The whole world is a theater and the people in it are actors. How sometimes the greats are right in their statements. We live life and it becomes history, but it is not always possible to appreciate the one who picked up the costumes and wrote the script. The biography and life story of Baron Jean de Butz is another reason to think about who is making history?
The Great French Revolution and the First French Republic: it all began in 1789 with the capture of the Bastille and ended in 1794 with the conspiracy of 9 Thermidor. There is no great and bloody Robespierre and his Jacobin colleagues. And the First French Republic smoothly passes into the restoration of the monarchy. And few people know that the grandiose performance, with a change of scenery and roles, was conceived and carried out by a descendant of the famous D'Artagnan - Baron Jean de Butz. But the descendant of the famous Musketeer did not save the queen from the intrigues of the cardinal. His goals were much closer to the realities of life: in order to save his capital, he helped the king to return to the throne of France.
Indeed, Baron Jean de Butz came from an old noble Gascon family, and one of his ancestors was Charles de Butz, aka Castlemor d'Artagnan, who, at the time of the events described, had died in peace for a century and a half.
History says that the future "gray cardinal" at the king's court, the future "executioner of the revolution" and the future restorer of the monarchy was born either in 1754 or in 1760. And it happened in the city of Gule. And as it should be because the famous musketeer, at the age of eighteen, the baron went to conquer Paris. But the regiment of magnificent and indomitable musketeers by this time was gone. And Baron Jean de Betz joined the queen's dragoon regiment. But something went wrong in his military career and a descendant of the glorious D'Artagnan engaged in financial speculation. And it must be said that he succeeded in this.
An aristocrat, a former guards officer, he very competently used his opportunities and connections. Assessing the prospects and great opportunities of the company for trading with India, Betz actively worked to increase the share price of his asset. And about improving your well-being. In those distant times, the profession of a stock speculator was not considered prestigious among the titled aristocracy. But I really want money, and stock speculation, if there was a clever businessman from the stock exchange in my friends, gave very decent dividends. And everything is very decent if the businessman knows how to keep his mouth shut.
And the role of such a "friend" was perfectly suited to Baron de Betz: his own (ie an aristocrat), smart and reliable. Over time, he became, for many aristocratic families, something like an agent between the titled aristocracy and the businessmen of the financial world. He, on his own behalf, but on behalf of the powers that be, carried out speculative transactions in securities. And he conducted it so successfully that soon members of the royal family began to use his services. And soon the services of the young Gascon were required by Louis XVI himself. About times, about mores: the king gave de Betz to increase the amount from the treasury, and used the interest from the amounts for personal needs. Soon, as a very confidant, the baron began to deal with the placement and redemption of government loans in France. And again successfully. For such services to the monarch and the state, Baron Jean de Betz was awarded the rank of colonel.
And now rumors spread across the Louvre that the Gascon would replace the Minister of Finance. But why does the monarchy need such a finance minister? The finance minister cannot engage in financial speculation on the stock exchange, and the king and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were vitally interested in ensuring that their personal financial flows were not interrupted. Such a necessary person cannot be overloaded with state problems, because he simply will not have time to deal with the personal financial issues of the royal family.
In 1789, just a few months before the start of the revolution, the king transferred to the baron the management of the state block of shares in the company "East Ind". And "Ost-Ind" is not just an ordinary and ordinary company. "East Indus" is the right of monopoly trade with India, "East Indus" is a huge fleet and dozens of cities in Africa and Asia. And finally, "East Indus" is the right to mint Indian rupees, i.e. your mint. One can imagine the joy and happiness of the baron. Even his illustrious ancestor could not dream of such successes.
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The shares were transferred to the baron for a reason: suddenly the share price began to fall and, accordingly, the main holder of the package (the king) could not like this situation. And de Betz's task was very simple: at any cost, including playing on the stock exchange, raise the value of securities. It is quite possible that the 35-year-old baron could cope with this task, but … a revolution happened, the king and queen were executed, and de Betz, in his hands, had a 60% stake. But the new government did not forget about the shares either.
De Betz does not leave revolutionary France. Yes, he is an aristocrat, but from an impoverished family. Yes, he is almost a peasant. His fellow countrymen believe the same and elect him to the national constituent assembly of liberated France. The new government has a lot of work to do, and the newly minted Republican is immersed in work. The former baron is engaged in the "liquidation of public debt", namely, compensation for losses to persons who previously bought government positions that were liquidated by the decision of the new legislature.
Of course, the position of the personal confidant of the royal family cannot be compared with the position of the head of the commission, but this is a small guarantee of security in the bloody period when Marat organizes a conveyor belt at the guillotine and demands "100,000 heads for the victory of the revolution." But Betz's ebullient energy is not only enough to serve the Republicans: he continues to successfully speculate on the stock exchange and … creates an underground royalist circle. The new position is very welcome, for the organizer of the conspiracy to restore the monarchy. Former aristocrats who have lost their posts turn to the head of the committee. And who do they see as the head of the commission? His own man, an aristocrat who supports the monarchy and continues to communicate with the royal family.
Many aristocrats refuse the compensation they are entitled to in favor of the organizer of the restoration of the monarchy. Subsequently, such amounts become an entrance fee for new conspirators. Butz funds attempts to save the royal family. But, his activities soon cease to be a secret. At first he protests against the issue of banknotes, and in 1791 he signs a protest against the actions of the National Assembly. As a result, he himself becomes outlawed and forced to flee.
But at this time, the trial of the king of France begins and Butz returns to Paris. His goal: to free the royal family. A number of unsuccessful attempts. But the death sentence was pronounced for the king. When the king was taken to the scaffold, Butz, together with a group of conspirators, attacks the chariot, but the attempt ends in failure: two conspirators are killed on the spot, and the Baron hides with the rest of the group. But the Queen and the Dauphin are still alive. Butz bribes the prison guards and it is hoped that the queen and the dauphin will be saved. Suddenly, the queen is transferred to the Conciergerie. The baron does not abandon attempts to organize an escape, but Elie Lacoste pronounces an accusatory speech against the baron in the Convention and a reward is announced for Butz's head. And already the baron himself is forced to hide. He leaves France.
This is what is known about de Betz's political activities. A former colonel and baron, a member of the nationwide constituent assembly of liberated France, and, suddenly, a supporter of the restoration of the monarchy. And why would such a transformation of views? And there was also active financial activity. After the victory of the revolution, the Convention began to consider the question of liquidating the Ost-Ind company. In a heated debate, it was decided to compensate the holders of small blocks of shares for their minimum value, and the state 60% block to be considered the property of the Republic. However, one small, but not pleasant question arose: 25% of the stake belonged to the British East India Company. It was quite clear that the British would not be very happy if they were offered payments at the minimum cost of the package, and the revolutionaries did not want to pay the full cost. And like any decent revolutionaries, the members of the Convention decided to simply "throw" the British shareholders. During the discussion, all measures of complete secrecy were taken, but the decision was very quickly learned in England.
The English businessmen did not even try to negotiate with the revolutionaries. Someone Sir Papillon, chairman of the board of directors of the English branch of the East Indus company, with the help of British intelligence, which received not small sums from the company, quickly discovered Baron de Betz. London's proposal was simple and "fair": "in order to prevent infringement of the interests of British shareholders" to divide the nationalized property fairly: 50 to 50. Of course, the British knew that the baron very conditionally owns a stake, but so far the revolutionaries are in power, you can divide as you like to the parties. This section, alas, did not affect the real state of affairs.
And besides, Sir Papillon suggested that de Betz organize a small mutiny. And not even with the aim of returning the throne to the king, but in order to bring loyal people to power. How to organize the coup, de Betz had to come up with (the British did not want to participate in this officially). And to help the future conspirator, the esteemed sir handed over the entire residency of British intelligence in France. And that was already power. Given the corruption of the revolutionaries, the British bought a huge number of agents and entwined the entire country with their network. The agents were even at the Convention.
Clever de Betz did not organize armed units and civil war. He took into account the high level of corruption in the new revolutionary government. And the desire of revolutionary fanatics to mercilessly fight the bribe-takers: Robespierre in batches sent the officials who showed up on bribes to the guillotine. Suspicion or slander alone was enough for a person to die. And de Betz decided that a major corruption scandal was needed to achieve his goals. This does not require a lot of money and in the current situation will be a very effective move.
Unfortunately, at this time, the Frey brothers, Austrian bankers, were in Paris. It was rumored that the brothers were the descendants of a beggar Czech Jew who somehow managed to arrange supplies to the Austrian army and got rich on this. The brothers were in Paris on the personal order of the Austrian emperor and carried out some very delicate assignments of the monarch. In a revolutionary country, they also presented themselves as members of the Austrian Revolutionary Club, who were expelled from the country on the personal order of the Duke of Brunswick.
Frey successfully got into the credibility of the French revolutionaries, but given their secret mission, they were received in secular salons. Frey's sister married a member of the Convention, a former Capuchin monk Shabo. Butz believed that the Austrians were the perfect tool for putting his plan into action. Quite by chance, through English agents, the brothers learn about the liquidation of the East Indus company. Moreover, they are offered a plan by fulfilling which they can become fabulously rich.
And the brothers begin to blackmail their son-in-law Shabo: they want to get 10% of the shares and are ready to pay a relative 100 thousand livres. And if he refuses to help them, they will report to the Convention that the revolutionary Shabo is married to an Austrian spy.
Which part of the proposal convinced Shabo more is unknown, but he bribed several more members of the Convention and, jointly, falsified company documents. As a result of falsification, 10% of the shares became the property of the Frey brothers. And then Butz himself appears on the scene. Indignant and honest, he accuses Shabo of fraud and demands that the Frey brothers and the rest of the fraud participants be transferred to the Convention. The former monk runs in panic to the committee of public safety and declares that everyone in the Convention has been bribed and, under threat of death, is forced to take a hundred thousand livres and commit a crime against the revolution. As proof, he throws the money received from the Frey brothers on the table and promises to give up all the participants in the fraud. And he names the place and time when the Freys should receive the documents confirming their ownership of the shares.
All participants in the transaction go to the guillotine. But the baron does not need the heads of the Austrians and the corrupt members of the Convention. He has a different goal. The scandal does not subside, it is fanned by popular newspapers (the publisher of the newspapers Ebert was recruited by the baron). The press raises that all members of the Convention are bribe-takers, and even the incorruptible Robespierre has their hands dirty. Robespierre is furious. He demands to stop gossip and appoints a commission.
As a result of the commission's work, a list with the names of 47 of the largest bribe-takers in the Convention appears. On the night before the announcement of the list, the agents of the baron remove a copy from the list and send this document to all persons mentioned in the list. Under the threat of execution, the bribe-takers get together and work out a plan of action "for tomorrow."
On the morning of the 9th of Thermidor, Robespierre speaks at the Convention, but his speech is rudely interrupted and publicly accused of bribery. Members of the “list of the doomed” make an attempt to arrest Robespierre, but the revolutionary breaks out of the Convention building and runs to the barracks, to the loyal guards. The soldiers of the Convention attack the barracks and arrest Robespierre. In a few months he will be executed by the decision of the New Convention. And already the New Convention will declare the restoration of the monarchy.
The British learned with great joy about the end of the revolution and immediately captured four islands and seven trading post cities. All this became the property of the British company "East Ind". And this was not an act of aggression against France. This was the price to pay for the restoration of the monarchy in accordance with a secret treaty between Sir Papillon and Baron de Butz.
And the baron, as a result of the events of 9 Thermidor, was arrested. But they were released very quickly. After all, he rendered invaluable services to the monarchy. And he became a Marshal (like his legendary literary ancestor) and a Knight of the Order of St. Louis. And he had to part with the block of shares for only 4 million francs.
So the active political, and most importantly, and active financial activities of Baron Jean de Betz ended.
He died in 1822 at his castle Chadieu, on the banks of the Allier River.