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Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)

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Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)
The plenipotentiaries of the high powers who signed the treaty

The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement established in Paris (Fontainebleau) on April 11, 1814 between Napoleon Bonaparte and representatives from Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, Russia, and Prussia. The treaty was ratified on the same day it was signed. This is a translation; the original was in French.[1]

  • Sources:
    • Alphonse de Lamartine (translated by Michael Rafter). The History of the Restoration of Monarchy in France. H. G. Bohn, 1854 (New York Public Library). pp 201–207
    • Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne. Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte R. Bentley, 1836. pp. 362–364
133168Treaty of Fontainebleau1814The plenipotentiaries of the high powers who signed the treaty


His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon on the one part, and their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, the Emperor of all the Russias, and the King of Prussia, stipulating in their own names, as well as in that of all the allies, on the other; having named for their plenipotentiaries, viz.-His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, the Sieurs Armand-Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt, his grand equerry, senator, minister of foreign affairs, Grand Eagles of the Legion of honour, Knight of the Orders of Leopold of Austria, of Saint Andrew, of Saint Alexander Newsky, of Saint Anne of Russia, and of several others; Michael Ney, Duke of Elchingen and Marshal of the Empire, Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour, Knight of the Iron Crown, and of the Order of Christ; James Stephen Alexander Macdonald, Marshal of the Empire, Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour, and Knight of the Iron Crown:

And his Majesty the Emperor of Austria, the Sieur Clement Wenceslas Lothaire, Prince of Metternich, Winebourg Sachsenhausen, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Stephen, Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour, Knight of the Orders of Saint Andrew, of Saint Alexander Newsky, and of Saint Anne of Russia, of the Black Eagle, and of the Red Eagle of Prussia, Grand Cross of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and of many others; Chancellor of the Military Order of Maria-Theresa, Curator of the Imperial Academy of his Royal, Imperial, and Apostolic Majesty, and his minister of state for conferences and for foreign affairs.

[In the treaty with Russia are the titles of Baron Nesselrode, and in the treaty with Prussia those of Baron de Hardenberg.]

The plenipotentiaries above named, after having proceeded to the exchange of their respective full powers, have agreed to the following articles:—

ART. I. His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon renounces, for himself, his successors and descendants as well as for each of the members of his family, all right of sovereignty and domination, as well as over the French Empire and the kingdom of Italy as over all other countries.

ART. II. Their Majesties the Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Marie-Louise, will preserve their titles and qualities to enjoy them during their lives. The mother, brothers, sisters nephews and nieces of the Emperor shall equally preserve, wherever they may be sojourning, the titles of princes of his family.

ART. III. The island of Elba, adopted by his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, for the place of his residence, shall form, during his life, a separate principality, which shall be possessed by him in all sovereignty and property.

ART. IV. All the allied powers engage themselves to employ their good offices cause to be respected, by the Barbary powers, the flag and territory of the island of Elba, so that in its relations with the Barbary powers it should be assimilated to France.

ART. V. The Duchies of Parma, of Placentia, and of Guastalla shall be given, in all property and sovereignty, to her Majesty the Empress Marie-Louise. They shall pass to her son and to his descendants in direct line. The prince her son shall take, from this time, the title of Prince of Parma, of Placentia, and of Guastalla.

ART. VI. There shall be reserved, in the countries which Napoleon renounces for himself and his family, certain domains or donnè des rentes on the grand livre of France, producing an annual net revenue, deduction being made for all charges, of 2,500,000 francs. These domains, or rentes, shall belong in all property, and to be disposed of as it shall seem best to them, to the princes and the princesses of his family, and shall be divided amongst them in such manner that the revenue of each be in the proportion following:—

To Madame Mère, 300,000f.
To King Joseph and to the Queen, 500,000f.
To King Louis, 200,000f.
To Queen Hortensia and to her children, 400,000f.
To King Jerome and to the Queen, 500,000f.
To the Princess Eliza, 300,000f.
To the Princes Pauline, 300,000f.

The princes and princesses of the family of the Emperor Napoleon shall preserve, over and above, all property real and personal, of whatever nature it may be, which they possess in private right, and especially the income they enjoy, equally as private individuals, on the grand livre of France, or the Monte Napoleone of Milan.

ART. VII. The annual income of the Empress Josephine shall be reduced to 1,000,000f., in domains, or in inscriptions on the grand livre of France. She shall continue to enjoy, in full property, all her estates real and personal, and may dispose of them in conformity with the laws of France.

ART. VIII. There shall be given to Prince Eugene, Viceroy of Italy, a suitable establishment out of France.

ART. IX. The estates which his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon possesses in France, whether of extraordinary or private domain, shall revert to the crown. Of the sums funded by the Emperor Napoleon, whether in the grand livre, or in the Bank of France, whether in canal shares, or in any other manner, and which his Majesty gives up to the crown, there shall be reserved a capital which shall not exceed 2,000,000f., to be disposed of in gratuities in favour of persons who shall be inscribed in the list that shall be signed by the Emperor Napoleon, and which shall be remitted to the French government.

ART. X. All the crown jewels shall revert to France.

ART. XI. The Emperor Napoleon shall cause to be returned to the treasury, and to other public chests, all the sums and effects which may have been displaced by his orders upon the occasion of what accrues from the civil list.

ART. XII. The debts of the household of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, as they exist on the day of the signing of the present treaty, shall be immediately liquidated out of the arrears due from the public treasury to the civil list, according to the statements which shall be signed by a commissioner to be appointed for this purpose.

ART. XIII. The obligations of the Monte Napoleone of Milan, towards all its creditors, whether French or strangers, shall be exactly fulfilled, without any alteration being made in this respect.

ART. XIV. All such safe-conducts shall be furnished as are necessary for the free journey of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, of the Empress, of the princes and princess, and of all the persons of their suite who shall wish to accompany them, or to establish themselves out of France, as well as for the passage of all the equipages, horses, and effects which belong to them.

ART. XV. The imperial guard shall furnish a detachment from 1200 to 1500 men, of all arms, to serve as an escort as far as Saint Tropez, the place of embarcation.

ART. XVI. There shall be furnished an armed corvette and the vessels of transport necessary to conduct to the place of his destination his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, as well as his household. The corvette shall remain the full property of his majesty.

ART. XVII. His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon can take with him, and keep for his guard, 400 men, volunteers, officers, subofficers, and soldiers.

ART. XVIII. All French persons who shall follow his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon and his family, shall be bound, if they do not wish to lose their quality of French subjects, to return to France in the term of three years, unless they are comprised in the exceptions that the French Government reserve the power of granting after the expiration of this term.

ART. XIX. The-Polish troops of all arms, which are in the service of France, shall have the liberty of returning to their own country, preserving their arms and baggage as a testimonial of their honourable services. The officers, sub-officers, and soldiers shall preserve the decorations which shall have been granted to them, and the pensions attached to these decorations.

ART. XX. The high allied powers guarantee the execution of all the articles of the present treaty. They engage themselves further, that they shall be adopted and guaranteed by France.

ART. XXI. The present treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications of it shall be exchanged at Paris in the term of two days, or sooner, if possible.

Done at Paris, the 11th April, 1814

(Signed)
CAULAINCOURT, Duke of Vicenza.
The Marshal Duke of Tarentum, MACDONALD.
The Marshal Duke of Elchingen, NEY
(Signed)
The Prince of METTERNICH.

[The same articles have been signed separately, and under the same date, on the part of Russia, by the Count of Nesselrode, and on the part of Prussia, by the Baron of Hardenberg.]

Declaration by Lord Castlereagh

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Lord Castlereagh, in undertaking on the part of his Government for an Act of accession to the treaty signed this day, so far as the same concerns the possession in Sovereignty of the Island of Elba and also of the Duchies of Parma, Placentia and Guastalla requests it may be understood that the act in question will, in conformity to the accustomed usage of the British Government, be an act binding upon His Britannic. Majesty with respect to his own acts, but not with respect to the acts of third Parties.[1]

[11 April 1814]

Notes

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Friedrich Wilhelm Ghillany. Manuel diplomatique, recueil des traités de paix européens [&c.] augmenté de tr. fr. et d'une intr. par J.H. Schnitzler, 1856. 245–248 "TRAITÉ entre l'Autriche, la Russie et la Prusse, d'une part, et Napoléon Buonaparte de l'autre, signé à PARIS le 11. Avril 1814"