Yvonne Bezard Yvonne Henriette Julie Bezard (8 December 1893 – 30 March 1939), was a French archivist and historian who worked at the National Archives of France. Her work was selected for prestigious awards, one from the Académie des inscriptions et belles ...

Michel Bégon (; 25 December 1638 – 14 March 1710) was a French colonial official and naturalist. He was

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

de la marine at the port of Rochefort and intendant of the

généralité ''Recettes générales'', commonly known as ''généralités'' (), were the administrative divisions of France under the Ancien Régime and are often considered to prefigure the current '' préfectures''. At the time of the French Revolution, ther ...

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

, as well as a passionate plant collector (he met the naturalist

Charles Plumier Charles Plumier (; 20 April 1646 – 20 November 1704) was a French botanist after whom the frangipani genus '' Plumeria'' is named. Plumier is considered one of the most important of the botanical explorers of his time. He made three botanizing ...

in the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

, and Plumier later named the

begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ...

after him).

Life

He was the son of Michel IV Bégon (1604 – 17 August 1683, Blois) and his wife Claude Viart. The Bégon family was an established court family, producing as many justices as finance ministers (two great-uncles were avocat and conseiller to the of

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

, and Michel V's father and grandfather were receveurs des

taille The ''taille'' () was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in ''Ancien Régime'' France. The tax was imposed on each household and was based on how much land it held, and was paid directly to the state. History Originally ...

s). Michel V devient became

garde des Sceaux The title keeper of the seals or equivalent is used in several contexts, denoting the person entitled to keep and authorize use of the great seal of a given country. The title may or may not be linked to a particular cabinet or ministerial offic ...

of the présidial of Blois (1662) then president of the tribunal (1667). He only entered the naval administration late in life, aged around 40, when Colbert made him treasurer of the marine du Levant at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

(1677) : this was the start of a happy career. Bégon later left the shores of the Mediterranean for north-western France, becoming commissaire général de la marine at Brest (24 November 1680) then at Le Havre (1681). He crossed the Atlantic to take up office as intendant of the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

(1 May 1682 – 24 November 1684). On his return from the Antilles, he won a new post with the Levant fleet which he had awaited since 4 November 1684, the date of his nomination to the post of intendant des galères at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. Michel V was seigneur of Picardière and Mirbelin (or Murbelaix), and also possessed an estate at Saint-Pierre on

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, which he sold in 1684 on leaving the Antilles. He was made Intendant of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

and set up his headquarters in the east of the island, Haiti, where he and Bertrand D'Ogeron got involved in the spice trade. In 1686, he became conseiller honoraire of the Parlement d’Aix (he was then intendant des galères at Marseille, a role he occupied from 1 May 1685 to 1688). On 1 September, Michel V Bégon became intendant of Rochefort (1688 – 13 March 1710). In 1694, he also obtained the intendance of the

(1694–1710). His time at Rochefort considerably transformed the port and with Colbert du Terron (1669–1674) he was the prime mover in the development of its town and arsenal. His epitaph at the church of Saint-Louis de Rochefort reads ''Hanc nascentem urbem ligeam invenit'' / ''Lapideam reliquit'' (''He found the city born in wood - he left it marble'', referring to Augustus's words on the city of Rome). He is thus best known as a builder and it can be said that he was to Rochefort what Girardin de Vauvré was to Toulon.

Family

Michel V was first cousin to Marie Charron, wife of Colbert, daughter of Jacques Charron (surintendant of

Maria Theresa of Spain Maria Theresa of Spain (; ; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683) was Queen consort of France, Queen of France from 1660 to 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV. She was born an Infante, Infanta of Spain and Portugal as the daughter of King Philip IV ...

's household) and Marie Bégon. He married Marie-Madeleine Druilhon on 16 February 1665 at Blois - she was the daughter of Pierre, maître in the

Chambre des comptes Under the French monarchy, the Courts of Accounts (in French ''Chambres des comptes'', ) were sovereign courts specialising in financial affairs. The Court of Accounts in Paris was the oldest and the forerunner of today's French Court of Audi ...

of Blois. Madeleine had been born in Blois, baptised in the parish of Sainte-Solenne on 29 March 1645 and died in the same town on 25 December 1697. The marriage alliances by Michel and Madeleine's children were advantageous for the family's descendants: * Michel, married Jeanne-Élisabeth de Beauharnois de La Boische (a family protected by the Phélypeaux which took over leadership of the navy in 1690). *Catherine, married Jacques Barin,

marquis de la Galissonnière A marquess (; ) is a Nobility, 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 with the rank of a marquess or the wife ...

(Nantes, 1646 – Poitiers, 1737) in 1691. Their son

Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière, Marquis de La Galissonière, sometimes spelled Galissonnière (; 10 November 1693 – 6 October 1756), was the French governor of New France from 1747 to 1749 and the victor in the Battle of Minorca ...

, like Catherine's brother Claude-Michel, went into the colonial administration of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. *Scipion-Jérôme was made

bishop of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...

(11 January 1721), consecrated in the église des Minimes in Paris (25 April 1723) and received at Toul the following 31 August *

Claude-Michel Bégon de la Cour Claude-Michel Bégon de la Cour (March 15, 1683 – April 30, 1748) was an officer in the colonial regular troops and a governor of Trois-Rivières. Claude-Michel was the brother of Michel Bégon de la Picardière and they came to Canada together ...

(15 March 1683 – 3 April 1748), known as le chevalier Bégon, married advantageously and entered the colonial administration of New France

Bibliography

* Michel Vergé-Franceschi, ''Dictionnaire d’histoire maritime'', Robert Laffont, coll. "Bouquins", Paris, tome I, p. 193 et tome II, p. 825 * Y. Gaubert, "Le Népotisme heureux de Colbert", dossier hors-série de ''L’Essentiel de La Rochelle'', 2005 * Martine Acerra, ''Rochefort, la construction navale française (1661–1815)'', Librairie de l’Inde, Paris, 1993, 4 vol. * Yvonne Bézard, ''Fonctionnaires maritimes et coloniaux sous Louis XIV, les Bégon'', Albin Michel, Paris, 1932 * Michel Vergé-Franceschi, ''Les Officiers généraux de la marine royale (1715–1774). Origines, conditions, services'', Librairie de l’Inde, Paris, 1990, 7 vol., {{DEFAULTSORT:Begon, Michel 1638 births 1710 deaths People from Blois Colonial history of the Ancien Régime Ancien Régime office-holders French colonial governors and administrators French slave owners People from Saint-Domingue