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Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis Of Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis of Vauban (May 163330 March 1707), commonly referred to as Vauban (), was a French Royal Army officer and engineer who served under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the greatest military engineer of his time, and one of the most important in European military history. His principles for fortifications remained in use for nearly 100 years after his death, while aspects of his offensive tactics were employed into the twentieth century. Viewing civilian infrastructure as closely connected to military effectiveness, Vauban upgraded many of France's major ports, as well as new projects like the ''Canal de la Bruche'', which is still in use today. He founded the , whose curriculum was based on his own principles of design, strategy and training. His economic tract, , used statistics in support of his arguments, making it a precursor of modern economics. Later destroyed by royal decree, it contained radical proposals for a more even distribution of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyacinthe Rigaud
Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra (; 18 July 1659 – 29 December 1743), known in French as Hyacinthe Rigaud (), was a Catalan-French baroque painter most famous for his portraits of Louis XIV and other members of the French nobility. Biography Rigaud was born in Perpignan, then part of the Crown of Aragon, a few months before Spain ceded the city to France under the Treaty of the Pyrenees (7 November 1659). His family, the ''Rigau'', were Catalan; he was the son of a tailor, the grandson of painter-gilders from Roussillon, and the elder brother of Gaspard Rigaud, also a painter. Rigaud was baptised with his Catalan name in the old Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Perpignan on 20 July 1659, two days after his birth at rue de la Porte-d'Assaut. His baptismal name was ''Jyacintho Rigau or Jacint Rigau i Ros'' This is sometimes transliterated as ''Híacint Francesc Honrat Mathias Pere Martyr Andreu Joan Rigau'' After the Roussillon and the Cerdanya were ceded to France the followi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Namur (1692)
The siege of Namur, 25 May–30 June 1692, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War, and was part of the French grand plan (devised over the winter of 1691–92) to defeat the forces of the Grand Alliance and bring a swift conclusion to the war. Namur, sitting on the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers, was a considerable fortress, and was a significant political and military asset. French forces, guided by Vauban, forced the town's surrender on 5 June, but the citadel, staunchly defended by Menno van Coehoorn, managed to hold on until 30 June before capitulating, bringing an end to the 36-day siege. Concerned that King William III planned to recapture the stronghold, King Louis XIV subsequently ordered his commander-in-chief, the duc de Luxembourg, to join battle with the Allies in the field, resulting in the bloody Battle of Steenkerque on 3 August. Background As in 1691, five large armies were created for the five major fronts of the war: Flanders, the Moselle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last monarch of France. Prior to his reign, Napoleon III was known as Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. He was born at the height of the First French Empire in the Tuileries Palace at Paris, the son of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland (r. 1806–1810), and Hortense de Beauharnais, and paternal nephew of the reigning Emperor Napoleon I. It would only be two months following his birth that he, in accordance with Napoleon I's dynastic naming policy, would be bestowed the name of Charles-Louis Napoleon, however, shortly thereafter, Charles was removed from his name. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was the first and only president of the French Second Republic, 1848 French presidential election, elected in 1848. He 1851 French coup d'état, seized power by force i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Age Of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained through rationalism and empiricism, the Enlightenment was concerned with a wide range of social and Politics, political ideals such as natural law, liberty, and progress, toleration and fraternity (philosophy), fraternity, constitutional government, and the formal separation of church and state. The Enlightenment was preceded by and overlapped the Scientific Revolution, which included the work of Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, Pierre Gassendi, Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton, among others, as well as the philosophy of Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and John Locke. The dating of the period of the beginning of the Enlightenment can be attributed to the publication of René Descartes' ''Discourse on the Method'' in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary laws of a government. Belgium In Belgium, a decree is a law of a community or regional parliament, e.g. the Flemish Parliament. Catholic Church A decree (Latin: ''decretum'') in the usage of the canon law of the Catholic Church has various meanings. Any papal bull, brief, or motu proprio is a decree inasmuch as these documents are legislative acts of the pope. In this sense, the term is quite ancient. The Roman Congregations were formerly empowered to issue decrees in matters which come under their particular jurisdiction but were forbidden from continuing to do so under Pope Benedict XV in 1917. Each ecclesiastical province and also each diocese may issue decrees in their periodical synods within their sphere of authority. While i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canal De La Bruche
The ''Canal de la Bruche'' () is a canal in eastern France that originally connected Soultz-les-Bains, near Molsheim, to the city of Strasbourg. It was built in 1682 by the famous military engineer Vauban, principally to transport sandstone from the quarries of Soultz for use in the construction of the fortifications of Strasbourg. The last commercial load was carried in 1939 and the canal formally closed in 1957, after bridges damaged during World War II were rebuilt with insufficient headroom for navigation. The canal is long and has 11 locks on its course, with a total rise of almost . It roughly parallels the river Bruche (river), taking its water supply from the confluence of the Bruche and Mossig rivers at Wolxheim, with a secondary supply downriver at Kolbsheim. It enters the river Ill at Montagne Verte in Strasbourg, just downstream of the confluence of the Bruche and Ill, and some upstream of the centre of the city. When the canal was built, the Ill provided na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest of any monarch in history. An emblem of the Absolutism (European history), age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's legacy includes French colonial empire, French colonial expansion, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War involving the Habsburgs, and a controlling influence on the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, style of fine arts and architecture in France, including the transformation of the Palace of Versailles into a center of royal power and politics. Louis XIV's pageantry and opulence helped define the French Baroque architecture, French Baroque style of art and architecture and promoted his image as absolute ruler of France in the early modern period. Louis XIV began his personal rule of France ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Royal Army
The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another during the Hundred Days in 1815. It was permanently dissolved following the July Revolution in 1830. The French Royal Army became a model for the new regimental system that was to be imitated throughout Europe from the mid-17th century onward. It was regarded as Europe's greatest military force for much of its existence. Early history The first permanent army of France, which was paid with regular wages instead of being supplied by feudal levies, was established in the early 15th century under Charles VII. It was formed due to the need for reliable troops during the Hundred Years' War, though the Army was not disbanded because it saw continued use by the Kings of France following the conflict. Upon the outbreak of a conflict, an ordonn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Academy Of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is one of the earliest Academy of Sciences, Academies of Sciences. Currently headed by Patrick Flandrin (President of the academy), it is one of the five Academies of the . __TOC__ History The Academy of Sciences traces its origin to Colbert's plan to create a general academy. He chose a small group of scholars who met on 22 December 1666 in the King's library, near the present-day Bibliothèque nationale de France, Bibliothèque Nationale, and thereafter held twice-weekly working meetings there in the two rooms assigned to the group. The first 30 years of the academy's existence were relatively informal, since no statutes had as yet been laid down for the ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of Saint Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles. By the authorities of the French Republic, it is considered a predecessor of the Legion of Honour, with which it shares the red ribbon (though the Legion of Honour is awarded to military personnel and civilians alike). Although officially abolished by the government authorities of the July Revolution in 1830 following the French Revolution, its activities carried on as a dynastic order of the formerly sovereign royal family. As such, it is still recognised by the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry. (PDF) Members |
Order Of The Holy Spirit
The Order of the Holy Spirit (; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost) is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France. It should not be confused with the Holy Ghost Fathers, Congregation of the Holy Ghost or with the religious Order of the Holy Ghost. It was the senior chivalric order of France by precedence, although not by age, since the Order of Saint Michael was established more than a century earlier. Although officially abolished by the government authorities in 1830 following the July Revolution, its activities carried on. It is still recognised by the International Commission for Orders of Chivalry. History Prior to the creation of the Order of the Holy Spirit in 1578 by King Henry III, the senior order of chivalry in France had been the Order of Saint Michael. The idea flashed to him in Venice, where he had seen the original manuscript of an ''Order of the Sain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Hulst (1702)
The siege of Hulst or assault on Hulst occurred during the War of the Spanish Succession, between 27 and 2 September 1702. Vauban and Bedmar, commanding 20 battalions of French and Spanish troops attempted to divert Allied forces from the siege of Venlo. However the attack was unsuccessful and failed to keep the Allies from capturing Venlo. This makes Hulst the only place to have successfully resisted a siege by Vauban. Prelude In May 1702, the Dutch Republic, England and the Holy Roman Emperor had declared war on France and the War of the Spanish Succession had begun. French troops had taken up positions in the Spanish Netherlands and in Germany before the war and were directly threatening the Dutch border. An Allied army under the Prince of Nassau-Usingen had already began the siege of Kaiserswerth, in Germany, on 18 April to secure the eastern flank of the Dutch Republic. The Duke of Boufflers' French army, to save Kaiserwerth, had pursued a Dutch covering force, under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
