Henri de Massue

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Henri de Massue

Henri de Massue , Marquis de Ruvigny , since 1691 1st Viscount of Galway and 1st Baron Portarlington , since 1697 1st Earl of Galway (born April 9, 1648 in Paris ; † September 3, 1720 ) was a French nobleman. As one of the leading Huguenots , he went into English exile after the Edict of Nantes was repealed . He took on important military and civilian posts there.

Early years

He came from a noble Huguenot family and was the son of Henri Massue Marquis de Ruvigny and his mother Marie Tallement . The father was a French diplomat and, among other things, an envoy in London. He was also the general agent of the Huguenots at the court of Louis XIV. Protestants could only petition the king through him. He campaigned in vain for better rights for his fellow believers.

He himself entered the French army early and served under Turenne from 1672 to 1675 . Possibly because of his relationship with the wife of William Russell , Louis XIV sent him to the court of Charles II of England for secret negotiations . He succeeded his father as general agent of the Huguenots. He was also a colonel in one of the three Huguenot infantry regiments. After the Edict of Nantes was repealed , he went into exile in England with other Huguenots in 1689 or 1690.

Rise in exile

He entered the service of King Wilhelm III as major general . He took part in the Battle of Aughrim against the Jacobites in Ireland in 1691 and a year later was temporarily Commander in Chief in Ireland. In November of that year he was appointed Viscount Galway and Baron Portarlington. This involved large estates in Ireland. Here he settled 600 Huguenot refugees. In 1693 he fought during the War of the Palatinate Succession in the Battle of Neerzüge . There he was wounded. A year later, now with the rank of lieutenant general, he commanded an English contingent in support of Viktor Amadeus II of Savoy against the French in Italy. After he had changed sides, the troops were transferred from Massue to the Netherlands.

In 1697 he was promoted to Earl of Galway . Between 1697 and 1701 he played a leading role in Irish affairs as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. After that he was temporarily without a public post.

Commander in Chief in Portugal and Spain

In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, he became the commander of Allied troops in Portugal . He acted without much success. During the unsuccessful siege of Badajoz , he lost his right arm. His troops were defeated in the Battle of Almansa in 1707 . Most of Spain subsequently passed into the hands of the opponents. He managed to assemble another army and was reassigned command. At La Gudina he was beaten again and was barely able to escape captivity. He was then recalled.

Last years

During the Jacobite Revolt in Ireland in 1715 he was again one of the Lords of Justice in Ireland. Since much of his Irish possessions were being returned to their previous owners and he had long since lost his French possessions, Parliament granted him an annual pension of £ 1,500. He remained unmarried. In 1704 he was appointed Austrian field marshal in honor of his honor.

Individual evidence

  1. Uwe Schultz: The ruler of Versailles. Louis XIV and his time. Munich 2006, p. 289.
  2. ^ Barbara Dölemeyer: The Huguenots. Stuttgart 2006, p. 68.

literature

  • Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition Vol.XXIII. New York 1911, p. 946.
  • Matthew Glozier: The Huguenot Soldiers of Wilhelm of Orange and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Eastbourne 2002, p. 152.
  • Henry Kamen: Who's Who in Europe 1450-1750. London 2000, p. 125.
  • Georg von Alten (Hrsg.): Handbook for Army and Fleet. Volume 4, Berlin a. a. 1912, p. 22.