Nicolas Chalon du Blé,
marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
d'
Uxelles
Uxelles () is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Jura department
The following is a list of the 494 communes of the Jura department of Fran ...
and
Cormatin
Cormatin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
The village, on the river Grosne, is home to a castle.
Geography
The Grosne forms part of the commune's south-western bord ...
(24 January 1652 – 10 April 1730) was a French general and Foreign Minister. He was also created a knight and
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
by
Louis XIV
, 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 Vers ...
, and was a diplomat for
Louis XIV
, 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 Vers ...
and
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as ''le Régent''. ...
.
Biography
Early years
du Blé was born at
Chalon-sur-Saône
Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...
.
His appearance was described as tall and ruddy, with a huge wig and a hat pulled down over his eyes. He tended to hide his military orders and decorations under a plain, tightly-buttoned coat.
[''The Man Who Would Be King; The Life of Philippe d'Orléans, Regent of France'' by Christine Pevitt. Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in Great Britain, 1997.]
Second heir of Louis Chalon du Blé, marquis of
Uxelles
Uxelles () is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Jura department
The following is a list of the 494 communes of the Jura department of Fran ...
(who died in 1658 at the siege of
Gravelines
Gravelines (, ; ; ) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As ...
), and of Marie Le Bailleul (1626–1712), Nicolas Chalon du Blé was a protégé of
Camille le Tellier de Louvois.
Military career
He was granted military leadership in 1688, during the Nine Years' War; he served as
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
at the siege of
Philippsburg
Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim".
The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718. The town is named after ...
, and was charged with holding the
Place de Mayence fortress in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
, when the French army was forced to retreat.
He initially defended during the
Siege of Mainz against the
Grand Alliance, from 1 June to 8 September 1689, but had to surrender, and was publicly booed upon his return to Paris. He retained the favor of
François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois
François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Louvois (18 January 1641 – 16 July 1691) was the French Secretary of State for War during a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. Together with his father, Michel le Tellier
Michel Le Tellier, ...
and
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 ...
, and was rewarded with the fief of
Rougemont-le-Château (1696), and he received the baton of Marshal, in 1703.
Diplomatic career
He took part as a diplomat at the preliminary conferences of
Geertruidenberg
Geertruidenberg () is a city and municipality in the province North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The city, named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, received city rights in 1213 from the count of Holland. The fortified city prospered un ...
on 9 March 1710, but the peace negotiations were broken by
Louis XIV
, 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 Vers ...
at the end of the following June. Chalon du Blé again represented the king during the negotiation for the
Peace of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of ...
in 1713.
He was one of the aristocratic architects of the
polysynody system of government, and obtained the first presidency of the Council of Foreign Affairs, (1715–1718) when the
regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of Philippe II began. This appointment was made against the better judgement of the
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, who held different foreign policy aims than Blé, and who had been the target of scorn from Blé's social circle. The Regent made the decision primarily to keep his enemy in plain view rather than in subterfuge against the government.
As president of the Council of Foreign Affairs, Blé tended to the popular, traditional French view of favoring Catholic Spain over Protestant Great Britain. This was in contradiction to the Regent, who admired Britain's
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
and open economy. When the
Cellamare Conspiracy came to light in 1718, however, Blé gave up antagonizing the Regent and "became polite, agreeable, and ate from his hand" in the words of
Saint-Simon. According to one source, the Regent even made Blé kiss the
Treaty of the Triple Alliance
The Treaty of the Triple Alliance was a treaty that allied the Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay against Paraguay. Signed in 1865, after the outbreak of the Paraguayan War, its articles (plus a Protocol) prescribed the allies' actions bo ...
, which allied France with Britain and the
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 historiography ...
against Spain.
Nicolas Chalon du Blé was one of the most notable
homosexuals
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
of his age, known for his attraction to young valets as well as aspiring officers whom he "domesticated".
[Didier Godard, ''Le Goût de Monsieur. L'homosexualité masculine au XVIIe siècle'', editions H & O, Montblanc, 2002, page 171] He died in Paris in 1730.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalon Du Ble, Nicolas
1652 births
1730 deaths
People from Chalon-sur-Saône
Marshals of France
18th-century French people
17th-century French people
17th-century LGBT people
18th-century LGBT people
People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans
People of the Ancien Régime
Marquesses of Uxelles
Marquesses of Cormatin
French military personnel of the Nine Years' War
French military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession
18th-century French diplomats
LGBT nobility