Pierre-Joseph Cambon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 27thPresident of the National Convention | |
| In office 19 September 1793 – 3 October 1793 | |
| Preceded by | Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne |
| Succeeded by | Louis-Joseph Charlier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1756-06-10)10 June 1756 Montpellier,Kingdom of France |
| Died | 15 February 1820(1820-02-15) (aged 63) Saint-Josse-ten-Noode,Kingdom of the Netherlands |
| Political party | The Mountain |
Pierre-Joseph Cambon (French pronunciation:[pjɛʁʒozɛfkɑ̃bɔ̃], 10 June 1756 – 15 February 1820) was a French statesman. He is perhaps best known for speaking up againstMaximilien Robespierre at the National Convention, sparking the end of Robespierre's reign.
Born inMontpellier, Cambon was the son of a wealthy cotton merchant. In 1785, his father retired, leaving Pierre and his two brothers to run the business, but in 1788 Pierre entered politics, and was sent by his fellow-citizens as deputy suppliant to theEstates-General, where he was mostly a spectator. In January 1790 he returned to Montpellier, was elected a member of the municipality, co-founded theJacobin Club in that city, and on theflight to Varennes ofKingLouis XVI in 1791, he drew up a petition to invite theNational Constituent Assembly to proclaim aRepublic —the first in date of such petitions.
Elected to theLegislative Assembly, Cambon was viewed as independent, honest, and talented in the financial domain. He was the most active member of the committee of finance and was often charged to verify the state of thetreasury. His analytical skills were recorded in his remarkable speech of 24 November 1791.
It was Cambon who made the initial suggestion for the state debt to be "rendered republican and uniform" and it was he who proposed to convert all the contracts of the creditors of the state into an inscription in a great book, which should be called the "Great Book of the Public Debt".[1] This proposal was implemented in 1792 when theGreat Book of the Public Debt was created as a consolidation of all the states debts.[2][3]
He held his distance from political clubs and even factions, but nonetheless defended the new institutions of the state. On 9 February 1792, he succeeded in having a law passed confiscating the possessions of theémigrés, and tried to arrange thedeportation ofnon-juring priests toFrench Guiana. He was the last president of the Legislative Assembly.
Re-elected to theNational Convention, Cambon opposed the pretensions of theParis Commune and the proposed grant of money to the municipality ofParis by the state. On 15 December 1792, he persuaded the convention to adopt a proclamation to all nations in favour of auniversal republic. In the year after he denouncedJean-Paul Marat's placards as inciting to murder, summonedGeorges Danton to give an account of his ministry, supervised the furnishing of military supplies to theFrench Revolutionary Army, and was a strong opponent ofCharles François Dumouriez, in spite of the general's great popularity.
Cambon incurred the hatred of thetheistMaximilien Robespierre (seeCult of the Supreme Being) by proposing the suppression of the pay to the clergy, which would have meant theseparation of church and state. His authority grew steadily.
Although he took part in topplingRobespierre in July 1794, Cambon was targeted and pursued by theThermidorian Reaction, and had to live in hiding in Montpellier. During theHundred Days, he was a deputy to the lower chamber, but only took part in debates over the budget. Proscribed by theBourbon Restoration in 1816, he died atSaint-Josse-ten-Noode, nearBrussels.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cambon, Pierre Joseph".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
