Eugène Pastré
| Eugène Pastré | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1806 |
| Died | 1868 (aged 61–62) |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Shipowner and merchant |
| Known for | Campagne Pastré |
| Relatives | Jean Pastré (grandson) |
Eugène Pastré (1806 – 1868) was a French shipowner and merchant, the first owner of the Château Pastré in Marseille, France.
Eugène Pastré was the son of the shipowner Jean François Pastré (1758-1821) and his wife Eugénie Sabine Gautier (1776-1862). He was the fourth of five children. A visitor to Alexandria, Egypt in 1833-1834 described Eugène Pastré as one of the two leaders of the European community there. Later his brother Jules Pastré conducted the family business in Alexandria, where he lived for forty years. In October 1854 Jules gave a brilliant fête with fireworks in honor of the new Khedive, Saïda-Pasha, that was attended by leading dignitaries from Cairo and representatives of European countries.
The Pastré family fortune was made and lost in fifty years. After the death of their father, starting in 1825 the five brothers, Jean-Baptiste, Jules, Paul, Eugène and Joseph Pastré, quickly expanded into shipping and trade between Europe and the East, and even into banking. They were involved in the cotton and wheat trade, agricultural and industrial equipment and public works. Eugène specialized in the English end of the business.
In an 1851 report the French consul in Egypt reported that the commercial paper of the Maison Pastré frères was more valued than that of the major Italian and English houses. From Alexandria the family extended to China, India, the Persian Gulf, Tunisia and West Africa. The fortune proved ephemeral. After the 1860s, after the death of Eugène and two of his brothers, the family proved unable to adapt to changes in the political situation in Egypt, particularly the crisis of 1875-1880 in which the financial market of Alexandria collapsed. and their affairs were eventually wound down.
Between 1836 and 1853 the Pastré family accumulated 120 hectares (300 acres) of land between Pointe Rouge and the Grotte Rolland in the south of Marseille, which they made into a park. The Pastrés had three large houses built there between 1845 and 1865: the Château Estrangin, Château Pastré and Château Sanderval. The well-known architect Jean-Charles Danjoy designed the Château Pastré, the largest of the buildings, completed in 1862. It is located between the hills and the Mediterranean Sea, with large windows looking out over the park.
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