Louis Nicolas de Clerville, a.k.a. Chevalier de Clerville, held many military positions during his life in France in 1610–1677. He was associated with

Pierre-Paul Riquet Stele in Toulouse Cathedral Pierre-Paul Riquet, Baron de Bonrepos (29 June 1609 (some sources say 1604) – 4 October 1680) was the engineer and canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi. Background Paul Riquet was b ...

and the building of the

Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (french: le Midi). Originally named the ''Canal royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considere ...

. Clerville played an important role in

François de Vendôme, Duc de Beaufort François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort (16 January 1616 – 25 June 1669) was the son of César, Duke of Vendôme, and Françoise de Lorraine. He was a prominent figure in the Fronde, and later went on to fight in the Mediterranean. He is sometim ...

's 1664 expedition against Algiers and attempt to establish a French stronghold at Djidjelli (or Gigeri, present-day

Jijel Jijel ( ar, جيجل), the classical Igilgili, is the capital of Jijel Province in north-eastern Algeria. It is flanked by the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Corniche Jijelienne and had a population of 131,513 in 2008. Jijel is the administra ...

). During his association with the canal, Clerville worked for

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

, minister of finance under King

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

. He served as Colbert's ''commissaire general des fortifications'' building ports, dry docks and fortresses. Clerville verified Riquet's proposal for the canal and was Colbert's eyes and ears keeping track of Riquet's efforts. Clerville originated the ideas for the building a single large dam of the Laudot valley near Saint-Ferréol (a hamlet of Revel). When this was accomplished, it became the Bassin de St. Ferréol. He also had the idea for digging the tunnel through the Cammazes ridge to connect the '' rigole de la montagne'' to the Bassin de St. Ferréol. Clerville lost his standing with

King Louis King Louis may refer to: Kings * Louis I (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis II (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis III (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis IV (disambiguation), multiple ...

in 1673 and died in 1677.

References

External links

Planet TP article on ClervilleNicolas Janburg's article on ClervilleFrench Struturae article on Canal du Midi showing Clerville's name
{{authority control Canal du Midi French military engineers 1610 births 1677 deaths