Louis Phélypeaux, marquis of Phélypeaux (29 March 1643 – 22 December 1727), Marquis of Phélypeaux (1667), Comte de

Maurepas Maurepas may refer to: * Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepas, French statesman Count of Maurepas (Yvelines) * Fort Maurepas, also known as Old Biloxi, a settlement in Louisiana (New France) * Maurepas, Louisiana, an unincorporated commun ...

(1687), Count of Pontchartrain (1699), known as the ''chancellor de Pontchartrain'', was a French politician.

Biography

Louis Phélypeaux was born on 29 March 1643 as son of Louis I Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain, and became an advisor to the

Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...

by request on 11 September 1660. On 16 June 1677, he bought the post of First President of the Parlement of Rennes for the sum of 100,000 francs, replacing François d'Argouges, which on 27 August 1677 was finalised. During revolts in the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany (, ; ) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of France, bordered by the Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel to the north. ...

, Phélypeaux was able to lead a peaceful resolution by helping the return of the Parliament to

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

and meeting with revolters. On 25 April 1687, he was recalled to

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 ...

at request of king

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 become

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances () was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (''Surintendant des finances''), which was ab ...

, which began his career as minister. Between 29 September 1689 and 5 September 1699, Louis was Controller-General, but gained two more ministerial posts in 1690. From 6 November 1690 to 2 July 1714, Louis became

Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi The secretary of state of the Maison du Roi () was the Secretary of State (Ancien Régime), secretary of state in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du ...

(Chief of the King's Household), and from 6 November 1690 to 5 September 1699 became Secretary of State of the Navy. From 13 November 1690 to 27 December 1693, Louis became Perpetual Head, President, and Director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

Career

He conducted a

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of the

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

from 1693 onward, the first since Vauban's of 1678. At court he was an opponent of Fénelon and the Quietists. Phélypeaux served as

Chancellor of France The Chancellor of France (), also known as the Grand Chancellor or Lord Chancellor, was the officer of state responsible for the judiciary of the Kingdom of France. The Chancellor was responsible for seeing that royal decrees were enrolled and ...

from 5 September 1699 to 1 July 1714.

Historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

François Bluche wrote that "he gave the Chancellor's office an importance and authority not seen since the early years of

Pierre Séguier Pierre Séguier (; 28 May 1588 – 28 January 1672) was a French statesman who was the chancellor of France from 1635. Biography Early years Séguier was born in Paris to a prominent legal family originating in Quercy. His grandfather, Pierre S� ...

." Saint-Simon greatly admired him, writing "There was never a man so quick of understanding, so cheerful and pleasant in conversation, so swift and confident in action, so sure in his judgment of other men, or so clever in outwitting them…his integrity was remarkable, apparent in everything that he did, and, underlying the lightheartedness that remained with him until the end, was much piety, kindness, and let me add, decency.” Pontchartrain was also Secretary of the Royal Households, his discretion was appreciated by

. He was made clerk of the prestigious

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 c ...

in May 1700. He resigned in 1714 for having failed to affix the seals to the decree of 5 July 1714, condemning a document by the

Bishop of Metz This is a list of bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz, which now lies in eastern France. To 500 * Clement of Metz (c. 280–300) * Celestius * Felix I * Patient * Victor I 344–346 * Victor II * Simeon * Sambace * Rufus of Metz * Ad ...

, Henri-Charles de Coislin, as contrary to the

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

Unigenitus ''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus Dei Filius'', or "Only-begotten Son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Janse ...

. He had found it difficult to reconcile his religious beliefs with those of the increasingly authoritarian Louis XIV. He retired to an Oratorian institution where he died in 1727.

Personal life

In 1668 he married Marie de Maupeou. They had one son, Jérôme Phélypeaux (1674–1747), comte de Pontchartrain.

Legacy

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ; ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from w ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

was named after him, as well as the historic Hotel Pontchartrain in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. In

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

his name was given to

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a French and later British fortification established in 1701 on the north side of the Detroit River by Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac. A settlement based on the fur trade, fa ...

(the site of modern-day

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

), and to Detroit's Hotel Pontchartrain. Isle Phelipeaux, Isle Pontchartrain, and Isle Maurepas, which appear on early maps of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

, were named in his honour by

Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, S.J. (; ; 24 or 29 October 1682 – 1 February 1761) was a French Jesuit priest, traveller, and historian, often considered the first historian of New France. Name Charlevoix's name also appears as Pier ...

. It was later determined that Phelipeaux did not actually exist, and it is uncertain whether Pontchartrain and/or Maurepas refer to real islands known today by other names. Seymour I. Schwartz, ''The Mismapping of America''. Rochester N.Y. : University of Rochester Press, 2003. Chapter 5 French Fantasies. 173-213.

Bibliography

* Sara E. Chapman, ''Private Ambition and Political Alliances the Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain Family and Louis XIV's Government, 1650-1715.'' Rochester N.Y. : University of Rochester Press, 2004. .

References