Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès
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Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès President of the National Convention | |
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In office 7 October 1794 – 22 October 1794 | |
Preceded by | André Dumont |
Succeeded by | Pierre Louis Prieur |
Personal details | |
Born | 18 October 1753 Montpellier, France |
Died | 8 March 1824 Paris, France | (aged 70)
Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
Signature | |
Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, Duke of Parma (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʒak ʁeʒis də kɑ̃baseʁɛs], 18 October 1753 – 8 March 1824), was a French nobleman, lawyer, freemason and statesman during the French Revolution and the First Empire. He is best remembered as one of the authors of the Napoleonic Code,[1][2] which still forms the basis of French civil law and French-inspired civil law in many countries.
Early life
Cambacérès was born in
In 1774, Cambacérès graduated in law from the college d'Aix and succeeded his father as Councillor in the court of accounts and finances in
National Convention
In revolutionary terms, Cambacérès was a moderate republican and sat left of center during the National Convention.
Rise under Napoleon
Cambacérès was a member of the Committee of General Defence from 1793 until the end of 1794, and later became a member of its infamous successor, the Committee of Public Safety after the fall of Robespierre.[5] In the meantime he worked on much of the legislation of the revolutionary period.[2] During 1795, he was employed as a diplomat and negotiated peace with Spain, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Batavian Republic. His remarkable debating skills gave him a spot as a councilor of the Five Hundred from 1795 to 1799.[5]
Cambacérès was considered too conservative to be one of the five Directors who took power in the coup of 1795 and, finding himself in opposition to the
Napoleonic Code
In December 1799, Cambacérès was appointed
The Code was a minor revised form of Roman law, with minor modifications drawn from the laws of the Franks still current in northern France (Coutume de Paris). The Code was later extended by Napoleon's occupations to Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Western Germany. Cambacérès' work has thus been influential in European legal history. However, versions of the Code are only still in force in Quebec (which was never under Napoleon' control) and Louisiana, which was only briefly under Napoleon's control.
The Napoleonic Code dealt with Civil Law; other codes ensued for Penal Law, criminal procedure, and civil procedure.
Life with Napoleon (1804–1815)
Cambacérès disapproved of Bonaparte's accumulation of power into his own hands (culminating in the proclamation of the
Under Napoleon, he was a force for moderation and reason, opposing adventures such as the Spanish affairs in 1808 and the
When the Empire fell in 1814, Cambacérès retired to private life but was later called upon during Napoléon's brief return to power in 1815. During the Hundred Days, the short period of time when Napoleon returned from exile, Cambacérès served as the minister of justice.[9] After the restoration of the monarchy, he was in danger of arrest for his revolutionary activities, and he was exiled from France in 1816. The fact that he had opposed the execution of Louis XVI counted in his favor, and in May 1818 his civil rights as a citizen of France were restored. From 1815 and on, Cambacérès used the title of Duke of Cambacérès (on the fall of the Empire, the Duchy of Parma passed to former Empress Marie Louise). He was a member of the Académie Française and lived quietly in Paris until his death in 1824.[10]
Private life
The common belief that Cambacérès is responsible for decriminalizing homosexuality in France is in error.[citation needed]
Before the French Revolution,
Cambacérès was a homosexual, his sexual orientation was well-known, and he does not seem to have made any effort to conceal it. He remained unmarried, and kept to the company of other bachelors. Napoleon is recorded as making a number of jokes on the subject.
In fact, however, Cambacérès was not responsible for ending the legal prosecution of homosexuals.[citation needed] He did play a key role in drafting the Code Napoléon, but this was a civil law code. He had nothing to do with the Penal Code of 1810,[citation needed] which covered sexual crimes.
The authors of the Penal Code of 1810 had the option of reintroducing a law against male homosexuality but there is no evidence that they even considered doing so.[
In addition to jesting about his homosexuality, Cambacérès' colleagues did not fail to poke fun at his gluttony. When he met with the council while Napoleon was away, everyone knew that the meeting would be over before lunch.[8] He was known for having the best dinners in France and for his extravagant lifestyle. Cambacérès was recorded as saying "a country is governed by good dinner parties". His estate was worth around 7.3 million francs (around €50 million in 2015 euros) upon his death in 1824.[4] His body now lies in the cemetery of Père Lachaise where he was buried with military honors.[17]
Freemasonry
Cambaceres was admitted to the lodge of "Les Amis Fidèles" in Montpellier in 1775. During Napoleon's reign, he was charged by the Emperor to monitor Freemasonry in France. From 1805 to 1815, he was the assistant of Joseph Bonaparte, Grand Master of Grand Orient de France, and managed the post-revolutionary rebirth of French freemasonry. During his term, more than 1200 lodges were created.[18][19][20][21]
Bibliography
- 1973 - Lettres inédites à Napoléon, 1802-1814. Paris: Éditions Klincksieck. Bevat: T. 1: Janvier 1802 - juillet 1807 ; T. 2: Avril 1808 - avril 1814 ISBN 2-252-01525-X(t. 2))
References
- ^ "Jean-Jacques-Regis de Cambaceres, duke de Parme | French statesman". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 80–81.
- ^ a b Harper (1835). The Court and Camp of Bonaparte. New York: Harper and Brothers. p. 132.
- ^ a b
Connelly, Owen (1985). Historical Dictionary of France: 1799–1815. Westport, CT: Greenwood. pp. 94–95. ISBN 9780313213212.
- ^ a b c d Richardson, Hubert (1920). A Dictionary of Napoleon and His Times. University of Michigan Library. p. 94.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-393-32341-2.
- ^ Lyons, Martyn (1994). Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution. St. Martin's Press. pp. 36, 66.
- ^ a b Cronin, Vincent (1972). Napoleon Bonaparte; An Intimate Biography. pp. 176, 193, 283.
- ISBN 978-1249015024.
- )
- ^ Sibalis, Michael (1996). "The Regulation of Male Homosexuality in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, 1789–1815". In Merrick, Jeffrey; Ragan, Bryant T. (eds.). Homosexuality in Modern France. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 80–101.
- ^ Bory, Jean-Louis (1979). Les cinq girouettes ou servitudes & souplesse de son Altesse Sérénissime le Prince Archichancelier de l'Empire Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès duc de Parme. Paris: Ramsay. p. [page needed].
- ^ Gueniffey, Patrice (2016). Bonaparte: 1759-1802. Paris: Gillimard. p. 603.
- ^ Aldrich, Robert (2000). Who's who in Gay and Lesbian History. Routledge. p. 95.
- ^ "Proceedings of the National Assembly, 2nd sitting of 20 December 1981" (PDF). p. 5371. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- ^ Sibali, Michael (2006). "The Age of Enlightenment and Revolution". In Aldrich, Robert (ed.). Gay Life and Culture: A World History. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 117–119.
- ^ Richardson, Hubert (1920). A Dictionary of Napoleon and His Times. London Cassell. p. 95.
- ^ Saunier, Eric, ed. (2007). "La Franc-maçonnerie sous l'Emprire : un age d'or ?". La Franc maçonnerie et l'Etat napoleonien (in French). Dervy: 141.
- ^ Faucher, Jean André; Ricker, Achille. Histoire de la franc-maçonnerie en France (in French). p. 231. [full citation needed]
- ^ Pinaud, Pierre-François (1999). Cambacérès: Le Premier surveillant de la franc-maçonnerie impériale (in French). Editions maçonniques de France. p. [page needed].
- ^ Delbert, Jean-Paul (2005). Cambacérès : Unificateur de la franc-maçonnerie sous le Premier Empire. Grands caractères. p. [page needed].
External links
- (in French) The House of Cambacérès Archived 14 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- (in French) French Council of State website on Cambacérès
- The Code Napoléon