Michel Chevalier (; 13 January 1806 – 18 November 1879) was a French engineer, statesman, economist and free market liberal.

Biography

Born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Chevalier studied at the '' École Polytechnique'', obtaining an engineering degree at the Paris '' École des mines'' in 1829. In 1830, after the July Revolution, he became a Saint-Simonian, and edited their paper '' Le Globe''. The paper was banned in 1832, when the "Simonian sect" was found to be prejudicial to the social order, and Chevalier, as its editor, was sentenced to six months imprisonment. After his release, Minister of the Interior

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

sent him in 1834 on a mission to the United States and

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, to observe the state of industrial and financial affairs in the Americas. In the United States, Chevalier visited different parts of the country studying American society, its manners and political, social, and economic institutions. He made some keen observations along the way that were published in France by the Journal des débats producing at the time "an immense effect". In Mexico he exchanged ideas with the mineralogist and politician Andrés Manuel del Río. It was during this trip that he also developed the idea that the

Spanish-speaking Hispanophone and Hispanic refers to anything relating to the Spanish language (the Hispanosphere). In a cultural, rather than merely linguistic sense, the notion of "Hispanophone" goes further than the above definition. The Hispanic culture is th ...

and

Portuguese-speaking Lusophones ( pt, Lusófonos) are peoples that speak Portuguese as a native or as common second language and nations where Portuguese features prominently in society. Comprising an estimated 270 million people spread across 10 sovereign countries a ...

parts of the Americas shared a cultural or racial affinity with all the European peoples with a Romance culture. Chevalier postulated that this part of the Americas were inhabited by people of a "Latin race," which could be a natural ally of "Latin Europe" in its struggle with "Teutonic Europe," "Anglo-Saxon America" and "Slavic Europe." The idea was later taken up by French and Latin American intellectuals and political leaders of the mid and late nineteenth century, who no longer looked to Spain or Portugal as cultural models, but rather to France, and who coined the term "Latin America". In the end, this was just an excuse for France to invade Mexico, which Chevalier supported. In 1837, he wrote a well received work, ''Des intérèts matériels en France'', after which his career took off. At age 35, he was appointed professor of

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

at the Collège de France. In 1839, letters that he sent to France during his mission to North America were translated and edited by Thomas Gamaliel Bradford and published in the United States as, ''Society, manners and politics in the United States; being a series of letters on North America''. Orestes Brownson reviewed the book and wrote that, "The work itself is highly important and interesting, and is well worth the perusal and even the study of every American citizen." He was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...

in 1852. Chevalier was an early member of the Société d'économie politique organized in 1842 by Pellegrino Rossi. He was elected a '' député'' for the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

'' of Aveyron in 1845, an appointment of Senator followed in 1860. In 1859, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Together with Richard Cobden and John Bright he prepared the

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold ...

agreement of 1860 between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and France, which is still called the '' Cobden-Chevalier Treaty''. He died in Lodève.

Works

*''Des intérèts matériels en France'', 1837 *
Society, manners and politics in the United States; being a series of letters on North America
', 1839 *''Histoire et description des voies de communication aux États-Unis'', 1840–42, 2 volumes *''Essais de politique industrielle'', 1843 *''Cours d'économie politique'', 1842-44 u. 1850, 3 volumes *''L'isthme de Panama, suivi d'un aperçu sur l'isthme de Suez'', 1844 *''Les Brevets d'invention examinés dans leurs rapports avec le principe de la liberté du travail et avec le principe de l'égalité des citoyens'', 1878

References

External links

*
Michael Chevalier: Society Manners and Politics in the United States
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevalier, Michel École Polytechnique alumni Mines ParisTech alumni Corps des mines 1806 births 1879 deaths People from Limoges French engineers French newspaper editors French political writers French people in rail transport Saint-Simonists French Senators of the Second Empire French classical liberals Collège de France faculty Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 19th-century French journalists French male journalists Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 19th-century male writers

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links