Louis Dumesnil de Maricourt
Un consul pour la France (1806-1865)
by Lucie Bonato and Maryse Emery
Hardback (Published)
(October 2010)
ISBN: 9783447061285
6.65 x 9.45 inches
Price: $50.00
Out of stock
Francois, Louis Dumesnil de Maricourt was born on 2 April 1806 in Hagen (Westphalia), of a German mother and of a French loyalist who left France in December 1791 to join the “armee des Princes”. He began a diplomatic career in 1835 when he was sent to Naples as an attache to the embassy of the King. In August 1846, he was appointed consular agent, then vice-consul, in Messina (with his elder son he distinguished himself during the bombardment of the town in 1848 and was the mediator between the King of the Two Sicilies, and the Sicilians). He was then appointed consular agent in Seville (April 1849 to June 1842), Stettin (September 1842 to July 1853), Porto Maurizio (August 1853 to may 1855), Newcastle (May 1856 to January 1860), Moscow (March 1860 to February 1862). Finally, in March 1862, he got the position of Consul of France in Larnaca where he died from cholera three years later. His writings, his poems, his correspondence inform us about his personality and about the events and the affairs which marked the life and the administration of the Consul in such different countries.For Cyprus, his abundant correspondence – no less than 300 missives to the Ministry in Paris and the Ambassador in Constantinople – besides the usual reports on trade and navigation, provides precise documentation on the political, economic and social situation of the island, as well as the everyday life there. This testimony is of special interest because he describes the dwindling influence of the French to the benefit of England as well as when the island was feeling the early vibrations of modernity while the governors tried to put into practice the new reforms (tanzimat). This period is also important for the Cypriot antiquities which were regarded as a curiosity. France took possession of the famous “vase d’Amathonte” while the activities of many of the consular agents came down to a wild collection of “objets d’art” in order to sell them to the Western museums. Louis de Maricourt himself collected Cypriot antiquities but not for commercial purpose, it was only a source of entertainment. His name is definitely linked to the discovery of the sanctuary of the “Goddess of the Salt-Lake” near Kition.Louis de Maricourt, regarded as debonair, dedicated and accommodating, was a worthy envoy of France. Francois, Louis Dumesnil de Maricourt nait le 2 avril 1806 a Hagen (Westphalie), d’une mere allemande et d’un pere loyaliste qui avait quitte la France en decembre 1791 pour combattre dans l’armee des Princes. Il entame une carriere diplomatique en 1835 lorsqu’il est envoye a Naples comme attache a l’ambassade du roi. En aout 1846, il est nomme agent consulaire puis vice-consul a Messine (il s’y distingua avec son fils aine pendant le bombardement de la ville en 1848 et il servit de mediateur entre le roi des Deux-Siciles et les Siciliens). Il est ensuite affecte a Seville (avril 1849 a juin 1842), Stettin (septembre 1842 a juillet 1853), Port Maurice (aout 1853 a mai 1855), Newcastle (mai 1856 a janvier 1860), Moscou (mars 1860 a fevrier 1862). Finalement, il est nomme a Larnaca ou il arrive le 15 mars 1862 et ou il mourut trois ans plus tard. Ses ecrits, ses poemes, sa correspondance nous permettent d’apprehender non seulement la personnalite mais aussi les evenements, les affaires qui ont marque la vie et la gestion du consul dans des pays si differents.Pour Chypre, son abondante correspondance – pas moins de 300 missives adressees au ministre a Paris et a l’ ambassadeur a Constantinople -, outre les habituels rapports sur le commerce et la navigation, est une source precise sur la situation politique, economique et sociale de l’ile, mais aussi pour la vie quotidienne. Son temoignage est particulierement precieux puisqu’il se situe a une epoque ou l’influence de la France a Chypre commence a decliner au profit de l’Angleterre, mais aussi ou l’ile commence a ressentir les premiers fremissements de la modernite alors que les gouverneurs essayaient de mettre en pratique les nouvelles reformes (tanzimats).Cette periode fut aussi importante pour les antiquites chypriotes qui etaient regardees comme une curiosite. La France prit possession du fameux vase d’Amathonte alors que l’activite de certains agents se resumait en une quete effrenee d’objets en vue de les proposer a la vente aux musees occidentaux. Louis de Maricourt, lui-meme, collectionna des antiquites chypriotes, non pas dans un but commercial, c’etait bien davantage pour lui une source d’amusement. Son nom est definitivement attache a la decouverte du sanctuaire de la deesse du Lac sale pres de Kition.Louis de Maricourt que l’on devine debonnaire, devoue et conciliant fut un digne representant de la France.
- By (author) Lucie Bonato
- By (author) Maryse Emery
Other Titles in this Series
Ein Wald von Statuen
Kolloquium zum 20-jahrigen Bestehen der Antikensaal-Galerie in Mannheim und zur Begrundung der Kurpfalzer Abguss-Sammlung vor 300 Jahren
Volume 62
Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte Griechenlands im 19. Jahrhundert
Von der Hinwendung zu Europa bis zu den ersten Olympischen Spielen der Neuzeit
Volume 16
Von Mainz nach Kreta im Winter 1942-43
Das Reisetagebuch des 'Kunstlersoldaten' Rudo Schwarz
Volume 66
Britain and the Greek Civil War 1944-1949
British Imperialism, Public Opinion and the Coming of the Cold War
Volume 55
Similar Books
Katechetischer Text, oder Unterricht vom christlichen Lehrbegrif für Unstudirte
2 Auflagen: 1765–1772. Bibliothek der Neologie. Kritische Ausgabe in zehn Bänden. Band X
A Companion to Political Leadership in Central and Eastern Europe after 1990
Democratization – Political Parties – Elections
Volume 3
Military Healthcare and the Early Modern State, 1660–1830
Management – Professionalisation – Shortcomings
Religious Transformations in Europe
Individual Life Paths between Secularism and (New) Religiosity in the 19th Century
Volume 144
Tactical and Strategic Insights from the Russo-Ukrainian War
Western Security and Defence in the 21st Century
The Color of Choice
The Armenians and the Politics of Race in the United States and Germany (1890–1945)
Volume 2
Towards the Olympian Gods
The Representational Strategies of Mythological Painting in 17th century Bohemia and Moravia
War and Remembrance II
World War II and the Holocaust between Tabooization and Competing Narratives in Post-Socialist Europe
Volume 15
Alltag – Erinnerung – Aufarbeitung an der Universitat Wien
Historische Wissenschaften in Austrofaschismus, Nationalsozialismus und Nachkriegszeit
Volume 30
Aus dem Geiste der Bewegung geboren
Das Moskauer Kammertheater von Aleksandr Tairov im Spannungsfeld zwischen Russland und dem Westen
Bevolkerungsgeschichte eines mitteleuropaischen Ubergangsraumes
Tirol - Sudtirol - Trentino (1880-2010)
Das doppelte Lieschen
125 Jahre Gänseliesel – die meistgeküsste Göttingerin und ihre verheimlichte Leipziger Zwillingsschwester
Der industrialisierte Krieg
Studien zu Unternehmen, Wirtschaft und Forschung im Ersten Weltkrieg
Volume 2
Die DDP-Fraktion in der Weimarer Nationalversammlung und auf beiden Reichsratekongressen
Protokolle mit erganzenden Sitzungsberichten 1918 bis 1920
Volume 82
Die Toten von Meschede
Ein Kriegsendphaseverbrechen im März 1945: Rekonstruktion, Strafverfolgung, Erinnerungskultur
Volume 91