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Charles de Tubières de Pastel de Levoy de Grimoire, marquis de Caylus (1698 – 12 May 1750) was a French naval officer who was governor-general of the French Windward Islands from 1745 to 1750. He had dissipated a considerable fortune and was deeply in debt when he took office, and used his power in wartime conditions to establish lucrative illegal arrangements to trade with France's enemies the English and the Dutch. A young nobleman arrived in Martinique in 1748, and for several months used revenues from his family estates on the island to give meals and dances for the elite. After he left it was found that he had been an impostor.


Family

Charles de Tubières de Caylus was born in 1698. He was seigneur of Thubières, Lévis, Postels and Grimoard. His parents were Jean Anne de Tubières-Grimoard de Pestels de Lévis, compte de Caylus (), and Marthe Marguerite Hippolyte Le Valois de Villette (1671–1729). He was the nephew of Daniel-Charles-Gabriel de Caylus, bishop of Auxerre. In 1686 his uncle, the marquis de Caylus, married Marie-Marguerite de Villète, niece of
Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...
. The famous antiquary Anne-Claude-Philippe de Caylus (1692–1765) was his brother.


Naval career

Caylus became a knight of the
Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
and infantry colonel. In July 1741 Caylus was ''
capitaine de vaisseau Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide includ ...
'' of the ''Borée'' (66) and commander of a small French squadron that included the ''Aquilon'' (46) and the ''Flore'' (26). They were coming from Martinique. On 25 July 1741 off Cap Spartel they met a British force under Captain
Curtis Barnett Curtis Barnett (died 2 May 1746), was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the War of the Austrian Succession, commanding ships in the Mediterranean and in the English Channel, before being appointed a commodore in 1744 he was appointed ...
of the ''
Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' (60) with the ''Feversham'' (44) and ''Folkestone'' (44). The British asked to be allowed to board to confirm they were not Spanish, and opened fire when they refused. After the ships on both sides had suffered some damage and loss of men, the British sent a boat to the Borée under a flag of truce and discovered the truth. The French did not know whether France and Britain were still at peace, since there had been a risk of war when they left the West Indies, and demanded that Barnet's lieutenant swear that this was the case. On 16 December 1744 the chevalier de Caylus led a squadron of six vessels into the harbour of
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 ...
during a festival that the French were holding on that island to celebrate the convalescence of the king. Caylus had all the vices of a fashionable man and had dissipated a considerable fortune. His money had gone on gambling, women and food, and he had borrowed heavily from a
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
merchant named Roux and other creditors. To recover his fortunes he requested and obtained the governorship general of the Windward Islands. The minister wrongly complained of his predecessor Jacques-Charles Bochart de Champigny( fr), who perhaps by 1744 no longer had the same energy he had displayed at
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
against the English when he was only the governor of Martinique, but who was popular with the inhabitants of the islands. Before leaving to take up his governorship Caylus managed to gain a stay in proceedings against him by his creditors due to the state of war.


Martinique

During the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
(1740–1748) the marquis de Caylus was made governor and lieutenant-general of the Windward Islands in 1745. He replaced the marquis de Champigny. At the start of 1745 the English attacked
Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...
twice, and in the absence of any French naval presence in the Antilles captured all merchant ships. The balance changed when two of the kings frigates, the ''Amphytrite'' and the ''Mégère'', came as escort of a convoy of 10-12 merchant ships. Two days later they were followed by the ''Espérance'', ''Northumberland'', ''Sérieux'', ''Trident'', ''Diamant'' and ''Aquilon'', which anchored at Fort-Royal, Martinique. Caylus was on the ''Espérance'', and had given passage to a Spanish party including the archbishop of
Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...
. Caylus had left Toulon around the start of 1745, touched at Cadiz and anchored at Fort-Royal on 30 April 1745. He was received by de Champigny, who took passage on one of the ship of the squadron. Caylus was formally recognized as governor general by the troops and the sovereign council in Martinique on 9 and 10 May 1745. Later he was named ''chef d'escadre''. Caylus made his home in
Saint-Pierre, Martinique Saint-Pierre (, ; ; Martinican Creole: ) is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre by a volcanic eruption in 1902, it ...
. He was there in 1747 when, to everyone's surprise,
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais (11 February 169910 November 1753) was a French naval officer and colonial administrator, in the service of the French East India Company. Biography La Bourdonnais entered the service of the Fren ...
, governor of the French possessions in India, arrived at Fort-Royal on his way back to France. Once in office, Caylus looked for ways to profit from his ability to define the rules of privateering and foreign trade. He invested in armaments, which he supplied to corsairs who worked for him and scoured the seas around the island for booty. Through secret agents he established relations with the governors of English islands, and arranged for goods imported from these islands to be sold as booty, and for goods bought in Saint-Pierre by his agents to be sold to the English. Through these means, he profited from the scarcity of goods in Martinique. After France declared war on Holland, Caylus established relations with Heliger, governor of
Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius (, ), also known locally as Statia (), is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially " public body") of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, so ...
, and severed ties with the English. The two governors arranged to make huge profits supplying the English, allies of the Dutch, with products supposedly from the Dutch colonies. They also arranged for French ships to sail under Dutch passports. By 1748 the islanders were suffering from an increasingly tight blockade by the English. Supplies could only be obtained from Curacao and Sint Eustatius. Caylus was blamed for the extortionate prices. In 1748 a small ship arrived in Martinique from
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
, the ''Coureur'', carrying a passenger who called himself the "comte de Tarnaud" and put on very distinguished airs. The rumour spread that he was Ercole Rinaldo of Este, hereditary prince of Modena, grandson of the
Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans (french: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King ...
and brother of the
duchess of Penthièvre Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
. Caylus sent a letter asking him to come to Saint Pierre. The young man refused, proclaimed that he was Hercule-Renaud d'Est, and wrote that if the governor wanted to meet him he should come to Fort Royal. The governor started out then changed his mind and returned to Saint Pierre. Soon after the supposed prince came to Saint Pierre and found accommodation with the Jesuits. Later the young man moved to the Dominicans, where he entertained in style. The news of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle arrived at this time, and the blockade was lifted. The duke of Penthièvre had considerable property on the island, and his agent was persuaded to supply funds to the young man. He was neither extravagant or miserly, but lived very much as a person of his rank would be expected to live, although the islanders began to tire of the expense. Message were sent to Europe to confirm his identity, but the prince left for Portugal before a reply was received. Shortly after, a courier arrived instructing the governor to arrest the stranger. The impostor was at first accepted when he arrived in Portugal, then in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, when orders again came for his arrest. He escaped and disappeared forever. In August 1749 Caylus was deputy for the nobility for the province 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 governor of Martinique,
André Martin de Pointesable André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...
, who had been in France recovering from an illness, returned in 1750. Caylus died on 12 May 1750 in Saint-Pierre, Martinique, aged about 52. He died alone and unexpectedly in the small house named ''Tricolor'' he rented on the heights of Saint-Pierre, and was buried with little ceremony. The governor of the island died a few days later.


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caylus, Charles de Tubières de Pastel de Levoy de Grimoire, marquis de 1698 births 1750 deaths French Governors of Martinique Governors general of the French Antilles Governors of French Saint Lucia