforts.
This is the main historical version.
(Here is a quote from Yevgeny Tarle's book "Talleyrand" (1939):
"On the very day of the coup, the 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799), Talleyrand had the delicate mission to induce Director Barras to voluntarily resign immediately. At the same time, Bonaparte handed Talleyrand a rather large sum of money to transfer to Barras, the amount [volume] of which has not yet been established exactly. Talleyrand, however, met Barras' full and immediate readiness to resign, and was so pleased at this unexpected opportunity to leave the sum he had prepared for Barras in his own pocket, that in a fit of gratitude he started ... to kiss the hands of the Director, fervently expressing gratitude to him for his "voluntary" resignation on behalf of the fatherland. All this is narrated by Barras, who only later found out how expensive (was for him) his excessive haste in the morning hours of the 18th Brumaire during a conversation with Talleyrand. Talleyrand himself, of course, modestly keeps silent about the whole incident, obviously not considering that it would be worth bothering the attention of posterity with such trifles."). [Unofficial translation]
However, a new look (point of view) can be added to this version. Talleyrand expected to receive from Napoleon the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. If Talleyrand's appropriation (acquisition) of the money (entrusted to him) had been revealed, then there would have been a risk of negative emotions on the part of Napoleon towards Talleyrand.
In this turn of events, the losses for Talleyrand would exceed the value of the money received (appropriated).
In addition, a huge amount of money is a noticeable luggage (suitcase? bag? package?).
It would have been much more rational to divide the prepared money into several parts: Barras would not have been able to say that he did not receive the money, and some of the money (left by Talleyrand after the meeting with Barras) it would be much easier to move (to carry) in an inconspicuous way.
However, both the main version and the "new look" at the situation (outlined above) are based on the assumption of Barras' psychological instability. Allegedly, as soon as he heard the proposal (transmitted through Talleyrand) to voluntarily leave the historical scene, he immediately accepted this offer - without raising any objections - and immediately agreed, without waiting for the money (which were at Talleyrand's disposal) prepared for a bribe.
But in fact Barras was an experienced historical figure who knew how to play political games. This is proved by the fact that he not only managed to survive in the era of Robespierre, but also became very rich.
Consequently, there is reason to assume that Barras received the entire amount from Talleyrand, and Talleyrand threw himself on Barras' neck with joy, but Talleyrand's feeling of joy arose not from the unexpected appropriation of a large sum of money, but from the realization that Talleyrand successfully carried out Napoleon's commission, and that Talleyrand proved himself well for Napoleon, and that, consequently, the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs is intended for Talleyrand.
If Barras got all the money, then where did the version that Talleyrand appropriated the money come from?
Talleyrand had many "well-wishers", Talleyrand was known as a man who loved money, therefore, the malicious fiction that Talleyrand had appropriated money (which were prepared for bribe to Barras), - this unscrupulous fiction of ill-wishers could easily occupy a dominant place in history.
If Talleyrand really had a large amount of money at his disposal during the meeting with Barras, then Talleyrand had ("behind his back") a (some) number of people who had touched this money. Someone organized a fundraiser, someone allocated money, someone collected it, someone counted it, someone packed it, someone transported it, carried it (Talleyrand limped, he walked with a crutch, he personally could not carry a large sum), etc.
Each of these many people who had a touch of (to) "money for Barras" could have given testimony - especially since people's political views and mutual relations (emotions) changed in turbulent historical conditions - and this testimony would have become evidence. But a proof (evidence) of what?
The very fact of a transfer of money (of a bribe) could be fixed indisputably only at the moment of the transfer of money. But the nature of Barras' conversation with Talleyrand was such that this meeting was confidential and took place without witnesses.
Let's add that in about five ... ten years, - after the tumultuous historical events, - the participants of this meeting themselves could recall and describe events with some deviation from the real plot. The emotional structure of a person is changing; emotions and moods affect memories....
But the event itself is interesting.
Both in France (and in other European countries), there is a considerable interest in history.
It has been about two hundred years since Barras's meeting with Talleyrand, but interest in this criminal incident has not disappeared.
Of course, from the point of view of the theory of evidence, it is impossible to find indisputable (direct) evidence of the fact of a bribe or the fact of the absence of a bribe. This opens up a space for attempts to accumulate indirect evidence.
If you have the European passion for studying history, you can collect all the testimonial evidence, all the letters and documents related to the meeting between Barras and Talleyrand, and to compile two or three historical volumes with evidence for (of) some historical version.
France is known not only for Napoleon, Barras, Talleyrand, but also for highly efficient world-famous historians.
Who knows, maybe I belong to the French on (along) some line, so I thought about the versions of what happened (or could have happened) in France about two hundred years ago.
Another five hundred years will pass, a new era will come, and new volumes with various testimonies, letters, documents, - new volumes will become new investigations.
The faster a humanity advances, the more interest in the details of the past appears in Europe.
February 7, 2025, 22:39
Translation from Russian into English: February 8, 2025 06:48
Владимир Владимирович Залесский ' Праздник, который всегда с тобой. (Получил ли Баррас деньги от Талейрана?). Историческое разбирательство. '.
{ 3643. Праздник, который всегда с тобой. (Получил ли Баррас деньги от Талейрана?). Историческое разбирательство. - 7 февраля 2025 г.
MMMDCXIV. A Moveable Feast. (Barras got the money from Talleyrand?). A historical investigation. - February 7, 2025.
Vladimir Zalessky Internet-bibliotheca. Интернет-библиотека Владимира Залесского}