Rare letter from Horace SEBASTIANI on France in 1830 and on the capture of Algiers.

Horace SEBASTIANI (1772.1851)

Autographed letter signed to his Corsican friend Lafon-Blaniac.

Three quarto pages. Autograph address and postal cancellations.

Slight damage due to the opening of the seal. Tab mark.

No place. July 18 [1830].

"I don't think English jealousy will go so far as to declare war on us."

A remarkable letter on the French political situation a few days before the turning point of the Three Glorious Days and on the capture of Algiers by French forces.

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“My dear General, your re-election has given me all the more pleasure because, by bringing back to me a dear friend, it assures the constitutional monarchy of a defender as steadfast as he is wise and enlightened . I know that traveling is difficult for you; your devotion to the public interest, even when it infringes upon your private interests, is all the more commendable. Your character has always been noble and generous. Our political situation is difficult, but I do not believe in coups d'état ; they would bring too many dangers in their wake. The Chamber will be all the more moderate because our majority is so strong. The sinister plans of a few scoundrels who would disturb the peace of France to satisfy their greed will not come to fruition . The King will do justice to a Chamber that desires only the happiness and consolidation of a dynasty that has given us institutions whose ruin would bring about the ruin of the country he governs.”

The capture of Algiers was brilliant because it presented serious difficulties both at sea and even for the land army. We could find in this part of Africa the advantages we lost in the West Indies. The valleys of the Atlas Mountains are fertile and healthy, and the climate is well-suited to the cultivation of coffee, sugarcane, and indigo; cotton has long thrived there. A large population, which can grow under regular administration, offers us free and hardworking settlers: by protecting the agricultural population, it will be easy to suppress and maintain the nomadic populations. I do not believe that English jealousy will go so far as to declare war on us to prevent us from retaining a conquest useful to all of Europe, which will now be able to sail the Mediterranean Sea without fear of Barbary corsairs.

Come at the start of our operations so that you can return home at harvest time, which will require your presence there in particular. Farewell, my dear friend, I embrace you with all my heart. This 18th of July. Horace Sebastiani