Augustine Spiga: Difference between revisions
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'''Augustine Spiga''' ([[English language#Phonology|[ˈəɡəˌstiːn spiːkə]]]; 14 March 1757 – 16 November 1817; [[Italian language|Italian]]: ''Agostino Spiga'') was a [[France|French]] statesman and admiral who was Director-General of France from 1793 to 1814. He led his country throughout the [[Augustine Wars|French Revolution and eponymous Augustine Wars]], eventually sustaining defeat and being forcibly discharged to the [[Genoa|Genoese Republic]] with the 1814 Treaty of Vienna. As a political leader and international ideological icon, he played a pivotal role in the development of [[national republicanism]], the dismantlement of monarchy in Europe, and the global expansion of the French colonial empire. |
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{{Infobox person |
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| honorific_prefix = Directeur |
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| name = Austinu Spiga |
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| honorific_suffix = Augustus |
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| birth_date = 14 March 1757 |
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| birth_place = Casteddu Sardu, Sardinia, France |
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| death_date = 16 November 1817 |
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| death_place = Genoa, Republic of Genoa |
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| citizenship = France (1757-1815) </br> Sardinia (1815-1817) |
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| education = Lycée Louis-le-Grand </br> College of Sorbonne |
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| years_active = 1773 - 1815 |
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| era = Era of Revolutions |
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| title = Director of the French Republic |
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| term = 1795 - 1815 |
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| movement = Radical republicanism |
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| mother = Elisa Perseu |
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| father = Cyricus Spiga |
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}} |
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== Childhood == |
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'''Austinu Spiga''' ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language Italian]: ''Agustino Spica,'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language French]: ''Auguste Épiga,'' 1757-1817), anglicized as '''Augustine Spiga''' or '''Auguste Spiga''', was a French statesman and politician of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardinian_people Sard] origin. He was the leader of [[France]] during the eponymous [[France#French Revolution and the Augustine Wars (1780s-1814)|Augustine Wars]]. |
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The son of prominent a [[Sardinia|Sardinian]] political family, Augustine Spiga was born during the [[Sardinian Independence War]]. In late 1756, the pro-French Spiga family had fled to the port city of Toulon in southern France in order to avoid prosecution by Sardinian nationalist revolutionaries. On 14 March 1757, Quirico and Elisa Spiga welcomed their first and only son Augustine. As a child, his name was alternatively spelled ''Augustin'', ''Auguste'', ''Agostino'', and ''Austinu''; a diversity reflected in historical records of the period. |
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As the Viceroy of Sardinia, Charles Boyer, had been kidnapped in September 1756, Quirico Spiga became one of the principal leaders of the Kingdom of Sardinia-in-exile. As a boy, his father insisted that Augustine and his siblings Josselyne and Barthélemy fraternize with members of powerful families, such as the lesser princes and princess of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon dynasty]], [[Genoa|Genoese]] aristocrats, and Grimaldi royals. This vigorous socialization prepared the Spigas for vibrant political careers from a young age. |
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== Biography == |
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== In the States-General: 1790–1795 == |
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==== Origins in Sardinia ==== |
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Spiga was born in the town of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castelsardo Casteddu Sardu] during the [[Sardinian Independence War]] on the 14th of March, 1757. His father, Cyricus Spiga, was a statesman of Corsican ancestry who worked for the French Viceroy of Sardinia [[Charles Boyer]] and moved the family to [[France]] after Spiga was born. Elisa Perseu, Spiga's mother, was a noblewoman from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carloforte Carloforte] born into a [[Genoa|Genoese]] merchant family. Despite his parents' immigrant origins, Spiga grew up speaking Sard and French and primarily identified with French culture since he was young. |
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== Official appointment and Rossignol's grip == |
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==== Early life ==== |
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With the death of the [[Henry, Duke of Aquitaine|Duke of Aquitaine]] on 18 January 1795, Spiga was temporarily appointed ''Interrex'' ('between kings') by the French States-General at around 11 a.m. Soon, Spiga mobilized his political connections across northern France along with the Clavians, a militia affiliated with the [[Society of the Friends of Liberty]] (''Société des Amateurs de la Liberté''). By the afternoon, the Clavians had infiltrated another convention of the States at the Hôtel du Duc. Victor des Mousseaux, an anti-monarchist banker and one of the most powerful individuals of the early Revolution, subsequently succumbed to the pressure applied by the Society and appointed Augustine Spiga as Director-General (''Directeur général'') the same day. Shortly after, the States-General was unequivocally renamed the National Assembly of France on 3 February. |
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He would grow up in Paris, often visiting [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montpellier Montpellier]. In the summer of 1768, he had been admitted into the prestigious [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyc%C3%A9e_Louis-le-Grand Lycée Louis-le-Grand], and continued to study law at the Sorbonne, and there he had become enamored with the ideas of liberalism and republicanism. He became a well known orator within the academy, but was notorious for his anti-royalist sentiments. |
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Spiga founded the Society of the Friends of Liberty (French: ''Société des Amateurs de la Liberté'') in 1773, a political association which advocated for the complete abolition of the monarchy and the ruling class. The Society disregarded the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_right_of_kings divine right of kings] and believed in French expansionism. |
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==== Rise to power ==== |
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He had been elected into the National Assembly in 1790. Spiga soon rose to prominence and became the President of the Assembly in 1794. |
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==== Director of the French Republic ==== |
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Spiga declared himself Director of the French Republic in 1795. France, under the directorate of Spiga, would commit to spreading revolutionary ideals to their neighbours. They would eventually get entangled in numerous wars against [[Britain]], [[Austria]], and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. |
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===== Rossignol and his ascent to power ===== |
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Once in power, Spiga appointed Jacques Rossignol as Marshal. Rossignol was a drill instructor turned military general, who Spiga had known during his time at the Society of the Friends of Liberty. Rossignol was a key figure in the French government, as Spiga had often sought advice from him and delegated a lot of critical missions to him. Rossignol was Spiga's most trusted man, and his influence over Spiga had led to the increasing militarization of the Republic. Although becoming increasingly autocratic, Spiga was still wildly popular in France, and had the legitimacy as he was popularly elected as the President of the National Assembly. |
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==== Augustine Wars ==== |
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==== Later life & death ==== |
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== Family == |
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== Titles and honours == |
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== Trivia == |
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== Legacy == |
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==== Descendants ==== |
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Spiga's descendants live in several countries, most notably in [[France]], [[Genoa]], and [[Australie]]. |
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== See also == |
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* [[France]] |
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* [[French Revolution]] |
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[[Jacques Rossignol]], a longtime colleague and friend of Spiga, was appointed Marshal of France in early March. He soon became one of the Council of Ten, an executive advisory body formed under the early directory. Using his tenuous history with Spiga prior to the French Revolution, Rossignol exerted immense influence over the French government, pushing for the militarization of the Republic. |
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[[Category:People]] |
[[Category:People]] |
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Revision as of 15:20, 20 January 2024
Augustine Spiga ([ˈəɡəˌstiːn spiːkə]; 14 March 1757 – 16 November 1817; Italian: Agostino Spiga) was a French statesman and admiral who was Director-General of France from 1793 to 1814. He led his country throughout the French Revolution and eponymous Augustine Wars, eventually sustaining defeat and being forcibly discharged to the Genoese Republic with the 1814 Treaty of Vienna. As a political leader and international ideological icon, he played a pivotal role in the development of national republicanism, the dismantlement of monarchy in Europe, and the global expansion of the French colonial empire.
Childhood
The son of prominent a Sardinian political family, Augustine Spiga was born during the Sardinian Independence War. In late 1756, the pro-French Spiga family had fled to the port city of Toulon in southern France in order to avoid prosecution by Sardinian nationalist revolutionaries. On 14 March 1757, Quirico and Elisa Spiga welcomed their first and only son Augustine. As a child, his name was alternatively spelled Augustin, Auguste, Agostino, and Austinu; a diversity reflected in historical records of the period.
As the Viceroy of Sardinia, Charles Boyer, had been kidnapped in September 1756, Quirico Spiga became one of the principal leaders of the Kingdom of Sardinia-in-exile. As a boy, his father insisted that Augustine and his siblings Josselyne and Barthélemy fraternize with members of powerful families, such as the lesser princes and princess of the Bourbon dynasty, Genoese aristocrats, and Grimaldi royals. This vigorous socialization prepared the Spigas for vibrant political careers from a young age.
In the States-General: 1790–1795
Official appointment and Rossignol's grip
With the death of the Duke of Aquitaine on 18 January 1795, Spiga was temporarily appointed Interrex ('between kings') by the French States-General at around 11 a.m. Soon, Spiga mobilized his political connections across northern France along with the Clavians, a militia affiliated with the Society of the Friends of Liberty (Société des Amateurs de la Liberté). By the afternoon, the Clavians had infiltrated another convention of the States at the Hôtel du Duc. Victor des Mousseaux, an anti-monarchist banker and one of the most powerful individuals of the early Revolution, subsequently succumbed to the pressure applied by the Society and appointed Augustine Spiga as Director-General (Directeur général) the same day. Shortly after, the States-General was unequivocally renamed the National Assembly of France on 3 February.
Jacques Rossignol, a longtime colleague and friend of Spiga, was appointed Marshal of France in early March. He soon became one of the Council of Ten, an executive advisory body formed under the early directory. Using his tenuous history with Spiga prior to the French Revolution, Rossignol exerted immense influence over the French government, pushing for the militarization of the Republic.
