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Alban de Villeneuve-Bargemon

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Alban de Villeneuve-Bargemont
Personal details
Born(1784-08-08)August 8, 1784
Saint-Auban, Kingdom of France
DiedJune 8, 1850(1850-06-08) (aged 65)
Paris, Second French Republic
OccupationEconomist, Politician
AwardsCommander of the Legion of Honour

The Viscount Alban de Villeneuve-Bargemont (August 8, 1784 – June 8, 1850) was a French economist and politician. A Catholic nobleman, he was among the first, alongside Armand de Melun, to denounce industrial exploitation and to introduce early social legislation.

He was a member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques and a Commander of the Legion of Honour.

Biography

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Alban de Villeneuve-Bargemont came from one of the oldest noble families in Provence. He was the eighth of fourteen children of Joseph de Villeneuve, Lord of Bargemont, a prosecutor in Aix, and Sophie de Bausset de Roquefort. His brothers included Christophe de Villeneuve-Bargemont, Emmanuel-Ferdinand de Villeneuve-Bargemont, Joseph de Villeneuve-Bargemont, Jean-Baptiste de Villeneuve-Bargemont, and historian Louis-François de Villeneuve-Bargemont.

He was the nephew of Pierre-Ferdinand de Bausset-Roquefort, Archbishop of Aix, and the great-nephew of Barthélémy-Joseph de Villeneuve-Bargemont and Louis Jean Baptiste Le Clerc de Lassigny de Juigné, notable deputies of the Estates-General of 1789.[1]

Administrator

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Villeneuve-Bargemont served as an auditor at the Council of State in 1810, sub-prefect of Zierikzee (1811), prefect of Bouches-de-l'Èbre (1812), and prefect of Sambre-et-Meuse (1814). During the Bourbon Restoration, he held several prefecture posts, including Tarn-et-Garonne, Charente, Creuse, Meurthe, Loire-Inférieure, and Nord. He was appointed Councillor of State in 1828 but as a Legitimist refused to the oath to Louis Philippe following the July Revolution of 1830.[2]

Parliamentary Career

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Villeneuve-Bargemont was elected as a deputy in 1830 and aligned with the Legitimists.[2] He re-entered politics in 1840, representing Lille until 1848, where he focused on social legislation. He was instrumental in introducing laws regulating child labor.[3]

Contributions to Social Catholicism

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Map about poverty in France, from Villeneuve-Bargemont's 1834 book Économie politique chrétienne

Villeneuve-Bargemont is recognized for addressing the "social question" in France before Karl Marx. He criticized industrial capitalism for exploiting workers without moral or physical safeguards,[4] from a Catholic perspective.

Publications

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His notable works include:

  • Christian Political Economy (1834)
  • History of Political Economy (1835–1837)
  • Discourses on Child Labor Laws (1840)
  • The Book of the Afflicted (1841)
  • On the State of Political Economy in Spain (1844)

Personal life

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Villeneuve-Bargemont was married twice, to Mathilde Dubreil de Frégose (d. 1822) and Emma de Carbonnel de Canisy. He had five children, including Adrienne de Villeneuve-Bargemont, a lady-in-waiting to Empress Eugénie, and Elzéar de Villeneuve, a cavalry officer.

His papers are preserved at the National Archives of France.[5]

References

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  1. ^ de Juigné de Lassigny, E. (1900). Histoire de la Maison de Villeneuve, en Provence - Volume 1. Lyon: Imprimerie d'Alexandre Rey. pp. 144–157.
  2. ^ a b Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Jean-Paul-Alban Villeneuve-Barcement" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. ^ Dumont, Jean (2002). L'Église au risque de l'histoire. Éditions de Paris. p. 115.
  4. ^ Ploncard d'Assac, Jacques (1970). Les jeunes ont droit à la vérité. Société de philosophie politique. pp. 107–108.
  5. ^ Archives nationales
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