Record

Authorised form of nameCasaux; Charles (1727 - 1796); Marquis of; economist
Other forms of nameJean-Alexandre
Alexandre
Other forms of surnameCasaud
Cazaud
Cazeau
Roumillac
Dates1727 - 1796
NationalityBritish
French
Place of birthAngoulme, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, Europe or Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, North and Central America
Date of birth September 1727
Place of deathLondon
Date of death1796
OccupationSoldier; plantation and slave owner
Research fieldEconomics
Politics
Agriculture
ActivityCareer:
Dragoon, Surgères regiment (1745-1752); settled in Grenada in the parish of Sauteurs where he became wealthy through cultivation of sugar cane on plantations which used enslaved people for labour (1757); supported the English invasion of Grenada and bceame a naturalised British citizen (1759) though his citizenship fluctuated between British and French over subsequent decades including when the French reclaimed Grenada in 1780; representative of the French planters in the island of Grenada, in which capacity he was briefly imprisoned for showing disrespect to the Council; justice of the peace, Grenada; returned to Europe (1777) but continued to maintain his property in Grenada and travel back there; was involved in a court case opposing the emancipation of his enslaved valet Jean-Alexandre James whom he mistreated and later tried to kidnap aftter the French courts had granted him his freedom and financial damages, possibly prompting Casaux to change his name (1779); published 'Account of a New Method of Cultivating the Sugar Cane' in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol 69 (1779); wrote essays on political economy, including advocating for free trade; liberal monarchist who supported modelling the French political system on the British constitution; assisted the Count of Mirabeau, an early leader of the French Revolution, with speech writing; member of the The Society of Friends of the Constitution known as the 'Jacobin Club'; moved to London after the fall of the French monarchy (1792); co-author with Arthur Young and translator into French of 'Voyages en France: during the years 1787, 88, 89 and 90' (1794);
Memberships:
Academy of Agriculture of Florence
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election13/04/1780
Age at election52
RelationshipsSon of Jean Francois de Casaux and Marie Marthe. Married (1792) Calixte Sylvie Benoît daughter of François Benoît des Essards, silk merchant, and Jeanne Fauconnier, disputed his wife's right to make a will.
PublishedWorkshttps://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no90013677/
SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; Wikipedia; Rothschild, E. 'An Inifintie History: The Story of a Family in France over Three Centuries' (Princeton) 2021
References:
Cazaud, C. 'Account of a new method of cultivating the sugar cane' in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 69 p207-278 (http://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1779.0019, accessed 5 June 2021)
Notes:
Birthplace of Guadeloupe given in Rothschild. Born Jean-Alexandre Cazaud he adopted the name Alexandre Cazaud de Roumillac in the 1750s and went by Maquis de Cassaux and Mr Cazaud of Grenada when in London in the 1770s and in his dealings with the Royal Society, these are the names given on his election certificate and paper published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Roya Society. The accepted form of name has been taken from the election certificate and from VIAF.
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/76313089
CodeNA2698
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
L&P/7/90/2Plate, 'Sugar cane' by Charles Casaux1779
L&P/7/266Paper, 'Of the system of cultivating sugar-cane on a small scale [First copy]' by Charles Casaux1779
L&P/7/90/4Plate, 'Monthly totals and sugar cane' by Charles Casaux1779
L&P/7/90/1Paper, 'Systeme de petit culture pour les caunes a sucre [Small crop system for sugar cane]' by Charles Casaux1779
L&P/7/265Paper, 'Of the system of cultivating sugar-cane on a small scale [English translation]' by Charles Casaux1779
L&P/7/90/3Plate, 'Figures of sugar cane' by Charles Casaux1779
L&P/7/267Paper, 'Of the system of cultivating sugar-cane on a small scale [Second copy]' by Charles Casaux1779
EC/1780/01Casaux, Charles, Marquis of: certificate of election to the Royal Society
L&P/7/90Paper, 'Systeme de petit culture pour les caunes a sucre [Small crop system for sugar cane]' by Charles Casaux1779
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