Historedia
Person

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

Events
2
Episodes
8
Years
1797–1800

Every event in Historedia whose sources name Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, with the role they cite and all of that event’s episodes. This is not a biography, and mentions are grouped by name, so two people with the same name can share this page.

Events and episodes

  1. Coup of 18 Fructidor

    1797

    Role: Foreign minister supporting the coup

    1. 1797 · FranceBonaparte's documentation and republican accusations

      Documentation of Pichegru's activities supplied by Bonaparte led republican Directors to accuse the legislature of plotting against the Republic.

    2. April 1797 · France (legislative elections)Royalist electoral gains

      April 1797 elections reversed the legislative majority toward royalists and moderate republicans, threatening a monarchy restoration.

    3. 4 September 1797 · Paris, FranceSeizure of power in Paris

      Three Directors, backed by Talleyrand and the military, staged the coup, annulled election results, and ousted monarchists from the legislature.

    4. 4 September 1797 · Paris, FranceMartial law and shooting decree in Paris

      At dawn on 4 September 1797, Paris was declared under martial law, with a decree ordering royalists shot without trial.

  2. XYZ Affair

    1797–1800

    Role: French foreign minister whose agents made the loan and bribe demands

    1. March–May 1797 · United StatesCrisis and the Choice of a Commission

      After French seizures of American shipping and Pinckney's rejection as minister, Adams convened Congress and formed a three-man commission to France.

    2. October 1797 · Paris, FranceInformal Demands in Paris and the Refusal

      In Paris in early October 1797, agents of Talleyrand demanded a loan and a £50,000 bribe; the commissioners curtly refused and negotiations never became formal.

    3. November 1797 – October 1798 · Paris, FranceCollapse of the Talks and the Commissioners' Departure

      Talleyrand exploited the commissioners' divisions, appearing only in November to castigate them; Marshall and Pinckney left France in April 1798, and Gerry returned home in October 1798.

    4. 1798–1800 · United StatesDisclosure, the X, Y, Z Letters, and the Quasi-War

      Adams released documents substituting X, Y, and Z for the French agents' names; Congress rearmed, nullified the 1778 alliance, and the affair led to the undeclared Quasi-War.

Sources

  1. Coup of 18 Fructidor Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
  2. XYZ Affair Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21