Henri De Massue, Earl Of Galway
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Henri de Massue, 2nd Marquis de Ruvigny, Earl of Galway, (9 April 16483 September 1720) was a French Huguenot soldier and diplomat who was influential in the English service in the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
and the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
.


Biography

Massue was born in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He was the son of the 1st Marquis de Ruvigny, a distinguished French diplomat, and a nephew of Rachel, the wife of Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton. He was a soldier and served in the French army under Turenne, who thought very highly of him. Probably on account of his English connections he was selected in 1678 by
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-reign ...
to carry out the secret negotiations for a
compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...
with Charles II, a difficult mission which he executed with great skill. He succeeded his father as deputy-general of the Huguenots, and refused Louis's offer, at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, to retain him in that office. In 1690, having gone into exile with many fellow Huguenots, he entered the service of
William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
as a major-general, thereby forfeiting his French estates. In July 1691 he distinguished himself at the Battle of Aughrim, and in 1692 he was for a time commander-in-chief in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. In November of that year he was created Viscount Galway and Baron Portarlington, and received a large grant of seized estates in Ireland. The title had previously belonged to Ulick Burke, 1st Viscount Galway, a Jacobite officer who had been killed at Aughrim. In 1693 he fought at Neerwinden and was wounded. In 1694, with the rank of lieutenant-general, he was sent to command a force in English pay that was to assist the Duke of Savoy against the French, and at the same time to relieve the distressed Vaudois. In 1695 Savoy changed sides, the Italian peninsula was neutralised, and Galway's force was withdrawn to the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. From 1697 to 1701, a critical period of Irish history, the Earl of Galway (he was advanced to that rank in 1697) was practically in control of Irish affairs as Lord Justice of Ireland. After some years spent in retirement, he was appointed in 1704 to command the allied forces in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
together with François Nicolas Fagel, a post which he sustained with honour and success until the Battle of Almanza in 1707, in which Galway, in spite of care and skill on his own part, was decisively defeated by the Duke of Berwick. His aide de camp was Hector Francois Chataigner de Cramahé, son in law of Jacques de Belrieu, Baron de Virazel. Galway scraped together a fresh army, and, although infirm, was reappointed to his command by the home government. He took part in one more campaign, and distinguished himself by his personal bravery in action. Marquis de Bay defeated him at the Battle of La Gudina. After this, he retired from active life. His last service was rendered in 1715, when he was sent as one of the lords justices to Ireland during the Jacobite insurrection. As most of his property in Ireland had been restored to its former owners, and all his French estates had long before been forfeited, Parliament voted him pensions amounting to 1500 pounds a year. He died unmarried. The Irish peerage died with him, but not the French marquisate. The French Hospital in north London was incorporated under the Great Seal in 1718, with Galway as its governor.


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Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galway, Henri De Massue, 1st Earl Of 1648 births 1720 deaths Military personnel from Paris French emigrants Immigrants to the Kingdom of England British Army lieutenant generals Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain French army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession French military personnel of the Nine Years' War Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by William III Massue Ambassadors of Great Britain to Portugal Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Huguenots