Antoine Roy
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Antoine Roy (5 March 1764 – 3 April 1847) was a French lawyer and politician. He was a National Representative during the
Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
when
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
returned from Elba, a Deputy from 1815 to 1821, a peer of France and three times Minister of Finance.


Early years

Antoine Roy was born in Savigny, Haute-Marne, on 5 March 1764. His parents were Charles Roy, bourgeois and resident of Savigny and Miss Claudette Grisot. He studied at the College of Langres, then studied law in Paris and was admitted to the bar in 1785. He did not approve of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
and remained at the bar, but took advantage of the opportunity to acquire national property in 1791. He defended Rozoy in 1792, and in the year III defended several of the accused of
13 Vendémiaire 13 Vendémiaire Year 4 in the French Republican Calendar (5 October 1795 in the Gregorian calendar) is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris. This battle was part of the ...
. On 17 April 1793 Roy married Adélaïde-Sophie Barré, daughter of
Jean-Benoît-Vincent Barré Jean Benoît Vincent Barré ( Seine-Port, Seine-et-Marne, 22 January 1735 - Seine-Port, 27 January 1824) was a French architect. He was one of the most important architects of the 18th century and one of the creators of the 'Louis XVI style' ...
, an architect, and Marie-Félicité Germain. They had two daughters, Marie-Élisa (1794–1851) and Alexandrine-Sophie-Laure (1799–1854). Roy associated with
Claude Caroillon Destillières Claude-Xavier Caroillon-Destillières (14 July 1748 – May 1814) (or Carvillon-Destillières, Carvillon des Tillières, occasionally Carvillon d'Estillière) was a French industrialist and speculator during the French Revolution and the subsequen ...
in exploiting the forests and in running major ironworks. During the Revolution and the Empire Roy was a leading provider of supplies to the Ministries of War and the Navy, which protected him from problems arising from his royalist sympathies. Roy's openly royalist leanings led to the Duke of Bouillon giving him enjoyment of the land of
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
and the administration of its forests in 1798. He acquired the greater part of the property of the Duke of Bouillon, who was having grave financial difficulties, in exchange for an annual payment of 300,000 francs. A few months later the Duke died suddenly and Roy became one of the richest landowners in France. In 1801 he was sued by the state for repayment of 2 million francs, saying he had wrongly taken that amount while administering the Duke's property, which was now the property of the State. Roy refused to give up his claim to the forest of Navarre, but lost trials in 1802 and again in 1813. The Navarre domains passed to the
Empress Josephine An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
, then to prince
Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marr ...
and his son. Roy never forgave Napoleon for this. During the Hundred Days when Napoleon returned from exile Roy was elected on 7 May 1815 to represent the Seine. He stood as an irreconcilable opponent of Napoleon. On 6 June 1815 he opposed taking the oath of fidelity. On 16 June he asked for a special committee to examine whether war was necessary. During the discussion of financial law, he took the floor again and tried all methods of removing resources from the army.


Bourbon restoration

When the Bourbon court returned from
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
Roy hastened to meet it. He was received as a victim of imperial despotism, but the king expressed the view that if he had a complaint, it was not of poverty. Roy was reelected deputy on 22 August 1815, and again on 4 October 1816 and 20 September 1817. He often voted with the minority, particularly on secondary issues, and affected a degree of liberalism. He was rapporteur of the budget in 1817 and 1818, and in this role in 1819 found a saving of 19 millions. On 7 December 1818 he was called to succeed Louis-Emmanuel Corvetto as Minister of Finance, but was unable to achieve any reforms before the Richelieu cabinet resigned on 28 December 1818. He was named Minister of State and member of the Privy Council, Commissioner of the Sinking Fund and of the Deposit and Consignment Office. He returned to his seat in the Chamber, and was responsible for reviewing the backlog of financial statements for the years 1815–1818. After his report on the new budget he obtained a reduction of 20 million in the movable and immovable contributions. On 19 November 1819 he was again appointed Minister of Finance, replacing Baron Louis. He held this position until 14 December 1821, and initiated several reforms that significantly improved the financial situation of France. On 4 January 1820 he filed a proposal for the final release of the purchasers of national property. On 16 January 1821 he obtained a considerable reduction of land taxes. After the evacuation of territory by the allies he regularized departmental debts. In December 1821 he handed his portfolio to
Jean-Baptiste de Villèle Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...
. He was made a peer of France on 13 December 1821 and created a Count by the king. In the Upper House he continued to occupy himself mainly with financial issues. When Jean-Baptiste de Martignac formed his ministry Roy was appointed Minister of Finance for a third time, holding office from 5 January 1828 to 7 August 1829. However, his financial proposals met many obstacles from the parliamentary majority. King Charles X decided to form a strong reactionary cabinet under
Jules de Polignac Jules Auguste Armand Marie de Polignac, Count of Polignac (; 14 May 178030 March 1847), then Prince of Polignac, and briefly 3rd Duke of Polignac in 1847, was a French statesman and ultra-royalist politician after the Revolution. He served as pr ...
, and asked Roy to keep his portfolio. However, due to the attached conditions Roy felt obliged to refuse.


July monarchy

Roy retired on 21 February 1830, and was awarded the orders of the Holy Spirit and St. Michel. From then on Roy devoted himself exclusively to the business of the upper chamber. He accepted the government of Louis Philippe I without hesitation and was often responsible for reports on taxes, the lottery and the budget. He was awarded the
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
. Antoine Roy died in Paris on 3 April 1847, aged 83. He left a fortune that was estimated at 40 million francs.


References


Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Antoine 1764 births 1847 deaths French Ministers of Finance Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery State ministers of France