History Prize 1984

Henri PERRIN DE BOUSSAC, pref. Jean Tulard, Un témoin de la Révolution et de l’Empire : Charles Jean-Marie Alquier, 1752-1826, La Rochelle, Rumeur des Âges

In this book, Henri Perrin de Boussac publishes several rare documents, both from the public and private domain, to illuminate the events of the French Revolution and the First Empire, focusing on the life of Charles Jean-Marie Alquier.

Alquier’s public service spanned 25 years of French history in its most tumultuous state. He was originally from the Vendée, became mayor of La Rochelle in 1789 and member of parliament for Aunis in the Estates General, then for Seine-et-Oise at the 1792 Convention and the Conseil des Anciens (Council of Ancients) in 1795. As a commissioner of the Republic, he travelled all over France. Most illustriously, he then became one of Napoleon’s key ambassadors, in Madrid, Naples, Rome, Stockholm and finally Copenhagan.