Napoleon Seizes the Assets of a Traitor, Who Defected to the British and Gave Intel to Wellington and the British Forces in Portugal (He writes his Treasury Secretary demanding his goods seized the day he learns of the treason)

Napoleon Bonaparte

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Docketed by Mollien himself, noting it has been answered - the goods were seizedBy 1810, Napoleon controlled most of the Continent, from Eastern Europe to the Iberian Peninsula. He had bested consecutive coalitions of, at different times, Russia, Prussia, Austria, Britain, and Sweden. Prussia had lost territory, and Austria had lost an empire. Britain, although technically part of the coalition, had confined its major operations to the sea. Yet it remained, intact and territorially isolated from Napoleon's reach. Russia too was intact and distant. Both these powers would eventually so weaken Napoleon that he would be toppled, the former in Spain and the latter on its own doorstep.But in 1810, Napoleon was at his high water mark and there was relative peace in the east. In April, he married Marie Louise, an Austrian. Now he turned his eyes west, to the Iberian Peninsula, where a free Portugal served as a landing point for British troops under Wellington, and unrest in Spain threatened stability. Specifically, Napoleon wanted to conquer Portugal, and in so doing both gain access to the sea and block British access to Spain, strangling the opposition there. One of the men sent there to command was Jean Sarrazin.Nicolas-Fran?ois, Comte Mollien, was a French statesman and financier who served as Napoleon's Minister of the Public Treasury from 1806 to 1814 and during the Hundred Days. Mollien was one of Napoleon's chief financial advisers and was instrumental in reorganizing the treasury, introducing double-entry bookkeeping, and serving as administrator of the sinking fund under Napoleon's rule.Sarrazin had served ably in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic armies, but by 1810 he felt passed over for promotion and embittered at Napoleon?s court politics. Despite his talent, he did not rise as high as he believed he deserved, and he developed a reputation for vanity and resentment. He later claimed to oppose Napoleon?s growing despotism, portraying his defection as a principled act against tyranny. By 1810, Britain was seeking inside intelligence about French forces in the Iberian Peninsula.Short for Grand Livre de la Dette Publique (?Great Book of the Public Debt?), the "Grand Liver" or national ledger was where all public debt was registered (created 1793, maintained through Napoleon?s reign). This was one of Mollien's innovations. In Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, a rente meant a fixed annuity or interest payment owed by the state to a creditor. Essentially, it was the coupon-style income on government bonds. Sarrazin had a financial stake in the state (he drew income from government bonds/annuities). In some capacity, Sarrazin was owed money.On June 10, Sarrazin offered his services to the British and provided them with information, including details on French positions in Portugal. He would meet directly with Wellington, head of the British forces on the Peninsula. On June 18, Napoleon learned of the defection of Sarrazin to the British. He wrote three letters: one to minister of war, demanding answers. Another to the police head, seizing all Sarrazin's belongings. And he wrote this letter, seizing Sarrazin's financial assets from the state.Letter signed, St. Cloud, June 18, 1810, to Comte Mollien, Treasury Minister. "Monsieur Le Comte Mollien, I have been assured that General Sarrasin "a des rentes sur le Grand livre. Si cela est, faites le saisir.?Napoleon reacted with fury, denouncing Sarrazin as a traitor. French authorities condemned him to death in absentia. Sarrazin spent the rest of the Napoleonic Wars under British protection, publishing writings critical of Napoleon to justify his actions. After 1815 he tried to rehabilitate himself in France but never regained honor in military circles.We have never seen on the market such a letter dealing with a traitor to the British.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Napoleon Seizes the Assets of a Traitor, Who Defected to the British and Gave Intel to Wellington and the British Forces in Portugal (He writes his Treasury Secretary demanding his goods seized the day he learns of the treason)
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)