Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta

Born in La Porta, Corsica, Sébastiani was the son of a tailor and well-to-do craftsman, the nephew of Louis Sébastiani de La Porta, a Roman Catholic priest who was later Bishop of Ajaccio, and probably a distant relative of the Bonapartes. Horace Sébastiani had a brother, Tiburce, who rose to the rank of Maréchal de Camp. Initially destined for a religious career, Briefly dispatched as a secretary to Conte Raffaele Cadorna in Casablanca, in 1793, by Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin (1835) Sébastiani joined Lucien Bonaparte's entourage, 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; 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, he attempted to convince Sultan Selim III to exclude the Royal Navy from access through the Dardanelles. 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. She died in childbirth while in Constantinople, just a few days before the Sultan was deposed (14 April 1807), 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 Constantinople — 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. Under the new monarch, Mustafa IV, he attempted to impose a pro-French pasha as governor of Baghdad, and later provoked a scandal by asking for the Imperial Executioner, the Bostanji-bashi, to be demoted—this came after three Ragusan subjects, having been found guilty of theft, were subjected to the falaka torture, despite the facts that the recent annexation of Ragusa by France offered them a degree of immunity. As a result of his pressures, Sébastiani obtained rule over the province of Baghdad for his favorite, and, in return, allowed the Bostanji-bashi to remain in office. He asked to be recalled in April 1807, being replaced by ''Chargé d'affaires'' Faÿ de La Tour Maubourg. This departure was also prompted by renewed British requests. Shortly before his leaving, Sultan Mustafa awarded Sébastiani the Order of the Crescent 1st Class, which has been interpreted as a measure to alleviate the impact of British successes. According to other accounts, Mustafa himself had become deeply dissatisfied with Sébastiani's interventions and policies. Upon his return to France, Sébastiani received the ''Grand Aigle de la Légion d'honneur. The Revue des Deux Mondes'' speculated that, based on the Corsican heritage he shared with Sébastiani: ==Peninsular War and 1813 Campaign==

citadel, Granada Sébastiani became a Count of the Empire, and commanded IV Corps in the Peninsular War, notably at the Battle of Ciudad-Real, among them Albert Grzymała, who served on his staff and was later noted for his friendship with Frédéric Chopin. According to the 1833 Revue des Deux Mondes, he had also become known for his lassitude, to the point where Napoleon himself grew irate. The same source recounted that, after Talavera de la Reina and especially after Almonacid, the general raised suspicion that he wasted men and resources, systematically failed to report all his casualties, and seriously exaggerated the scale of his victories. It was contended that the Emperor eventually withdrew Sébastiani's command of IV Corps after concluding that this assessment was correct. where he himself resided in noted luxury, Sébastiani partly destroyed the palace's fortifications after retreating. It is argued that he was also responsible for the partial devastation of the palace's interior. The American author Washington Irving, who visited Spain in the following period, recounted that: Serving during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, under Marshal Joachim Murat, and in the Campaign of 1812–1813, he commanded a cavalry division, becoming noted in the battles of Borodino (being the first French commander to enter Moscow, but was later forced to retreat with heavy losses), Bautzen, Lützen, Leipzig (where he was wounded), and Hanau. After attempting to hold Cologne, he took part in the defense of French territory, holding a command position in Champagne and organizing troops in Châlons-en-Champagne. In March, he assisted in the retaking of Reims, where he faced the Imperial Russian Army troops under the command of Emmanuel de Saint-Priest. ==Hundred Days and Second Restoration==

Changing sides to support Talleyrand on 10 April 1814, Sébastiani was appointed to the Bourbon Restoration Government and was, on 2 June, awarded the Order of Saint Louis by King Louis XVIII. Nevertheless, upon news that Napoleon was returning from Elba, he abandoned his command and left for Paris, where, together with the Count de Lavalette, he organized National Guard detachments to assist the Emperor. Napoleon also sent him over to attract support from the liberal politician Benjamin Constant; soon after, Constant became involved in drafting the more permissive Acte Additionel, which amended the Constitution of the Year XII. During the Hundred Days, he was assigned the reviewing of legislation passed by Louis XVIII, and organized the National Guard in Picardy. Sébastiani was elected to the Chamber for the department of Aisne. After the Battle of Waterloo, he voted in favor of Napoleon's abdication, and, eventually, was among those assigned with negotiating a peace with the Seventh Coalition (as part of a delegation also comprising Benjamin Constant de Rebecque, the marquis de La Fayette, marquis d'Argenson and comte de Pontécoulant). During talks, he showed himself opposed to a second Bourbon return. Sébastiani spent a year in England before being allowed to return (having retired from active service and receiving half pay). Starting in 1819, after being promoted by the Duke Decazes, he was a prominent member of the Chamber of Deputies, initially representing Corsica, rallying with the Left. According to the Revue comments, his political choice was unusual, reportedly astonishing both members of the Left and the moderate Decazes, a Royalist. Inside the Chamber, he joined forces with Maximilien Sebastien Foy, notably pushing projects to recognize the merits of Grande Armée veterans; a speech he held on the latter occasion, which gave praise to the French tricolor, caused an uproar among conservative deputies. During the 1824 French legislative election, his attempt to campaign in Corsica was frustrated by the local authorities representing the Royalist Government of Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, and he subsequently won 1 out of 48 votes. Instead, after General Foy's death in late 1825, he was elected as replacement in his constituency, the Aisne town of Vervins, receiving 120 votes out of 200. ==July Revolution and Belgian question==

in 1830. The Reading of the Declaration of the Deputies by François Gérard, 1836 After the July Revolution, he held the posts of Naval Minister under the nominal leadership of François Guizot (autumn 1830), With Laffitte, Benjamin Constant, Jean-Guillaume Hyde de Neuville, Adolphe Thiers, and others, he played a prominent part in calling Louis-Philippe to the French throne. — one of the latter, Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo, was a high-ranking Russian diplomat who negotiated with Horace Sébastiani on several occasions. In the wake of the Belgian Revolution, when candidatures were considered for the Belgian throne, Sébastiani had the task of undermining support for Auguste of Leuchtenberg and drawing allegiances for the Duke of Nemours. After Nemours refused the Belgian crown, he transferred French support to Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the British-backed candidate, in exchange for Leopold's agreeing to marry Louise-Marie of France. This policy was viewed as a capitulation by the Legitimists, and most notably by Jean Maximilien Lamarque, who, while deploring the separation of the French and the French-speaking Walloons, accused Sébastiani of having obtained the destruction of fortifications in Belgium not as a concession from other states, but rather because "the allied powers want to set aside the means of entering France without running into obstacles". When the London Conference compelled Dutch forces to evacuate Belgian territory, Sébastiani indicated that the French troops under General Gérard were to remain in the area until "all reasons why the French Army has maneuvered would be dealt with resolutely, and no danger would threaten us". Nevertheless, Gérard retreated before the Conference came to an end. When Chamber called on the minister to answer about the discrepancy, he declared himself "astonished" by news of the retreat, attributing it to British pressures, and indicated that "we have entered Belgium in good will; good will is what led us to withdraw". ==November Uprising: early negotiations==

's cartoon of the 1832 London Conference, with France depicted as a timid hare in front of other powers (Poland is the female figure trampled upon by Russia) In late 1830, after the November Uprising broke out in Congress Poland, Sébastiani, despite the revolutionaries' expectations, chose to avoid his country's involvement. As Russian troops carried out a violent intervention against the rebellion, a deputy in the Sejm lamented that Poland was perishing without having even seen a French courier; the minister responded to similar accusations at home by stating that France was determined not to raise the anger of Emperor Nicholas. ==November Uprising: aftermath==

, 1831 When Poland was ultimately pacified, Sébastiani uttered the famous words: The statement itself was not rendered verbatim by the Moniteur, allegedly due to their potential for causing scandal. It was also contended that the statement had been made by Sébastiani with the specific goal of persuading Russia that France did not condemn the intervention — reportedly, Emperor Nicholas normalized relations with France and received its ambassador, the Duke of Trévise, only after hearing news of Sébastiani's speech. The Revue des Deux Mondes recounted that the diplomat Talleyrand and Sébastiani both maintained an independent line in politics—their secretive notes reportedly contributed to the fall of the Laffitte government. ==Périer Cabinet==

Over the following year, he and Prime Minister Périer were called upon by the Marquis de La Fayette to express disapproval for reactionary politics in the Austrian Empire, and to allow Italian Carbonari refugees such as Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso to remain on French territory. La Fayette noted that Sébastiani had undertaken: In February 1832, Sébastiani took initiative in ordering a French occupation of Ancona. The Revue argued that this was the most significant gesture of his career, and credited him with having planned it as an indirect but effective strike at Austrian economic interests, when implying that France would march into Rome and Trieste in the event of a war with Austria. Among his last actions in office as Foreign Minister were negotiations with the United States over losses suffered by American citizens during the Napoleon's Continental Blockade, when several ships bearing the American flag were arrested in European ports, on suspicion that they were in fact serving British commercial interests (see Embargo Act of 1807). Raising much controversy, he set the sum France agreed to pay at 25 million francs, 10 million more than what committees of the ''Conseil d'État'' and Chamber had decided, although still significantly less than what had been asked by American plaintiffs. He retired from office after having a stroke which left him partly paralyzed, and traveled in the Italian Peninsula. He was later Minister of State for a short period of time. ==Later years==

In 1833, Sébastiani was ambassador to the Two Sicilies, and in 1835–1840, to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was recalled and replaced by François Guizot after refusing, against his government wishes, to support the cause of Muhammad Ali's design to extend his rule out of the Egyptian realm by conquering Ottoman lands in Syria (see London Straits Convention). Adolphe Thiers later pointed out that he agreed with Sébastiani's view, which he defined as: During the ministerial crisis provoked by the fall of the Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult cabinet, before Thiers' nomination, Sébastiani was considered for the office of Premier; his failure to gain the position was attributed to rejection from all political camps, based on the view that he was overtly subservient to King Louis-Philippe. Fanny had married Charles, duc de Praslin, in 1825. In what was one of the most famous murders of the 19th century, the duchess had been stabbed repeatedly and with noted violence. For long before her death, Fanny had accused Charles de Choiseul-Praslin of having cheated on her and of having separated her from her children. Her killing was thought to be a consequence of the Duke's plan to run away with their children's governess. Arrested and waiting to be tried by the Court of Peers, Choiseul-Praslin was released on parole, only to commit suicide on 24 August 1847; shortly before his death, he denied all charges. This event played a part in bringing about the 1848 Revolution, after public opinion began speculating that aristocrats had allowed one of their own to take his own life rather than face trial, or even that Choiseul-Praslin had been allowed to escape. As a parallel result, the 1848 events brought an end to the Sébastianis' influence in Corsica, especially after Tiburce Sébastiani chose to retire to his domain in Olmeta-di-Tuda. Four years later, Sébastiani died suddenly while having breakfast. His funeral service was held at Les Invalides and attended by President Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte among other officials of the Second Republic. ==Legacy==

Horace Sébastiani's name is inscribed on the western side of the Arc de Triomphe. Sébastiani is also one of the protagonists in Prince Michael of Greece's novel Sultana - La Nuit du Sérail, which depicts fictionalized events of Selim III's rule. In 1989, the story was later turned into an American-Swiss film co-production: titled The Favorite (or La Nuit du Sérail), it starred Laurent Le Doyen as Sébastiani. == Honours ==

• Knight Grand cross in the Legion of Honour. • Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold. • Knight Grand cross in the Imperial Order of the Crescent. • Knight Grand cross in the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merit • Knight Grand cross in the Order of the Redeemer • Knight of the Order of the Oak Crown ==See also==