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Etienne CabetFrench publicist
Date of Birth: 01.01.1788
Country:  France |
Content:
Biography of Étienne Cabet
Étienne Cabet was a French journalist and publicist born on January 1, 1788, in Dijon, to a family of barrel makers. He became a member of the Carbonari, a secret republican organization during the Restoration period (1815-1830). In 1830, he took part in street battles and eventually obtained the position of district prosecutor in Corsica, which he held for several months.
Political Activism
Cabet's opposition to the July Monarchy (1830-1848) was reflected in his publications in the weekly newspaper "Le Populaire," which he edited from 1833 to 1834. In 1834, Cabet emigrated to Belgium, and later to the United Kingdom, where he met Robert Owen. Unlike Babeuf, Cabet believed that communism could be achieved peacefully through universal elections. His novel "Voyage en Icarie," published in 1840, described a country without police, army, or judges, with a democratic system of elections and equal distribution of goods without private property. Cabet's utopian doctrine became known as "Icarian communism."
Icarian Movement
In 1843, Cabet organized the Icarian movement in France, with its own printing press, which gained significant popularity among craftsmen and workers. In 1848, with Owen's assistance, he obtained a plot of land in Texas, USA, where he established the first Icarian colony. However, internal conflicts arose among the settlers, and Cabet himself was expelled from the community. In 1849, he relocated the colony to Nauvoo, Illinois, where he resided, with some interruptions, until 1856. Due to continued disagreements, Cabet left Nauvoo and founded new settlements in St. Louis, Corning, and Cloverdale.
Legacy and Death
Étienne Cabet passed away on November 8, 1856, in St. Louis, Missouri. His ideas and contributions to the concept of utopian communism continue to be studied and discussed to this day.
