Jean Bonaventure Thierry du Mont, 1st Count of Gages (

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, now in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, 27 December 1682 –

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 31 January 1753), Viceroy of Navarre, 1746–1753, a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

in 1745, was a Walloon born Spanish General who was awarded by King

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

in 1745 the title of "Conde", "Count", of Gages, a village near

Brugelette Brugelette (; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Brugelette had a total population of 3,284. The total area is which gives a population density of . The municipality consists of t ...

in Hainaut.

Life

A lieutenant in the Walloon Guards, du Mont fought for the Spanish in many battles during the

War of 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 ...

, distinguishing himself in the Battle of Villaviciosa, and he also took part in the Spanish expedition to Oran (1732). du Mont is best known for his role in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

(1740–1748), a.k.a.

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in ...

in North America, and incorporating the

War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear was fought by Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and History of Spain (1700–1808), Spain between 1739 and 1748. The majority of the fighting took place in Viceroyalty of New Granada, New Granada and the Caribbean ...

between Great-Britain and Spain. The war in Italy was fought between a French-

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

coalition, commanded by Infante Felipe, son of king

, assisted between others by the French Marshal Maillebois, and du Mont as Captain General of the Spanish and Neapolitan armies on the one hand, and an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

n coalition, backed by Great-Britain on the other hand. During the War of Polish Succession (1733-1738), Spain had retrieved

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, but failed to retake

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. Now King Philip V, but mostly his second wife, energetic and ambitious former Italian Princess Elizabeth of Parma, wanted to retake all former Spanish territories in Italy for her son King Charles VII of Naples and

. On 8 February 1743 du Mont defeated the Austrians and

ns at the Battle of Campo Santo, followed later from September to December 1745 by the 2nd Battle of Milan, 1745 which was widely considered a victory in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. When Marshal Saxe defeated the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

in 1745 and overran the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, the

Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

granted du Mont the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of Gages, near his birthplace until then occupied by the Austrians since 1713. Meanwhile, "Juan de Gages" as he was usually called by his Spanish-Neapolitan soldiers, fought against the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

in the

Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...

and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

and

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

supported by the Genoese. Towards the end of 1745

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and

were also conquered, but then the chances of war turned. The Austrians took back Milan on 18 March 1746 and the Spanish-Neapolitan army under the count of Gages was beaten by the Austrians at the Battle of Piacenza (16 June 1746), and the Battle of Tidone (10 August 1746). Enough was enough, moneywise and blood wise. The new King of Spain,

Ferdinand VI of Spain Ferdinand VI (; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned (''el Prudente'') and the Just (''el Justo''), was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the ...

, the half brother of King Charles of Naples and Sicily (later also King of Spain under the name

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

), was probably well advised to stop all these adventurous and costly wars. Juan Buenaventura Thierry du Mont was after the war awarded the title of Viceroy of Navarre in 1749. Some 4 years later he died there, in

, 1753. He was much interested in paving adequately many roads used during many centuries taking particular care on any Roman remains in or around such roads. His tomb was moved several times, specially during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

to avoid

desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Overview Many consider acts of desecration t ...

by the French Imperial soldiers. After two or more moves, his mausoleum was placed in the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

of the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, where it can be seen today.

Some references

* http://www.diariodenavarra.es/decimoaniversario/noticias/20051030/semana/tumbas-historia.html?id=20051030&dia=20051030&ht=20051030/semana/tumbas-historia * https://web.archive.org/web/20171010015723/http://www.asasve.es/portal/index.php?mod=article&cat=articulos&article=63. * http://www.uned.es/ca-tudela/revista2/REVISTA5/n003/ana_mendiorozindex.htm. This is an IT access to the article: :''EL CONDE DE GAGES, VIRREY DE NAVARRA DURANTE 1749-1753'' by Ana Mendioroz Lacambra, published in Cuadernos del Marqués de San Adrián", reported as under the address: http://www.uned.es/ca-tudela/.../ana_mendiorozindex.htm * http://www.oronoz.com/paginas/muestrafotostitulos.php?pedido=NAVARRA%20PAMPLONA%20CATEDRAL-INTERIOR&tabla=Claves : Some 80 color photographs, probably copyrighted for no educational purposes, as they can be purchased, of Gothic style Pamplona Cathedral. The gotic tombstones of many Navarrese kings and their wives are fabulous. * ''Los Ingenieros militares en España, siglo XVIII: repertorio biográfico e inventario de su labor científica y espacial'' by Horacio Capel Sáez et al., Edic. Univ. Barcelona, 483 pages, (1983). * ''Los ingenieros militares de la Monarquía Hispánica en los siglos XVII y XVIII''. Coord. by Alicia Cámara, Ministerio de Defensa, Madrid, (2005), some 381 pages. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gages, Jean Bonaventure Du Mont Comte De 1682 births 1753 deaths Spanish generals French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Spanish military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession People from Mons, Belgium Viceroys of Navarre Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain