Abstract
Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse was one of the most important admirals of the French Republic and an important colonial administrator under Napoléon Bonaparte. Born in 1747 in Auch, he entered the navy in 1765. Slowly rising through the ranks of the officiers bleus, his career was accelerated by the War of the American Revolution. Serving under Admiral Pierre-Andre Suffren, he was promoted into the regular officer corps. The outbreak of the French Revolution opened vast opportunities to him, allowing him to rise to the rank of vice-admiral in just a few years. As a junior officer, he served in Saint-Domingue in 1791-1792 and blockaded the Vendéan coast in 1793. As commander of the Brest fleet in 1794-1796, he participated in several of the most important naval operations during the French Revolutionary Wars, including the infamous Battle of 13 Prairial or Glorious First of June.
As a member of the Council of Five Hundred in the Directory government in 1797, Villaret de Joyeuse was heavily involved in the political debates concerning Saint Domingue and the other French colonies. While he was exiled due to the Coup d’état of 18 Fructidor, he was exonerated by Napoléon. Returned to his command of the Brest fleet, he transported Leclerc’s expedition to Saint-Domingue in 1801. After his return to France, he became capitaine-général of Martinque in 1802. Faced with the threat of British invasion and a black population animated by the Haitian Revolution, he maintained control of the island until 1809. Although never found guilty in a court martial, Napoléon’s ire kept him unemployed until Napoléon named him governor of Venice in 1811. Villaret de Joyeuse’s tenure in Venice was cut short by his death in July 1812. This dissertation examines Villaret de Joyeuse’s life and career in both the French navy and Napoléon’s colonial administration in the Caribbean.
|
