César de Choiseul, 1 er duc de Choiseul
César de Choiseul , 1 he duc de Choiseul, comte d'Hostel, comte du Plessis-Praslin, vicomte de Saint-Jean , (* February 12, 1598 in Paris ; † December 23, 1675 ibid) was a French aristocrat and soldier of 17th century. He reached the rank of Maréchal de France .
During the crisis of the Fronde he was loyal to the regent and was in the army of Prince Louis II de Bourbon-Condé during the siege of Paris
Life
Origin and family
César de Choiseul-Praslin came from the Choiseul family, a noble family from Choiseul in today's Haute-Marne department , which in turn went back to the Counts of Lanques. The illustrious family represents a number of famous personalities in the service of the Kingdom of France ; five marshals of France, a cardinal, two bishops and several statesmen. The origins of the family go back to the 12th century.
His father, Ferry II. De Choiseul, was the third son of Ferry I de Praslin, the founder of the Choiseul-Praslin branch of the House of Choiseul. He was the nephew of Charles de Choiseul-Praslin (1563-1626) , Maréchal de France.
His brother, Gilbert de Choiseul Du Plessis-Praslin (1613–1689), was Bishop of Comminges and Tournai .
Military and diplomatic career
During the Thirty Years War
César de Choiseul joined the army when he was fourteen. For the first time he distinguished himself at the siege of La Rochelle (1627-1628), in which he commanded a regiment. Then he was involved in the defense of the Île d'Oléron and the Île de Ré against the attacks of the English under George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham .
In 1630 he took part in the siege of Pignerolo and won the trust of Cardinal de Richelieu , who involved him in the negotiations aimed at dissuading the duchies of Parma , Savoy and Mantua from concluding an alliance with Spain.
From 1630 to 1635 he was ambassador to the Duke of Savoy and at the end of his appointment was promoted to Maréchal de camp .
From 1636 to 1645 he commanded the Piémont , where he was deployed several times as commander in chief. In 1640 he was appointed governor of Turin and in 1642 he was given the title of Lieutenant général des armées du Roi . In Spain he was able to achieve large gains in land and win back several fortress cities that the Spaniards had previously conquered. In 1645 he was actively involved in the conquest of the fortress of Roses in Catalonia , which earned him the marshal's baton. He then returned to Italy, where he acted as a military leader but also as a negotiator. He took the island of Elba, defeated Pope Innocent X's troops at the siege of Piombino and forced him to negotiate. In 1648 he won a victory over the Spaniards at Trancheron (Cremona), which paved the way for the capture of Milan. Since there was a lack of everything, he made the sum of 450,000 livres available from his personal fortune for the procurement of supplies - a sum that he never got back. In 1649 he was appointed governor of Philippe I. de Bourbon, duc d'Orléans .
Fronde
After the adversity had widened during the uprising of the Fronde and the royal court had to move from Paris to Saint Denis , Choiseul was appealed and he was praised for his services. He then moved with 4,000 men to protect the court in the area near Saint Denis and Charenton . The marshal carried out this action successfully and was still involved in the siege of Paris. The Spaniards who rushed to relieve the city were later repulsed by him and subjected to Bordeaux .
When the Viscount de Turenne , one of the leaders of the Fronde, left Stenay , Cardinal Mazarin ordered him to be stopped. With the battle of Rethel , Choiseul Turenne blocked the way to Vincennes. Choiseul was the model for the king in this kind of warfare and sieges.
minister
In 1652, Choisel was appointed Minister of State by King Louis XIV. As such, he oversaw the construction of the Perpignan fortifications .
On December 31, 1661 he became a member of the Order of the Holy Spirit . In November 1665 he was made the first Duke of Choiseul and he was given the dignity of a pair of France .
Choiseul was instrumental in drafting various international treaties, including the Dover Treaty .
He died on December 23, 1675.
Marriage and offspring
He married Colombe de Charron, first lady-in-waiting of the Duchess of Orléans. Marriage had three (?) Children:
- César de Choiseul du Plessis-Praslin, Knight of the Order of Malta , protector of the Abbey of Saint-Sauveur de Redon from 1643 until his death in 1648. He died without offspring in the Battle of Trancheron.
- Alexandre de Choiseul, patron of the same abbey until 1652, when he turned to the craft of war. He had no offspring.
- César Auguste de Choiseul de Plessis-Praslin , then patron of the abbey until his death in 1681. He had no descendants. The patronage expired when the family died out .
- César III. Auguste de Choiseul de Plessis-Praslin (1637-1705), had offspring.
literature
- François H. Turpin: Les Vies de Charles et de César de Choiseul, Du Plessis-Praslin, maréchaux de France. 1768 ( digitized version )
- Guy-Alexis Lobineau: Vies des saints de Bretagne. Méquignon Junior, 1839, p. 459 ( digitized version )
- Mémoires des divers emplois et des principales actions du Maréchal Du Plessis. 1676; New edition 1827 ( digitized version )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Choiseul, César de, 1st duc de Choiseul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Choiseul, César de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French aristocrat, soldier and Marshal of France |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1598 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 23, 1675 |
| Place of death | Paris |