François Cabarrus
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François Cabarrus or Francisco Cabarrús Lalanne, ''
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
'' de Cabarrús (1752–1810) was a French adventurer and
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financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
.


Life


Early life

He was born in
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
, France, where his father, Dominique Cabarrus Fourcade was a merchant and shipbuilder, linked to a saga of Basque sea-captains, whalers and adventurers, who settled in
Capbreton Capbreton (; oc, Capberton) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Located at the mouth of the Boudigau and Bourret rivers, the town is situated about 40 km north of Biarritz. The town is a ...
(a town near Bayonne), coming from the
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
region of Spain. Francois was sent to study in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
but was recalled to Bayonne by his family due to certain amorous adventures and was sent by his father to Spain to practice with one of his business correspondents, named Galabert. He not only learned the business, but also fell in love and married Maria Antonia Galabert Casanova, his employer's daughter. They settled in the town of
Carabanchel Alto Carabanchel is a district of Madrid, Spain. It lies on the southern (right) bank of the Manzanares, spanning southward down to the M-40 ring road. The district is made up of the neighbourhoods of Abrantes, Comillas, Opañel, Puerta Bonita, San ...
near
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, where Maria Antonia's grandfather had a soap factory. Their mansion in Carabanchel was named Maison St. Pierre (in French) and many years later this mansion and the lands surrounding it were incorporated into the Manor lands of the Count of Montijo (father of the Empress
Eugenia de Montijo ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...
). However, he soon began to take an active interest in public matters of the court in nearby Madrid. The
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
had reached Madrid, and
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
, was favourable to reforms advocated by a circle of politicians, including
Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (born Gaspar Melchor de Jove y Llanos, 5 January 1744 – 27 November 1811) was a Spanish neoclassical statesman, author, philosopher and a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Spain. Life and influence of ...
, Count Campomanes, Count Floridablanca, Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea (Count of Aranda). Among these Cabarrus became conspicuous, especially in finance.


Reforms and disgrace

He originated a bank, the ''Banco de San Carlos'' – which is the precursor of today's
Bank of Spain The Bank of Spain ( es, link=no, Banco de España) is the central bank of Spain. Established in Madrid in 1782 by Charles III of Spain, Charles III, today the bank is a member of the European System of Central Banks and is also Spain's national ...
, a company to trade with the South American colonies and with Asia through the
Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
– the Real Compañía de Filipinas, and an agricultural and hydraulic project known as the ''Canal de Cabarrus'' which is the origin of today's
Canal de Isabel II Canal de Isabel II (CYII) is the only company that manages the water supplies for Madrid, Spain. It is owned by the Autonomous Community of Madrid. History The '' Y'' in the abbreviated form of the company's name is from the old spelling ''Ysabel'' ...
, supplying the water to the city of Madrid, in the northeast of the Madrid Community – in the course of the
Jarama Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jarama ...
and within the municipal boundaries of the towns of
Torrelaguna Torrelaguna () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It covers an area of 43.40 km2. , it has a population of 4,724. History Public transport Torrelaguna has three line buses. They are: Line 197: Torrelaguna - Madrid (Pl ...
, Patones, Torremocha del Jarama,
Uceda Uceda is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,575 inhabitants. The church of Santa María de la Varga The Church of Santa M ...
and Caraquiz. He was also involved in at least two other projects involved in the opening of navigable waterways which were never completed. One was the Canal del Guadarrama which was supposed to open a navigable waterway from Madrid to the Ocean linking several river basins from the Guadarrama River up to the Guadalquivir River and from there to the sea (several ruins of these canals are still visible in the Guadarrama River basin area). The other project involved the widening of the LLobregat River in the province of Barcelona in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
in order to open up the Llobregat River valley to shipping and thus give impulse to the future industrial region of Catalonia with all the textile and mining projects of the region. He counted on the Lemaur brothers for the technical part of the projects. He also probably took note of the Canal du Midi and the Canal del Languedoc, built about a century earlier in France which had given the French such good results by making available a navigable waterway from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean without having to navigate around Spain and avoiding the Strait of Gibraltar. The impulsor of the Canal del Lanquedoc was Pierre Paul Riquet, Count of Caraman and great-grandfather of Joseph Riquet, also Count of Caraman and later
Prince of Chimay Prince of Chimay is a title of Belgian and Dutch nobility associated with the town of Chimay in what is now Belgium. The title is currently held by Philippe de Caraman-Chimay, 22nd Prince de Chimay. The main residence of the princely family is C ...
, and the last husband of Teresa Cabarrus Galabert. The family relationship between several members of the Cabarrus family and the Lesseps family (also originary from Bayonne), one of whose most notable members was Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal probably also influenced in this canal building impulse. As one of the most influential members of the council of finance, he had planned many reforms in that department. When Charles III died (1788), and the
reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
administration of Charles IV put a stop to Enlightenment reforms, the men who had taken an active part in reform were suspected and prosecuted. Cabarrus himself was accused of
embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
and thrown into prison in the Castle of Batres, a town near Madrid.


Under French domination

After two years he was released, created a
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
and employed in stately missions – he would even have been sent to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
as Spanish ambassador, had not the
French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...
objected to him as being of French birth. Cabarrus took no part in the maneuvers through which Charles IV was obliged to
abdicate Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
and make way for
Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...
(as King Jose I of Spain), brother of
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, but his French birth and intimate knowledge of Spanish affairs recommended him to the emperor as the fittest person for the difficult post of
minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
, which he held at his death. He died in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
while on a trip accompanying Joseph Bonaparte and is buried in the
Cathedral of Seville The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See ( es, Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along ...
.


Legacy

Due to the support he had given Joseph Bonaparte during his short reign in Spain, he was considered an ''
afrancesado ''Afrancesado'' (, ; "Francophile" or "turned-French", lit. "Frenchified" or "French-alike") refers to the Spanish and Portuguese partisan of Enlightenment ideas, Liberalism or the French Revolution. In principle, ''afrancesados'' were upper-and ...
'' and, although he had already died, when
Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...
recovered the throne, his family was persecuted and his fortune and holdings were confiscated. There is even a rumor that states that his remains were removed from his tomb in the Cathedral of Seville and thrown into the
Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gulf ...
. With all of the political turmoil of the following period, the heritage he left his heirs was restored and confiscated several times depending on who would be governing in Madrid. His son, heir and second ''Conde de Cabarrus'', Domingo Cabarrús Galabert, held several positions in government and was governor of the provinces of
Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...
and
Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
among other official posts. His daughter, Teresa Cabarrus Galabert, Thérèse Tallien, also Madamme Tallien (afterwards Countess of Caraman and Princess of
Chimay Chimay (, wa, Chimai) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a populatio ...
), played a part in the later stages of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, being named as Notre Dame de Buon Secours and Notre Dame de Thermidor by her contemporaries. One of his grandsons Domingo Cabarrus Quilty married Enriqueta Kirkpatrick y Grivegnée, sister of Manuela Kirkpatrick y Grivegnée, mother of Empress Eugenia de Montijo who married Emperor Napoleon III of France, and of the Duquesa de Alba. Domingo Cabarrus Quilty died before his father, Domingo Cabarrus Galabert and therefore did not become the third Count of Cabarrus, title that was inherited by his daughter, Paulina Cabarrus Kirkpatrick, as third Countess of Cabarrus. Francisco Cabarrus Lalanne also acquired the title of Viscount of Rabouilhet from Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda, originally for his other son, Francisco Cabarrus Galabert, but the early death of this son made him join both titles and up to today the present Counts of Cabarrus carry also the title of Viscounts of Rabouilhet. The town of Rabouilhet and its neighboring towns and countryside (also included in the title deed) are in the Lanquedoc region of France. His close friend,
Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...
, painted a full body portrait of him. This portrait is currently exhibited in the Bank of Spain building in Madrid.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabarrus, Francois 1752 births 1810 deaths People from Bayonne French bankers 18th-century Spanish businesspeople Economy and finance ministers of Spain Spanish diplomats Counts of Spain Afrancesados Spanish people of French descent