NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY. - Lot 39

Lot 39
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NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY. - Lot 39
NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY. Excerpt from the minutes of the National Assembly for Saturday, December 12, 1789. Official handwritten copy certified as true, Paris, December 21, 1789, 1 large folio page. A rare official copy of an excerpt from the minutes of the National Assembly, concerning diplomatic prerogatives at the beginning of the French Revolution. The document records the following decision: “The National Assembly has decided that the request from the foreign ambassadors and ministers should be referred to the executive branch; but that under no circumstances did it intend, through its decrees, to infringe upon any of their immunities. ” It is specified that the President of the Assembly is responsible for communicating this decision to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The copy is certified as a true copy of the signed original: Fréteau, President; Le Bègue de Presle, Secretary; Menou, Secretary; Volney, Secretary. It is then certified as a true copy of the original kept in the offices of the Minister of Foreign Affairs: “Certified as a true copy of the original of the said decree held in the offices of Count de Montmorin, Minister and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs... ” and bears the handwritten signature of a secretary or clerk of the ministry. Historical Context This document dates from a pivotal period of the Revolution. In December 1789, the constitutional monarchy was still taking shape. Relations between the National Assembly and Louis XVI had not yet been definitively established. The issue at hand concerns foreign ambassadors and ministers, some of whom feared that revolutionary decrees might call into question the diplomatic privileges recognized by international law. The Assembly affirms two essential principles here: diplomatic affairs remain within the jurisdiction of the executive branch (that is, the king and his Minister of Foreign Affairs); diplomatic immunities are in no way called into question by the Revolution. The document is directly linked to the efforts of the Count of Montmorin-Saint-Hérem (1745–1792), Louis XVI’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was then attempting to preserve France’s relations with the European powers despite the upheavals of the Revolution. Notable Figures Mentioned Emmanuel-Marie-Michel-Philibert de Fréteau de Saint-Just, President of the National Assembly; Jean-Baptiste Le Bègue de Presle, Secretary; Jacques-François de Menou, future revolutionary and later imperial general; Constantin-François de Chassebœuf, Count of Volney, writer and philosopher; Armand Marc, Count of Montmorin-Saint-Hérem, Minister of Foreign Affairs under Louis XVI. The combination of these printed signatures and this ministerial certification gives the document particular historical significance. Significance This official copy perfectly illustrates the functioning of the early offices of the Revolution. Unlike the widely distributed printed copies, handwritten copies intended for ministerial or diplomatic administrations are much rarer on the market. It is of interest in the following areas: parliamentary history; diplomatic history; the early days of the constitutional monarchy. Condition In very fine condition. Heavy laid paper. Particularly elegant calligraphic handwriting. Original administrative folds.
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