Noble+Class

Full Name: **Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau** Class: Noble Profession: Writer, politician, orator Country: France Date of Birth: March 9th, 1749

Overview: Involved in many political and personal scandals in earlier life, including a public fight with his father, Mirabeau was often imprisoned and sometimes exiled. He wrote many pamphlets about finances and the governments in Austria and Great Britain, some of which gained great fame among the common people in Britian and France, especially Parisians. When his assistance was refused in the 2nd Estates' representatives for the meeting of the Estates-General he was elected as a 3rd Estate representative for Aix-en-Provence, and he became a key player in the creation and actions of the subsequent National Assembly. Despite his passionate oratory in favor of the revolution, Mirabeau was in fact an advocate of consttutional monarchy modeled after England. To this end, he sought support from other members of the Assembly, but with little sucess. He also conducted secret negotiations with the court to set up a constitutional monarchy, but although he always retained popularity with the masses, he found no trust among the court and only weak footholds in the Assembly. A later decree forbid any members of the Assembly from becoming ministers, destroying Mirabeau's hopes of a Great Britain-esque harmony between ministers and parliament. For the last one or two years of his life, from 1790 to 1791, he attempted to work closely with both the Assembly, advising and attempting to prevent damage in its foreign policy, and with the court, writing papers and advising Louis XVI on the impending civil war. His lost the court's trust because of accusations regarding his involvement in the revolution, but shortly before his death he was named president of the Assembly. He died on April 2, 1791, of pericarditis, possibly poisoned. After his death, in 1792, his secret dealings with the court became known, and he lost his popularity with the masses.

(Reyna Hulett) (Period 4)