Historian hails Edinburgh-born slavery abolitionist who 'invented' Cannes

Edinburgh-born statesman has a statue and streets named after him in Cannes

A leading authority on French history has suggested the name of Nice's world-famous Promenade des Anglais should be tweaked to honour an Edinburgh-born statesman who brought generations of prosperity to the Côte d'Azur.

Dr Laura O'Brien, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at Northumbria University, argues that justice should be served to Lord Henry Brougham, whose interest in Cannes sparked its birth as an enclave for the rich and famous in the 1830s.

Background

Lord Henry Brougham's statue in Cannes was unveiled in 1878.

If the extraordinary life story of Lord Brougham was adapted into a screenplay, it would surely be a Palme d'Or contender.

Born in 1778 in relative obscurity in Edinburgh, Brougham, a journalist, turned barrister, MP, and peer, would go on to help end the slave trade and "invent" Cannes, which during much of his lifetime was a little-known fishing village in the south of France.

Visitors to Cannes today can gaze up at a gleaming white marble statue of Lord Brougham and walk streets and eat in restaurants that carry his name.

But despite this, the abolitionist remains relatively unknown in the Capital, with the small plaque that marks his accepted birthplace at St Andrew Square positively dwarfed in stature by the contentious Melville Monument to his contemporary, Lord Henry Dundas.

A co-founder of one of the most influential British magazines of all time, the Edinburgh Review, the Royal High School and University of Edinburgh-educated Brougham moved to London in the early 1800s, where he became an advocate.

While he attracted much attention following his successful defence of Queen Caroline in 1820, Brougham was also a prominent politician, and served as an MP on multiple occasions for the Whig party.

A skilled orator, he was seldom short of a word or two. At six hours, Brougham holds the record for the longest, non-stop speech in House of Commons history.

But never were his words more important than during the long campaign to abolish slavery across the British Empire.

A leading liberal figure, and the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, Brougham was instrumental in making the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act a reality.

Journey to Cannes

One year on from the landmark slave trade bill, the life of the intrepid Scot, who was now in his mid-fifties, took an unexpected twist.

Travelling to the Mediterranean in an effort to rejuvenate his ailing daughter in 1834, Brougham and his entourage were turned away at Edinburgh’s future sister city, Nice, due to an outbreak of cholera.

They retreated to Cannes, a sleepy coastal commune of around 3000 inhabitants. Brougham loved it so much he had a villa constructed and would spend his remaining winters there.

Through his high social standing and long list of fashionable acquaintances, the retired chancellor almost single-handedly altered the demographic of the region. Within a matter of years, countless British lords, ladies and aristocrats were sailing to Cannes in the winter months, building their own villas and enjoying the health benefits the fair climate offered.

To give an indication of how deep the pockets of those visitors were, it's said that some would ship in their own turf each year - British lawns being unable to survive the baking summer heat of the French Riviera.

Trend-setter

Historian Dr Laura O'Brien, who specialises in 19th century and 20th century French history, said that, if not for Lord Brougham, Cannes, which is now a city of more than 74,000 people, may have remained a small fishing village.

Speaking to the Evening News, Dr O'Brien said: "Brougham's role in shaping Cannes as a tourism destination for the elite is really important.

"With his connections to high society across Europe, he set the trend for travel to the south of France and was able to encourage people to head there in the winter months from abroad."

Cadillac link

His professional career and popularising of Cannes aside, Brougham made an impact on private transportation by having a horse-drawn carriage made to his specifications in 1838. The "Brougham" cab design became common throughout the Victorian world and would even inspire car models into the 20th century, including the 1987 Cadillac Brougham.

Promenade des Écossais?

Regarded by many historians as the resort's "inventor", Lord Brougham, who would spend the rest of his life in Cannes, played a vital role in developing the town's infrastructure, says Dr O'Brien, and he was at least partly responsible for the construction of a canal.

Access to a plentiful supply of fresh water allowed wealthy residents to import exotic plants, such as the palm. Now ubiquitous, the once foreign tree appears prominently on Cannes' coat of arms and is an icon of the Cannes Film Festival, where the highest award on offer is the Palme d'Or.

As a result of Brougham's decision to move to Cannes, and the subsequent flood of well-heeled British tourists, nearby Nice marked the unprecedented Anglo influx by naming a 7km stretch of its coastline the Promenade des Anglais [lit: Walkway of the English].

But, while Brougham has two streets named after him in Tollcross - Brougham Street and Brougham Place, few are aware of the full extent of his exploits in his hometown.

Dr Laura O'Brien added: "If you go to Cannes, Brougham is almost certainly better known than he is in Edinburgh, as the creator of this Mediterranean resort.

"He set the trend for travel to the south of France, long before the railways made it practical for the Parisian elites to go there.

"One of the many interesting things about the Côte d'Azur is the Promenade des Anglais, but it should really be named the Promenade des Écossais."

An emblem of gratitude to a man who helped transform a little-known French commune into a city of global significance, a statue to Lord Brougham was unveiled in Cannes ten years after his death there in 1868.

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