{"id":4124,"date":"2020-12-04T06:54:18","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T05:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/?post_type=documentaire&#038;p=4124"},"modified":"2021-12-08T07:13:02","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T06:13:02","slug":"joseph-de-villeles-years-spent-in-the-mascarene-islands-1791-1807","status":"publish","type":"documentaire","link":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/documentaires\/the-desbassayns-estate\/the-desbassayns-family\/joseph-de-villeles-years-spent-in-the-mascarene-islands-1791-1807\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph de Vill\u00e8le\u2019s years spent in the Mascarene Islands (1791-1807)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Joseph de Vill\u00e8le (Toulouse, 1773-1854) was a major politician of the Restoration period (1815-1830)<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9769121283027805\" aria-label=\"The work of reference from this period remains that of G. de Bertier de Sauvigny, La Restauration, Paris, Champs histoire, Flammarion, 1990 (1st ed. 1955). It is the subject of historiographical updates presented by J.-O. Boudon, \u2018Politique et religion sous la Restauration, regards historiographiques\u2019, in M. Brejon de Lavergn\u00e9e and O. Tort (dir.), L'union du Tr\u00f4ne et de l'Autel ? Politique et religion sous la Restauration, Paris, PUPS, 2012, pp. 7-21.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, and the first French head of government whose experience had been forged in the colonies, thanks to a period of sixteen years spent in the Mascarene Islands. Before becoming a political player on a national and imperial level, he was already a key colonial player in Bourbon (Reunion Island) and Isle de France (Mauritius).<\/h2>\n<div style=\"width: 525px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-4124-1\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" poster=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/poster_doriath.jpg\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DORIATH_ENG_SUB.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DORIATH_ENG_SUB.mp4\">https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DORIATH_ENG_SUB.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He spent the 1790s and part of the 1800s far from Mainland France but still on French soil, unlike many emigrants who left France entirely to flee the revolutionary troubles. However, his arrival in the Indian Ocean in 1791 was indeed because of the Revolution. Born in the Languedoc region of noble blood, he gave up his career as a naval officer and settled in Reunion Island.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4127\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4127\" style=\"width: 503px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/joseph-de-villele.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"taille-initiale wp-image-4127 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/joseph-de-villele.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"503\" height=\"697\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/joseph-de-villele.jpg 503w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/joseph-de-villele-216x300.jpg 216w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 503px) 100vw, 503px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4127\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joseph de Vill\u00e8le. Jean-S\u00e9bastien Rouillard. Before 1852. Oil on canvas<br \/>Private Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>From then on, he concentrated his efforts on maintaining the slave system, notably as a parliamentarian in the colonial assembly (1799-1803), furthering an anti-abolitionist<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.12616116236109687\" aria-label=\"For context, see F. R\u00e9gent, Pr\u00e9jug\u00e9 de couleur, esclavage et citoyennet\u00e9s dans les colonies fran\u00e7aises (1789-1848)\u2019, La R\u00e9volution Fran\u00e7aise, 9 | 2015. Contrary to the abolitionist debates and process - see the recent synthesis by M. Dorigny, Les Abolitionnistes de l'Esclavage, PUF, \u2018Que sais-je\u2019 collection, Paris, 2018 - opposition to the abolition of slavery is still little discussed in France. To understand certain aspects of it, however, we can refer to C. Wanquet's work, La France et la premi\u00e8re abolition de l'esclavage: 1794-1802. Le cas des colonies orientales : \u00cele de France (Maurice) et La R\u00e9union, Paris, Karthala, 1998.\">&nbsp;<\/span> cause to which he remained faithful until 1848<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.860066082753856\" aria-label=\"\u2018You will have read what happened in our West Indies. At the news of the decision of our provisional rulers in favour of the abolition of slavery, the blacks emancipated themselves. So it will be in Bourbon, and the abolition of slavery will lead to the abolition of work itself.\u2019 Letter from J. de Vill\u00e8le to his daughter Louise and his son-in-law L\u00e9on Alfred Rioult de Neuville, Toulouse, 2nd May 1848. Arch. d\u00e9p. du Calvados, F\/7967.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. The Mascarene Islands were the setting for his arrival into the world of politics, but also his acceptance into the Creole elite<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.39270786152976467\" aria-label=\"Renewed attention focussed on studies of colonial and imperial elites. For the situation in France, see C. Laux, F.-J. Ruggiu and P. Singaravelou (eds.), Au sommet de l'Empire. Les \u00e9lites europ\u00e9ennes dans les colonies (XVIe-XXe si\u00e8cle), Brussels, P. Lang, 2009. For Reunion Island, see J.-F. G\u00e9raud, Les ma\u00eetres du sucre : \u00cele Bourbon - 1810-1848..., St-Denis, CRESOI, University of Reunion, 2013.\">&nbsp;<\/span> following his marriage (1799) to Barbe Ombline M\u00e9lanie Panon Desbassayns, one of Henri Paulin and Ombline\u2019s four daughters. This alliance was consolidated four years later by the union of his younger brother, Jean-Baptiste (1780-1848), who had come to Reunion Island to escape conscription, with his sister-in-law, Gertrude Panon Desbassayns.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_987\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-987\" style=\"width: 386px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-2-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-987\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"taille-initiale wp-image-987 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"386\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-2-1.jpg 386w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-2-1-241x300.jpg 241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 386px) 100vw, 386px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-987\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jean-Baptiste Louis Appolonie S\u00e9raphin Clair Joseph de Vill\u00e8le (1780-1848). Detail of the <em>Desbassayns family tree<\/em>. J\u00e9han de Vill\u00e8le. 1989. Watercolour, Black pencil.<br \/>Vill\u00e8le Museum Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_989\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-989\" style=\"width: 380px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-3-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-989\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"taille-initiale wp-image-989 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"380\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-3-1.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-3-1-238x300.jpg 238w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-989\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gertrude Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Panon Desbassayns (1787-1878). Detail of the <em>Desbassayns family tree<\/em>. J\u00e9han de Vill\u00e8le. Watercolour, Black Pencil. 1989.<br \/>Vill\u00e8le Museum Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After Joseph de Vill\u00e8le returned to his native Languedoc in 1807, he did not sever ties with Reunion Island, remaining in contact with Jean-Baptiste who had settled there permanently to look after the business activities that had been entrusted to him. And while his brothers-in-law Charles and Joseph were pioneering the island\u2019s sugar revolution, thus requiring colonial interests to be defended in Parliament, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le began to make a name for himself in post-imperial France through his hostility to the parliamentary regime and the Constitutional Charter<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5066058386792682\" aria-label=\"J. de Vill\u00e8le, Observations sur le projet de Constitution ...Toulouse, 20th May, 1814.\">&nbsp;<\/span> . As mayor of Toulouse (1815-1818), then member of parliament for Haute-Garonne (1815-1830), he became the leader of the hard-line ultra-royalists, who were opposed to the revolution\u2019s legacy. His meteoric rise brought him to the head of the government: appointed Minister of Finance (December 1821) and then President of the Council (September 1822) by Louis XVIII, his role was extended under the reign of Charles X. His influence would assist Philippe Panon Desbassayns de Richemont, another of his brothers-in-law, parliamentarian for La Meuse (1824-1827) and member of the Admiralty Council, a consultative body attached to the Ministry of the Navy and the Colonies. Facing joint opposition from the Liberals and part of his own camp, Vill\u00e8le was beaten in the November 1827 elections, leading to his resignation on 4th January, 1828. Given a peerage by Charles X, he no longer held any public office after the July Revolution, but retained some influence among the legitimists. After writing <em>Memoires<\/em><span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.8005413891573668\" aria-label=\"J. de Vill\u00e8le, M\u00e9moires et correspondance, Paris, Perrin, 1888-1890, 5 vol.\">&nbsp;<\/span> (published at the beginning of the Third Republic), he died in Toulouse on 13th March, 1854.<\/p>\n<h3>Why and how did Joseph de Vill\u00e8le come to the Mascarene Islands?<\/h3>\n<h4>The role of the family background<\/h4>\n<p>The eldest son of Louis de Vill\u00e8le (1749-1822) and Anne-Louise de Blanc de la Guizardie (1752-1829), Joseph was born into an old family of the Languedoc nobility who divided their time between the town (Toulouse) and their estate at Mourvilles\u2212Basses (Haute-Garonne) in the Lauragais. Like many members of the French nobility at the end of the Ancien R\u00e9gime, the Vill\u00e8le family sought to retain their aristocratic identity.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_991\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-991\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-4-3.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-991\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-991 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-4-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-4-3.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-4-3-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-991\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chateau de Mourvilles, Mourvilles Basses (Haute-Garonne), family property of the Vill\u00e8le family.<br \/>Private collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In fact, although their lineage can be traced back to the 13th century, their ennoblement was more recent, dating back to a 1633 purchase from the office of the King&#8217;s Counsellor by Jean de Vill\u00e8le. This event enabled them to recover from d\u00e9rogeance (a fall from aristocratic grace) which had come about when a great-grandfather had settled as a merchant in Toulouse<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9701443763904164\" aria-label=\"Information from the de Vill\u00e8le family (Mourvilles-Basses).\">&nbsp;<\/span>. This reconnection with the nobility was furthered by the descendants of the oldest son (the Caramans) and the youngest (the Campauliacs) to which Joseph de Vill\u00e8le was born.<br \/>\nIn 1777, his father bought back the land of the Mourvilles-Basses, on one hand in order to rebuild the original dominion which had been split up over previous generations, and on the other hand to acquire the seigneurial rights pertaining to it. Through this process, he became one of the largest landowners (nearly 400 hectares) in the south of Toulouse. In order to increase his income and his reputation as an enlightened farmer, his land stood out locally as an example of agricultural modernisation thanks to his use of artificial meadows<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.33411595580259534\" aria-label=\"R. Forster, The Nobility of Toulouse in the Eighteenth Century : a Social and Economic Study, Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1960, p. 31-62.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<br \/>\nTo further elevate his family\u2019s status and reputation, Louis de Vill\u00e8le also wanted his son to join the king&#8217;s service, and sought to enrol him at Sor\u00e8ze<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.24789884273292595\" aria-label=\"J. Fourcassi\u00e9, op. cit., p. 16-17.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, the prestigious Royal Military School close to the family home. But, due to his lack of service and wealth, his attempt failed. Joseph de Vill\u00e8le therefore saw the doors of opportunity close for him, just as he was opening up to the wealthy bourgeoisie of the provinces and the colonies, not unlike his three future brothers-in-law at the time<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.636775001900511\" aria-label=\"These were the three eldest children: Julien, known as Desbassayns (1771-1856), Henri, known as Montbrun (1772-1851) and Philippe, known as Richemont (1774-1840), whom their father visited in 1785. On this subject, see C. Wanquet, C., Henri Paulin Panon Desbassayns, Autopsie d'un \u2018gros Blanc\u2019 r\u00e9unionnais de la fin du XVIIIe si\u00e8cle, St-Gilles-les-Hauts, Historical Musem of Vill\u00e8le, 2011, 89-94.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.He chose to study at the Royal College of Toulouse, before taking the entrance examination for the Al\u00e8s Naval School<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6707937373268483\" aria-label=\"M\u00e9moires, t. 1, p. 9.\">&nbsp;<\/span> in March 1788 on the advice of the Marquis de Saint-F\u00e9lix de Maur\u00e9mont (1737-1819), a captain, friend and member of the family. Vill\u00e8le admitted his lack of skills for a career as a sailor, but his success in the exam enabled him to join the modern navy that Louis XVI was looking to build. As an obedient son, he was keen to follow the wishes of his father, who was anxious to further increase the family&#8217;s status.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_993\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-993\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-5-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-993\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-993 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-5-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-5-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-5-1-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-993\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Royal College Courtyard. Drawing. Before 1877. In <em>Toulouse monumentale et pittoresque<\/em>, by Messrs. J.-M. Cayla and Cl\u00e9obule Paul. Impr. de Lagarrigue, (n.d.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4><strong>The impact of the Revolution on a young naval officer: destination Mascarenes Islands, an alternative to emigration<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>After a short apprenticeship period between June 1788 and July 1789, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le left for Saint-Domingue on 18th July 1789 as a 2nd class navy cadet. He arrived there at the time of the first troubles and left fifteen months later, deeply marked by the widespread chaos<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9118191861166213\" aria-label=\"For a first approach to this question, see J. de Cauna, Haiti : l\u2019\u00e9ternelle r\u00e9volution. Histoire de sa d\u00e9colonisation (1789-1804), P.R.N.G. editions, Monein, 2010, pp. 115-152 and J. Adela\u00efde-Merlande, La Cara\u00efbe et la Guyane au temps de la R\u00e9volution et de l'Empire (1789-1804), Paris, Karthala, 1992.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. On his return to Brest at the end of 1790, he quickly sought a port of refuge, which he thought he would find by following Saint-F\u00e9lix, who had just been appointed commander of the outpost in India. He knew the place well, having already been there twice and married a rich heiress on Isle de France<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.3324568166577955\" aria-label=\"Married on 13th May 1776 to Anne du Guermeur de Penhoet, who had large properties in Brittany and whose mother owned several houses on Isle de France.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. While nearly 60% of the officers of the ships choose to emigrate from French soil<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6272084740210947\" aria-label=\"Concerning naval officers during the Revolution, see M. Verg\u00e9-Franceschi, \u2018Marine et R\u00e9volution. Les officiers de 1789\">&nbsp;<\/span> and three of his cousins did the same<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.20241535798610688\" aria-label=\"Fran\u00e7ois-Ga\u00ebtan and Guillaume-Anne de Vill\u00e8le served in Cond\u00e9's army, and Guillaume-Aubin was ordained as a priest in D\u00fcsseldorf.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le opted for a colonial alternative:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is also thanks to this determination that I was able to avoid the cruel alternative of becoming an expatriate myself, like almost all the members of my unit, or of submitting to principles and follies that my heart and reason have always felt just as much&#8230;<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5917280693807376\" aria-label=\"M\u00e9moires, t. 1, p. 41.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Travelling aboard <em>La Cyb\u00e8le<\/em> under the command of Admiral Saint-F\u00e9lix, Vill\u00e8le left Brest on 26th April 1791, reaching Isle de France after a crossing of four months. This mission was supposed to last three years, but he ended up staying much longer than expected.<\/p>\n<h3>Why did he stay so long in the Mascarenes?<\/h3>\n<h4>1791-1793: the Mascarene Island, a place of refuge<\/h4>\n<p>From 1791 to 1793, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le carried out several missions to the coasts of India on board the frigate <em>La Cyb\u00e8le<\/em>. A number of reasons led to his departure from the navy on 15th December 1793: his personal convictions (the proclamation of the Republic), the insubordination of the crews (contesting orders from officers of noble origin), his loyalty to Vice-Admiral de Saint-F\u00e9lix who, under pressure from popular society, had been deposed by the Colonial Assembly of Isle de France, and finally, his lack of enthusiasm for a career as a naval officer.<\/p>\n<h4>1794-1796: the uncertainty of the future that lay ahead<\/h4>\n<p>Shortly after arriving, Vill\u00e8le joined the vice-admiral who had taken refuge in Reunion Island. This loyalty and his commitment to the very royalist <em>Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des Amis de l&#8217;Ordre<\/em> led to a brief investigation from the colony\u2019s Jacobin authorities. While Saint-F\u00e9lix was imprisoned in Isle de France, Vill\u00e8le remained in limbo on Reunion Island with Dup\u00e9rier and Martin, two merchants from the south of Toulouse. He hoped to go back as soon as peace returned, but this did not happen and he had no news from his parents that could reassure him about his future. After Saint-F\u00e9lix was released, the young man returned to Isle de France (1795-1796), where he became estate supervisor for the vice-admiral, who planned to have him marry his daughter<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.48447339865107275\" aria-label=\"Marie Augustine, mari\u00e9e en d\u00e9finitive en 1800 avec Charles Antoine de Chazal.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. But the young man had other plans that brought him back to Reunion Island.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_995\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-995\" style=\"width: 466px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-6-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-995\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"taille-initiale wp-image-995 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-6-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"466\" height=\"559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-6-1.jpg 466w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-6-1-250x300.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-995\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Portrait of Armand de Saint-F\u00e9lix (1737-1819), vice-admiral. Painting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>1796-1799: an initial project to get settled in Reunion Island<\/h4>\n<p>Vill\u00e8le decided to settle in the colony. After proving himself capable of learning the ropes as a new inhabitant, this status became definitive when he became owner of half a plantation located in Bras-Panon, and manager of the second half on behalf of his \u2018compatriot\u2019, the trader Martin who granted him a loan with very generous interest rates<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7132289129704376\" aria-label=\"Ibid., p. 153-154.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. In reality, what initially brought him here was a possible marriage with a lady from the Selhausen family<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.21390112197444477\" aria-label=\"It was either Marie-Jos\u00e9phine Pauline Selhausen (1778-1816) or her sister Marie-Charlette (1780-1811), daughters of Antoine Denis Selhausen (1755-1821) and Marie-Fran\u00e7oise Geslin (1762-1838). The eldest was born out of wedlock, but was recognised by Antoine Selhausen after they were married.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, a union which was already well advanced, as the following request proves:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Last year, I obtained from you leave to come to the island of Reunion, and I have found the means to acquire a house there in the long term. I have got married there and I ask to be allowed to stay there. I hope, citizens [&#8230;] that you will not want to push a young and honest man into transgression or ruin due to over-rigorous and perhaps an incorrect application of your regulations<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7767077826694164\" aria-label=\"Petition from Vill\u00e8le addressed to the Isle de France Committee for Public Security on 8th brumaire Year V (29th October 1796), Departmental archives of Haute-Garonne, 1 MI 240. This petition was obviously never sent.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>However, this union was perceived by his relatives as a misalliance, and never took place, to the great relief of Saint-F\u00e9lix who was convinced that his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 was one of the many \u2018victims\u2019 of J.J. Rousseau:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I have often told you that Rousseau would spoil and end up causing the misfortune of many of his disciples. I fear that the course you have probably taken according to his principles will prove one day to be real torment for you.<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.42225086273043466\" aria-label=\"Letter from Saint-F\u00e9lix to Joseph de Vill\u00e8le, Isle de France, 25th December 1796. Private archives of the de Vill\u00e8le family (Mourvilles-Basses).\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This sentimental break-up was painful for Vill\u00e8le<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5250042253603149\" aria-label=\"Of course, Vill\u00e8le never spoke of this failed first marital plan, merely referring to its \u2018profound melancholy\u2019, M\u00e9moires, vol. 1, p. 155.\">&nbsp;<\/span> who waited more than two years before starting any new marital plans, ones which would conclude successfully.<\/p>\n<h4>1799-1802: the decisive years, and his inclusion within the Desbassayns clan<\/h4>\n<p>He became a member of the white Creole elite in several stages:<br \/>\n\u2013 the family alliance through marriage to M\u00e9lanie Panon Desbassayns on 13th April 1799, consolidated by the union of Jean-Baptiste de Vill\u00e8le with Gertrude on 24th October 1803;<br \/>\n\u2013 the political alliance thanks to his entry on 21st September 1799 to the colonial assembly on which his brothers-in-law Julien Panon Desbassayns and Jean-Baptiste Pajot already sat;<br \/>\n\u2013 the economic and financial alliance: M\u00e9lanie brought a house in La Saline using an advance on her inheritance and, thanks to the loan of sums she received as an inheritance following the death of Henri Paulin (11 October 1800), this enabled her husband to help his parents with his sisters&#8217; dowry. For his part, Vill\u00e8le\u2019s contribution was to return to Isle de France to promote a trading house set up in Mainland France by her brothers-in-law Henri and Philippe <span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.06949031740439116\" aria-label=\"Letter from Henry Panon Desbassayns to Joseph de Vill\u00e8le, Paris, 27 vent\u00f4se Year X (18 March 1802). Departmental Archives of Haute-Garonne, 1 MI 240.\">&nbsp;<\/span> just before the Treaty of Amiens was signed on 25th March, 1802.<br \/>\nIn short, these years led to the emergence of a trans-oceanic family network bringing together two families: one Creole, the other from Mainland France, both seeking to climb the social ladder.<\/p>\n<h4>1803-1807: such a long wait<\/h4>\n<p>While institutions from the revolutionary period had been suppressed by General Decaen, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le held no public office, devoting himself solely to his one goal, to return to Mainland France.<br \/>\nAs soon as he got married, he had promised his parents that he would come back to them as soon as peace returned and take over the family estate. When the Treaty of Amiens was signed, he wanted to sell his home in La Saline to his mother-in-law, but the return of war put this project on hold. From October 1803, he therefore waited for more favourable conditions concerning his house in Olivier (Saint-Paul), busying himself with landscaping work of which he was proud: \u201c[&#8230;] the house is magnificent. Madame D[esbassayns] is amazed by it whenever we talk a walk.\u201d <span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.18407470059561115\" aria-label=\"Letter from Joseph de Vill\u00e8le to his wife, L\u2019Olivier, 19th March 1806. Departmental Archives of Haute-Garonne, 1 MI242.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_997\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-997\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-7-3.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-997\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-997 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-7-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-7-3.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-7-3-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-997\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The residence on the estate of L\u2019Olivier, former property of Joseph de Vill\u00e8le. Photograph. 1930.<br \/>Andr\u00e9 Blay private collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Marked by the English blockade, this period also brought personal bereavement with the death of his daughter, Pauline Henriette<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.0815792755858521\" aria-label=\"Died of measles on 26 March 1806 at the age of six months.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. The interminable wait came to an end on 14th March 1807 when, having understood that peace would not come soon, he decided to return in spite of everything and embarked with his wife and two children<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.34938175169678354\" aria-label=\"Louis Henri, born on 30th August 1800 in Ste-Marie and Louis Augustine, born on 6th July 1804 in l'Olivier (St-Paul).\">&nbsp;<\/span> for France via the United States. This return journey<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.00022146243101983654\" aria-label=\"J. Fourcassi\u00e9 et J. Godechot, \u00ab Le retour de Vill\u00e8le de La R\u00e9union \u00e0 Bordeaux via New York (14 mars- 22 ao\u00fbt 1807) \u00bb, in Annales du Midi, t. 65, n\u00b023, juillet 1953, p. 435-456.\">&nbsp;<\/span>ended five months later. On 31st August 1807, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le was reunited with his family in Toulouse, nineteen years after leaving them.<\/p>\n<h3>What were the origins of the family alliance with the Desbassayns?<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>You no doubt remember that I always said that I would only marry a man with a charming face, well my dear, I have come back to your opinion, and I realise that a charming face does not bring happiness &#8211; the proof is that my husband does not have a pretty face, and that I am quite happy about it.<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.08937710535952703\" aria-label=\"Letter from M\u00e9lanie de Vill\u00e8le to her brother Henry Montbrun, 6th October 1799, National Archives 696 AP 13.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>By marrying M\u00e9lanie, one of the four daughters of Henri Paulin and Ombline Panon Desbassayns, eight years after his arrival in the Mascarene Islands, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le forged a lasting family alliance. He then fulfilled the dream of every European<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.3313958914126782\" aria-label=\"The term \u2018Mainland French\u2019 was not used at that time.\">&nbsp;<\/span> who came to the islands: to marry a rich Creole heiress. Melanie&#8217;s dream was obviously not to marry such a small man, with a face marked by smallpox and a somewhat nasal voice, but in Joseph de Vill\u00e8le she finally found a \u2018good match\u2019 who ticked all the boxes for a higher social position.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_999\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-999\" style=\"width: 359px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-8-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-999\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"taille-initiale wp-image-999 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-8-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"359\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-8-1.jpg 359w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-8-1-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 359px) 100vw, 359px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-999\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbe Ombline M\u00e9lanie Panon-Desbassayns (1781-1855). Detail of the <em>Desbassayns family tree<\/em>. Vill\u00e8le, J\u00e9han de. Watercolour, Black Pencil. 1989.<br \/>Vill\u00e8le Museum Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The weight and influence of the Panon Desbassayns family in Reunionese society was nothing new. It came first and foremost from an old family group, descendants of the pioneering couple formed at the end of the 17th century by Augustin Panon and Fran\u00e7oise Ch\u00e2telain<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7319527517412269\" aria-label=\"Augustin Panon, known as \u2018Europe\u2019 (Toulon, 1664- St-Denis, 1749), arrived on Bourbon Island in 1689, got married on 17th July 1694 to Fran\u00e7oise Ch\u00e2telain (?-St-Denis, 1730) who arrived in the colony in 1676 and was already widowed three times. The couple had five children, including the eldest, Augustin Panon (1694-1772), father of Henri Paulin Panon Desbassayns (1732-1800), his third son.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. M\u00e9lanie was a third generation member of this Creole family, born in Reunion Island. From the first generation, the choice of spouses was based on certain criteria: nobility, military service and European origin. In 1729, Marie Panon, one of the daughters of the founding couple, married a nobleman<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6889865591207567\" aria-label=\"Jean Louis Gilles Fran\u00e7ois Desbloti\u00e8res (1697- 1755), squire and naval officer of the French East Indies Company.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, a choice which was imitated by almost a third of the daughters of M\u00e9lanie&#8217;s generation<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2867353183694963\" aria-label=\"Out of a total of 41 marriages identified among 37 third generation descendants.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. M\u00e9lanie followed another family strategy by marrying a former naval officer: in the family, slightly more than half of the marriages were to army (76%) or navy (24%) officers. Finally, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le was \u2018European\u2019, a privileged origin in almost half of the cases<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7513431590164067\" aria-label=\"17 mariages sur 39 dont l'origine a pu \u00eatre identifi\u00e9e \u00e0 la 3e g\u00e9n\u00e9ration. L'Aquitaine est la province la plus repr\u00e9sent\u00e9e (7 mariages).\">&nbsp;<\/span>. This choice was therefore part of a social order of slave-owners based on the principle of racial inequality. As being white conferred privilege, marrying a man who was certain to not be of mixed race helped to promote or maintain a woman\u2019s social pre-eminence.<br \/>\nAccess to the best education is another element that distinguishes the descendants of Augustin Panon. His son Augustin studied at the Jesuit College in Pondicherry<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7797953216092902\" aria-label=\"Letter from Augustin Panon to his son, 14th June 1710. National Archives 696 AP 2.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, while his grandson Henri Paulin Panon Desbassayns chose the Royal School of Sor\u00e8ze for his three eldest sons, home-schooled his daughters Melanie and Marie Euphrasie while in Paris (1778-1863), sent Joseph (1780-1850) and Charles (1782-1863) to the United States, and even brought a teacher out to Reunion Island to educate his last two daughters<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2981537465040204\" aria-label=\"C. Wanquet, Henri Paulin Panon Desbassayns...op. cit., chap. IV, p. 89-127.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. In spite of their father\u2019s efforts, it must be noted that the education offered to the Vill\u00e8le brothers (especially Jean-Baptiste), appears somewhat inferior compared to their brothers-in-law. However, their other assets compensated for this relative weakness, not forgetting their advantageous geographical proximity, given that they came from a region that the elders of Sor\u00e8ze knew very well.<br \/>\nIn any case, their education and general knowledge certainly helped them in carrying out their public duties. In fact, from Augustin Panon (member of the Provincial Council) down to his great grandson Julien Augustin Panon Desbassayns (parliamentarian for the Colonial Assembly of Reunion Island from 1795-1803), family members would generally take up long-term administrative and\/or political roles at an early age, allowing the Desbassayns to develop into a powerful family of the elite. This explains how Joseph de Vill\u00e8le&#8217;s reputation inspired confidence among the rest of this royalist family. Rumours about the \u2018Saint-F\u00e9lix affair\u2019 spread across France, attracting the sympathy of Montbrun and Richemont<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7997411118378461\" aria-label=\"\u2018Without having the advantage of knowing my new brother-in-law, I had always heard about him in the most advantageous way, especially through his conduct during the captivity of Monsieur de St-F\u00e9lix.\u2019 Letter from Philippe Panon Desbassayns to Louis de Vill\u00e8le, Paris, 25 germinal Year VIII (15 April 1800). Departmental archives of Haute-Garonne, IMI 239.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. And by speaking in the Colonial Assembly during a heated debate<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.14580114678574252\" aria-label=\"At the end of October 1798, the case was mentioned by Vill\u00e8le, M\u00e9moires, t. 1 p. 164-165. See also C. Wanquet, Histoire d'une R\u00e9volution, La R\u00e9union (1789-1803), Marseille, Editions Jeanne Laffitte, 1984, vol. II, p. 312.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, the young man showed promising skills for debate and political action. Finally, it was from this moment that a deep and lasting friendship was established with Julien Panon Desbassayns, a friendship which led to his meeting with M\u00e9lanie.<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9164503961873874\" aria-label=\"M\u00e9moires, t. 1, p. 154-157.\">&nbsp;<\/span> and after that to be introduced to his future in-laws:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>After his triumph (&#8230;) speaking at the Colonial Assembly, in the same room where, 3 or 4 years earlier, he had appeared as a political prisoner and threatened with death, he enjoyed a great reputation. (&#8230;) He was introduced and presented to all the main families of Saint-Denis. Your uncle Desbassayns was pleased to introduce him to his family. Monsieur and Madame Desbassayns welcomed him with their usual kindness, further accentuated by his friendship with their son. On his first visit to Saint-Gilles, my brother was struck by his ease of manner, combined with such honourable simplicity. He often told me that this house alone reminded him of his father&#8217;s home. Nothing he had seen since he had left it had made him feel such emotions. Of course, we did not need to convince him to come back and visit. Finally, encouraged by a few friends and without being stopped by the reserve of your uncle Desbassayns, counting even on the close friendship that already existed between them, he took steps to obtain the hand of your aunt who was only 17 years old at the time, and he did not have to wait long for his request to be accepted<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2534552320299248\" aria-label=\"Notice sur la premi\u00e8re partie de la vie de M. le Comte de Vill\u00e8le, by his brother J.-B. de Vill\u00e8le, \u2018of which a valid copy was made (...) on 30th June, 1848. Private archives of the de Vill\u00e8le family (Mourvilles-Basses).\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1001\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1001\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-9-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-1001\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"taille-initiale wp-image-1001 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-9-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"370\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-9-1.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/fig-9-1-231x300.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1001\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julien Augustin Paulin Gertrude Panon Desbassayns. Detail of the <em>Desbassayns family tree<\/em>.\u00a0J\u00e9han deVill\u00e8le. Watercolour, Black Pencil. 1989.<br \/>Vill\u00e8le\u00a0Museum Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Joseph de Vill\u00e8le may indeed have been a good match, but this was essentially due to his experience in commanding and managing an estate. His family\u2019s privileged social and economic position was thanks to their role as landowners, given that they owned the colony\u2019s largest property (420 hectares) and had the most slaves (417 in 1797).<br \/>\nIn the end, given Vill\u00e8le&#8217;s background, education, political reputation and eagerness to build a profitable estate, he was a fine match indeed, as highlighted by his brother:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>[&#8230;] what they considered above all was education, good manners and understanding of agricultural work, and my brother had proved himself in all these respects. Without fear, they entrusted him with the happiness and fortune of their daughter, correctly thinking that neither of them would be compromised. <span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2025613387512495\" aria-label=\"Ibid.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>What was Joseph de Vill\u00e8le&#8217;s experience managing an estate?<\/h3>\n<h4>Estates on both the windward and leeward coasts<\/h4>\n<p>Joseph de Vill\u00e8le managed four coffee plantations<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.4596288637609195\" aria-label=\"Regarding coffee, see P. Eve, Histoire d'une renomm\u00e9e. L'aventure du caf\u00e9ier \u00e0 Bourbon \/ La R\u00e9union des ann\u00e9es 1710 \u00e0 nos jours, CRESOI, Oc\u00e9an Editions, Saint Andr\u00e9, 2006.\">&nbsp;<\/span> (see table below). He first settled on the windward coast, buying a small house in Ravine des Figues to be closer to Saint-Denis and his duties at the colonial assembly. After the death of his father-in-law, he was forced to swap with his brother-in-law Jean-Baptiste Pajot. From then on, he lived with his wife on the west coast, close to his mother-in-law.<\/p>\n<table width=\"662\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\"><strong>Date<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"198\"><strong>Location<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"142\"><strong>Method of acquisition<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"47\"><strong>Area<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"47\"><strong>Slaves<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"123\"><strong>Prices<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">06\/11\/1796<\/td>\n<td width=\"198\">Bras-Panon<\/td>\n<td width=\"142\">Purchase<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">?<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">32<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">750 bales of coffee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">12\/04\/1799<\/td>\n<td width=\"198\">La Saline<\/td>\n<td width=\"142\">Advance on inheritance<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">30 ha<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">21<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">After 12\/04\/1799<\/td>\n<td width=\"198\">Ravine des Figues (Ste-Marie)<\/td>\n<td width=\"142\">Purchase<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">?<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">?<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">800 bales of coffee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">31\/10\/1800<\/td>\n<td width=\"198\">La Saline<\/td>\n<td width=\"142\">Exchange<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">30 ha<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">\/<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">04\/12\/1800<\/td>\n<td width=\"198\">L\u2019Olivier (St-Gilles-les-Hauts)<\/td>\n<td width=\"142\">Purchase<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">30 ha<\/td>\n<td width=\"47\">\/<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">275 bales of coffee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Joseph de Vill\u00e8le\u2019s estates<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Joseph de Vill\u00e8le and his slaves<\/h4>\n<p>The exact number of slaves owned by Joseph de Vill\u00e8le is not known, but can be estimated at around sixty. One year before his return to France, he still owned 35 of them<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6579259035322631\" aria-label=\"Census of Joseph de Vill\u00e8le, Year XIV (1806), Departmental Archives of Reunion, L 223\/1.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, the others having been sold to his mother-in-law at the same time as his house at La Saline. Among them, there were three family units, placed at the top of the servile hierarchy, namely the estate\u2019s foremen Ricar and Parfait and the domestic workers managed by Manuel, the head butler<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.49678843371633785\" aria-label=\"Ibid, and list of slaves given to M\u00e9lanie as an advance on her inheritance, as listed in the inventory following Henri Paulin Panon Desbassayns\u2019s death, on 8 brumaire Year IX (30th October 1800). National archives 696 AP 7.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<br \/>\nFor his slaves, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le was an ever-present and demanding master, as he considered that in order to make money, watching over and managing his estate was a full-time occupation:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>So far, I have been almost always very busy, and this may be something that you will find worth explaining. For I have no doubt that back in France, we are all taken for lazy and nonchalant people who spend three-quarters of their lives in a peaceful and contemplative idleness. At least this is the opinion that I have observed in the past when people describe us colonists. They are infinitely mistaken, as while they would use the term \u2018owner-farmers\u2019, we prefer to call ourselves \u2018inhabitants\u2019. Every inhabitant has a piece of land and blacks that are used to provide for themselves and their family, either to ensure a comfortable life or to make a fortune.<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.33914505480069224\" aria-label=\"Letter from Joseph de Vill\u00e8le to his parents, La Saline (St-Paul), 13th April 1802. Private archives of the Vill\u00e8le family.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For him, his father-in-law was therefore the very model of an ideal estate owner:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Monsieur Desbassayns is a respectable man on this island and the one who has been working hardest to ensure that his large family may prosper, and also the one who has best exploited the land here, something only possible when it is managed with activity, intelligence and economy<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2497647039382379\" aria-label=\"Ibid.\">&nbsp;<\/span> .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But while he was trying to fight the prejudices towards colonists, he himself would use stereotypes to describe slaves when talking to his family back in Mainland France:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Given that these slaves are totally indifferent to the success of the work and of the business, they go about it only with inadequacy and ineptitude, to the extent that if they are left to their own devices, almost no work gets done at<br \/>\nall<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.010601248534824581\" aria-label=\"Ibid.\">&nbsp;<\/span><em>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>When he left Reunion Island, his last slaves were entrusted to his brother Jean-Baptiste who bought the house at L\u2019Olivier<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.45160996310781243\" aria-label=\"Testament of Joseph de Vill\u00e8le, 1832. Private archives of the Vill\u00e8le family.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. All except the nanny, Nin Cadi (Manuel&#8217;s wife) who, on M\u00e9lanie\u2019s insistence, was taken to Languedoc where she died from exhaustion just two years after her arrival<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6593413904968011\" aria-label=\"His death on 2nd October 1809 caused general sorrow: \u2018This news has struck pain into the very depths of our hearts, with widespread mourning across St Gilles and here; my poor wife cannot recover from it and I myself am very afflicted; I am sending you the letter that my brother wrote to me. You will see how much he too has been affected; reading it has torn my soul apart. It is in this way that the sweetest pleasures are interspersed with cruel punishments, and that good and evil come together in life; I assure you that my spirit is overwhelmed by this news and I apologise if I know not what to say.\u2019 Letter from Jean-Baptiste de Vill\u00e8le to Charles Desbassayns, 21st January 1810, National Archives 696 AP 16.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h3>To what extent were these years politically ground-breaking?<\/h3>\n<p>Although he defends himself in his <em>M\u00e9moires<\/em><span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.12945984054127235\" aria-label=\"M\u00e9moires, t. 1, p 180.\">&nbsp;<\/span>, the experience and political knowledge that Joseph de Vill\u00e8le forged in Reunion Island undoubtedly gave him \u201ca taste for public affairs and the desire to get involved in them once again\u201d<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9971386673780638\" aria-label=\"J. Fourcassi\u00e9, Vill\u00e8le, op. cit. p 37.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. His father even saw in him the promises of a destiny on a national level: \u201cIt was in this colony that he began to display his fine spirit and true zeal for the public good. At a very young age, he told us what he would one day become [&#8230;]\u201d<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.0080996024876816\" aria-label=\"Letter from Louis de Vill\u00e8le to his son Jean-Baptiste, Toulouse, 23 April 1816, Nat. arch. 696 AP 21.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<br \/>\nVill\u00e8le&#8217;s elevation to public office can be explained by a number of factors: personal loyalties, political convictions (royalism defined as patriotism, intense anti-republican sentiments associated with a strong position against abolition), fear of threats, both external (such as the application of the decree of 16 Pluvi\u00f4se, or the invasion of the English) and from within (the Jacobin opposition, fears of a slave revolt). On top of this was his willingness to secure his own personal situation (protecting his assets, ensuring his return to France, and providing the financial assistance required by his extended family). In short, he feared everything that could have threatened the established colonial slave-owning order, going into politics in order to preserve such an order (<em>see table below<\/em>) via a colonial counter-revolution.<\/p>\n<table width=\"658\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\"><strong>Dates<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"533\"><strong>Actions<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">28\/02\/1793<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Signed a petition from the <em>Society of Friends of the Order, <\/em>a royalist paramilitary organisation opposed, among other things, to the change of name of Bourbon Island.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">21\/05\/1794-<\/p>\n<p>03\/07\/1794<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Imprisoned in St-Denis after assisting Vice-Admiral de Saint-F\u00e9lix, wanted by the Jacobin authorities of Reunion Island.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">18th-21st June 1796<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Took part in the expulsion of Baco and Burnel in Port-Louis, who had come to enforce the abolition decree of 16 pluvi\u00f4se Year II (4th February 1794).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">October 1798<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">1st public intervention: called for the cancellation of the election of two parliamentarians of the Colonial Assembly of Reunion Island, suspected of orchestrating a slave uprising<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">21st September 1799<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Joined the Colonial Assembly as parliamentarian for Saint-Louis<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6526489275390247\" aria-label=\"Departmental Archives of Reunion, L 34. And not of St-Beno\u00eet as indicated in his M\u00e9moires, t. 1, p. 165.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">January-March 1800<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Opposed the independence project launched by members of the royalist faction<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7029043475485007\" aria-label=\"On this episode, see C. Wanquet, Histoire d'une R\u00e9volution...op. cit. ,t. 3., p. 401-464.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">20th July 1800<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Became a member of the Administrative Committee, the colony\u2019s real government<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">28th February 1801<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Became one of the 12 full members of the Intermediate Commission: the \u201cmasters of the island\u201d<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.0021465158173945564\" aria-label=\"Ibid. p. 448.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">April-May 1801<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">During the crisis in Saint-Andr\u00e9, he participated in exceptional measures (censorship, arrests, deportations) taken against royalists who were in favour of independence and thus opposed to the colonial assembly.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">October 1802<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">Learned about the decree of 30 Flor\u00e9al Year X (20th May 1802) on the re-establishment of slavery and the slave trade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"124\">09\/10\/1803<\/td>\n<td width=\"533\">The end of all public functions following General Decaen\u2019s dissolution of all institutions dating back to the revolutionary period<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The key stages of Joseph de Vill\u00e8le&#8217;s political work in the Mascarene Islands<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After a serious crisis resulting from the debate on independence, Reunion Island remained French and officially republican. It remained loyalist, but ran by an administrative committee which was both crypto-monarchist and anti-abolitionist. After a renewed political crisis, an Intermediate Commission took real control of the colony until Decaen&#8217;s regime was introduced in 1803. During these two years, Joseph de Vill\u00e8le was a member of a veritable family-run oligarchy, since almost all the committee members were either relatives or close friends, a reactionary oligarchy which finally triumphed with the law of 30 Flor\u00e9al Year X (20th May 1802), finally re-establishing slavery.<\/p>\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>Joseph de Vill\u00e8le, a forgotten politician, disparaged by Chateaubriand in his <em>M\u00e9moires d&#8217;outre-tombe<\/em> and criticised by historians<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7969705572097914\" aria-label=\"Most analyses of Vill\u00e8le\u2019s government acknowledge his administrative skills, but conclude with a very critical political assessment. The most recent example was provided by O. Tort (La droite fran\u00e7aise. Aux origines de ses divisions, 1814-1830, Paris, Editions du CTHS, 2013) who blames a large part of the royalist movement\u2019s failure on Vill\u00e8le's authoritarian 'governance'. \">&nbsp;<\/span>, today remains associated with reactionary policies (the \u2018milliard aux emigr\u00e9s\u2019 decree, laws governing sacrilege, birthright and press censorship&#8230;), and the satirists of the time were quick to remind him of his slave-owning past:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Old man Desbassins took his gnarled cane<br \/>\nAnd delivered it into my strong hands,<br \/>\nAnd thus, to charm my lonely boredom,<br \/>\nI tried it out on my Blacks, learning the ropes for my future role as minister.<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7749429617745757\" aria-label=\"MERY and BARTHELEMY, \u2018La Vill\u00e9liade, la prise du ch\u00e2teau de Rivoli. Po\u00e8me h\u00e9ro\u00ef-comique en six chants\u2019, in Oeuvres de Barth\u00e9l\u00e9my et M\u00e9ry, A.-J. D\u00e9nain et Perrotin, Paris, 1831, p. 247. La Vill\u00e9liade was first published on 25th July 1825 and, due to its huge success, was republished many times.\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This article is based on our Master&#8217;s thesis (M. Doriath, <em>Ultra-centrales colonies: les Mascareignes dans le parcours de Joseph de Vill\u00e8le (1791-1807)<\/em>, under the supervision of C. Prudhomme, Universit\u00e9 Lumi\u00e8re-Lyon 2, 2011) and our current thesis work: <em>Joseph de Vill\u00e8le et l&#8217;\u00eele Bourbon (1794-1830)<\/em>, research dir. F.-J. Ruggiu, Centre Roland Mounier, UMR 8596, Paris IV-Sorbonne. One of the objectives is to examine Vill\u00e8le&#8217;s career from the colonial and imperial angle, as the only biography devoted to him does not focus on these aspects.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":984,"parent":1904,"menu_order":20,"template":"","class_list":["post-4124","documentaire","type-documentaire","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire\/4124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/documentaire"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire\/1904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}