François Cabarrus

François Cabarrus
Count of Cabarrús
Born	1752 Bayonne
Died	1810 Seville
Buried	Seville Cathedral

François Cabarrus or Francisco Cabarrús Lalanne, conde de Cabarrús (1752–1810) was a French adventurer and Spanish financier.

He was born in Bayonne, 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 (a town near Bayonne), coming from the Navarre region of Spain.

Francois was sent to study in Toulouse 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 near Madrid, 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). However, he soon began to take an active interest in public matters of the court in nearby Madrid.

The Age of Enlightenment had reached Madrid, and King Charles III, was favourable to reforms advocated by a circle of politicians, including Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, Count Campomanes, Count Floridablanca, Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea (Count of Aranda). Among these Cabarrus became conspicuous, especially in finance.

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