Jean Baptiste Cavaignac
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac (10 January 1763 – 24 March 1829) was a French
politician and statesman.
(Lot
département), he was, after the outbreak of the French Revolution
, a member of the départements directory, and then elected its deputy to the National Convention
, where he associated himself with the party of the Mountain
and voted in favor of the death penalty for King Louis XVI
.
He was constantly employed on missions in the provinces, and distinguished himself by his staunch repression of opponents of the anti-Revolution risings in the départements of Landes, Basses-Pyrénées and Gers
. With his colleague Jacques Pinet (1754–1844) he established at Bayonne
a revolutionary tribunal
, with authority in the neighbouring towns. A local society denounced him for cruelty before the Convention in 1795, but charges were dismissed. He had represented the Convention in the Revolutionary Armies
of Brest
and of the Eastern Pyrenees
in 1793, and in 1795 he was sent to the armies of the Moselle
and the Rhine.
He managed to escape prosecution during the Thermidorian Reaction
, assisted Paul Barras
in resisting to the 13 Vendémiaire insurgency
, and was a member of the Council of Five Hundred
for a short while during the French Directory
. Cavaignac filled various minor administrative offices under the Consulate
and French Empire
, and in 1806 became an official Joachim Murat
's administration of the Kingdom of Naples
. During the Hundred Days
he was préfet
of the Somme
. At the Bourbon Restoration
he was proscribed as a "regicide
", and spent the last years of his life in Brussels
, where he died.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician and statesman.
Biography
Born at GourdonGourdon, Lot
Gourdon is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.The small town, Gourdon, close to Rocamadour, is situated in the south west region of France. Gourdon has a rich prehistoric past, and a high concentration of prehistoric sites...
(Lot
Lot (département)
Lot is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot River.- History :Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Languedoc. In 1808, some of the original southeastern cantons were...
département), he was, after the outbreak of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, a member of the départements directory, and then elected its deputy to the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, where he associated himself with the party of the Mountain
The Mountain
The Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
and voted in favor of the death penalty for King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
.
He was constantly employed on missions in the provinces, and distinguished himself by his staunch repression of opponents of the anti-Revolution risings in the départements of Landes, Basses-Pyrénées and Gers
Gers
The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...
. With his colleague Jacques Pinet (1754–1844) he established at Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
a revolutionary tribunal
Revolutionary Tribunal
The Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....
, with authority in the neighbouring towns. A local society denounced him for cruelty before the Convention in 1795, but charges were dismissed. He had represented the Convention in the Revolutionary Armies
French Revolutionary Army
The French Revolutionary Army is the term used to refer to the military of France during the period between the fall of the ancien regime under Louis XVI in 1792 and the formation of the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary...
of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
and of the Eastern Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
in 1793, and in 1795 he was sent to the armies of the Moselle
Moselle River
The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining the Rhine at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
and the Rhine.
He managed to escape prosecution during the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
, assisted Paul Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799.-Early life:...
in resisting to the 13 Vendémiaire insurgency
13 Vendémiaire
13 Vendémiaire Year 4 is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris...
, and was a member of the Council of Five Hundred
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred , or simply the Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France during the period commonly known as the Directory , from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the...
for a short while during the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
. Cavaignac filled various minor administrative offices under the Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
and French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, and in 1806 became an official Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
's administration of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. During the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
he was préfet
Préfet
A prefect in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements...
of the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
. At the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
he was proscribed as a "regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
", and spent the last years of his life in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, where he died.
Family
- His eldest son was Éléonore-Louis Godefroi Cavaignac (1801–1845)
- His second son was General Eugène Cavaignac (1802–1857)
- He was the brother of Jacques-Marie, vicomte CavaignacJacques-Marie, vicomte CavaignacJacques-Marie, vicomte Cavaignac was a French general. He was the brother of Jean Baptiste Cavaignac.Jacques-Marie served with distinction in the army under the Republic and successive governments. He commanded the cavalry of the XI corps in the retreat from Moscow, and eventually became Vicomte...
(1773–1855)