Blaise François Pagan (1603–1665) was a French soldier and
military engineer
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
who served in the army of
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...
. His military career ended in 1642 when he lost his sight and in 1645, he published ''Les Fortifications;'' this became the dominant text of its era on
military fortifications and significantly influenced
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban, later Marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May 163330 March 1707), commonly referred to as ''Vauban'' (), was a French military engineer who worked under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the ...
.
During the 1650 to 1653
Fronde des nobles, Pagan allegedly claimed "he would make the King (
Louis XIV
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
) die by magic" and was imprisoned in the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
, where he died in 1665.
Life
Blaise François Pagan was born in the village of
Saint-Pierre-de-Vassols
Saint-Pierre-de-Vassols (; Provençal: ''Sant Pèire de Vassòus'') is a commune in the Vaucluse ''département'' in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''vassoliens'' (male) and ''vassolie ...
, then in
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pre ...
, now part of the modern French department of
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.[Neapolitan
Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to:
Geography and history
* Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city
* Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...]
family that moved to France in 1552 and was a cadet branch of the d'Albert family, headed by the
duc de Luynes The Duke of Luynes (french: duc de Luynes ) is a territorial name belonging to the noble French house d'Albert. Luynes is, today, a commune of the Indre-et-Loire ''département'' in France. The family of Albert, which sprang from Thomas Alberti ...
. Pagan never married and died childless.
Career
![Siege of La Rochelle 1881 Henri Motte 1846 1922](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Siege_of_La_Rochelle_1881_Henri_Motte_1846_1922.jpg)
The 1590
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
ended the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...
but the assassination of
Henry IV in 1610 once again destabilised the country. The first part of the reign of
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...
(1601-1643) was marked by domestic conflict, including a series of
Huguenot rebellions
The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in southwestern France, revolted agains ...
in the 1620s. Pagan began his military career during the
1620-1622 Huguenot Rebellion and was promoted by Louis' first chief minister and his relative, the
Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes. He took part in a number of sieges, including that of
Montauban
Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, ...
in 1621, where he lost an eye and his patron Luynes died of fever.
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
replaced Luynes and after a short pause following the 1622
Treaty of Montpellier, fighting restarted in 1624. Among other actions, Pagan took part in the 1627/1628
Siege of La Rochelle
The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the Pr ...
, whose loss resulted in the 1629
Peace of Alès
The Peace of Alais, also known as the Edict of Alès or the Edict of Grace, was a treaty negotiated by Cardinal Richelieu with Huguenot leaders and signed by King Louis XIII of France on 28 June 1629. It confirmed the basic principles of the Edi ...
, ending Huguenot self-government within France. Richelieu's policies were driven not by religion but to increase Royal authority over the often autonomous French nobility and reduce the power of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
.
As part of this anti-Spanish policy, France supported the Protestant
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
in its
Eighty Years War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
against Catholic Spain;
Turenne, one of the most celebrated generals of the 17th century, was a Huguenot who began his career fighting for the Dutch. France also became involved in the 1628-1631
War of the Mantuan Succession, in opposition to the Spanish-backed candidate; in March 1629, Pagan was part of a force that stormed barricades blocking the Pas de Suse, an act celebrated for its courage.
Many of the actions involving Pagan were commanded by his fellow Provencal and Governor of
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
, the
duc de Montmorency
Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, Val-d'Oise, Montmorency, near Paris.
History
The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Mont ...
, who was executed in 1632 for treason. However, he was closely involved in the capture and occupation of
Nancy in September 1633, when France invaded the
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following t ...
, then ruled by the pro-Spanish
Charles IV.
Increasingly close links between France and the Dutch Republic led to a formal alliance in August 1634, followed by the outbreak of the
1635-1659 Franco-Spanish War. Pagan fought in many of the actions associated with this war, including
Saint-Quentin, Landrecies,
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
,
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
and finally
Bapaume
Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''.
Geography
Bapaume is a far ...
in 1641.
![Les Fortifications du comte de Pagan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Les_Fortifications_du_comte_de_Pagan.jpg)
In 1640, Portugal declared its independence from Spain, initiating the
Restoration War, which was supported by France. Pagan was promoted
Maréchal de camp
''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848.
The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...
in 1642 and assigned to the Portuguese army but before taking up this post, he was blinded in an accident, ending his military career. Pagan was invited by the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
to submit a proposal for fortifying their base at
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
; this does not appear to have been accepted but in 1645, he published ''Les Fortifications.''
The increasing power of artillery during the 16th century required a complete rethink on the design of fortifications. Much of the original work was done by Italian engineers and the famous 'star-shape'
bastion fort
A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...
design, used in various forms until the mid-19th century, was known as the ''trace Italienne.'' These were then upgraded by French engineers, including Jean Errard (1554-1610) and Antoine de Ville (1596-1656); unlike them, Pagan's work was almost entirely theoretical but his background in geometry and mathematics allowed him to apply their concepts in a more structured way. This included where to locate outworks or exposed bastions to slow down an attack and how to adapt designs to the terrain; the principles he outlined were all used by Vauban in his 'first system.'
![Bastille 1715](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Bastille_1715.jpg)
The death of Louis XIII in 1643 and the succession of the five year old Louis XIV led to a power struggle between the French nobility and the Royalist party, headed by
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...
and
Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...
. During the 1650-1653
Fronde des nobles in 1652, he allegedly claimed 'he would make the King (Louis XIV) die by magic.' Combined with his connections to Montmorency and Louis' uncle
Gaston, duc d'Orléans, this resulted in a sentence of eight years imprisonment in the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
; Mazarin offered him the option of expulsion from France, but Pagan insisted on 'unconditional release' and appears to have been forgotten after Mazarin died in 1661.
He spent his captivity studying and publishing works on various topics, including mathematics (''Théorèmes géométriques''), astronomy (''Théorèmes des planètes,'' ''Les Tables astronomiques'' and ''Astrologie naturelle'') and even geography (''Relation de la rivière des Amazones''). His last letter from the Bastille was written on 18 November 1665 and he appears to have died soon after; he was buried in the church of
Saint Antoine-des-Champs, destroyed during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
[Perrault, Charles p. 28]
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagan, Blaise Francois
1600s births
1665 deaths
French nobility
French military engineers
17th-century soldiers
Military personnel from Avignon