Germain Louis Chauvelin
Encyclopedia
Germain Louis Chauvelin (1685 - 1762, Paris), marquis de Grosbois, was a French politician, serving as garde des sceaux and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
under Louis XV.
, who took them into his service and into the service of his son Louvois. Germain Louis Chauvelin was the son of one of those who made such an alliance, Louis III Chauvelin, who was intendant
in Franche-Comté
(1673-1684) and in Picardy
(1684-1694), by his wife, Marguerite Billard.
On 1 November 1706, Germain Louis Chauvelin was given the joint offices of councillor to the Grand Conseil and of "grand rapporteur et correcteur des lettres de chancellerie". On 31 May 1711, he gained the post of maître des requêtes
. On the death of his elder brother, Louis IV Chauvelin, in 1715, he added the officer of avocat général to the parlement de Paris then, in 1718, bought a post as président à mortier
, raising him to the top of the judicial hierarchy. In the same year, he married the rich heiress Anne Cahouet de Beauvais, daughter of the 'Premier président du bureau des finances de la généralité d’Orléans
'. They had several children :
The maréchal d’Huxelles
, president of the council for foreign affairs and member of the Regency council from 1718, presented Chauvelin to cardinal Fleury. Chauvelin became Fleury's collaborator and advisor and when Fleury became prime minister in 1726 he was quick to bring Chauvelin into his cabinet, making him garde des sceaux on 17 August 1727 following the dismissal of Joseph Fleuriau d'Armenonville
, then secretary of state for foreign affairs the following day after the dismissal of Charles Jean Baptiste Fleuriau de Morville.
As Garde des sceaux, Chauvelin had to share his powers with Henri François d'Aguesseau
, who held onto the unsackable post of Chancellor of France. On 2 September 1727, the king codified the division of powers between the two men : d’Aguesseau held onto his roles as president of the councils and the king's representative to the Parlement, whilst Chauvelin was put in charge of the affairs of the 'Librairie' and given the presidency of the Seal. In this post, Chauvelin exercised censorship over several works linked to the Unigenitus Bull controversy. The seal right also gave him access to major revenue streams. Barbier called him "prodigiously rich". He was also able to buy the château de Grosbois
in 1731 from Samuel-Jacques Bernard (1686-1753)
, son of the financier Samuel Bernard
. In 1734, he became 'seigneur engagiste' of the Château de Brie-Comte-Robert
, and in 1750 razed its towers and courtyards down to a single storey, sparing the tour Saint-Jean, the seigneurial symbol.
As foreign secretary, Chauvelin was very hostile to Austria, continually seeking to set Spain against Austria. The peace-loving Fleury was often involved in secret negotiations, such as the 1735 preliminaries in Vienna, which subordinated peace to resolution of the Lorraine question - by secret negotiations, Fleury got François de Lorraine to renounce his claim, with Chauvelin only intervening to defeat the last remnants of Austrian resistance. Fleury no longer need Chauvelin so on 20 February 1737 the latter was dismissed and taken to his château de Grosbois
, then to Bourges
the following 6 July. He tried for a rapprochement with Louis XV of France
on Fleury's death in January 1743, but was disgraced a second time and exiled to Issoire
, then to Riom
. Jean de Viguerie observed "Such great rigours are hard to explain. Chauvelin had been one of the confidents of the king, who wrote to him often. But it was maybe that was justly the cause of his disgrace. Louis XV was able to regret being his confident." He was able to return to Paris in April 1746 thanks to the intercession of marquis d’Argenson and the comte de Maurepas but stayed out of political life from that date until his death in 1762.
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (France)
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs became a Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1791.-See also:...
under Louis XV.
Life
Germain Louis Chauvelin came from a family of lawyers to the Parlement de Paris, which had moved to Paris around 1530 and set up home in the place Maubert quarter. In the 17th century, a branch of the family allied itself with the family of chancellor Michel Le TellierMichel Le Tellier
Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Barbezieux, seigneur de Chaville et de Viroflay was a French statesman.-Biography:...
, who took them into his service and into the service of his son Louvois. Germain Louis Chauvelin was the son of one of those who made such an alliance, Louis III Chauvelin, who was intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
in Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
(1673-1684) and in Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
(1684-1694), by his wife, Marguerite Billard.
On 1 November 1706, Germain Louis Chauvelin was given the joint offices of councillor to the Grand Conseil and of "grand rapporteur et correcteur des lettres de chancellerie". On 31 May 1711, he gained the post of maître des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
. On the death of his elder brother, Louis IV Chauvelin, in 1715, he added the officer of avocat général to the parlement de Paris then, in 1718, bought a post as président à mortier
Président à mortier
The office of président à mortier was one of the most important legal posts of the French ancien régime. The présidents were principal magistrates of the highest juridical institutions, the parlements, which were the appeal courts....
, raising him to the top of the judicial hierarchy. In the same year, he married the rich heiress Anne Cahouet de Beauvais, daughter of the 'Premier président du bureau des finances de la généralité d’Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
'. They had several children :
- François Claude ChauvelinFrançois Claude ChauvelinFrançois Claude Bernard Louis de Chauvelin , marquis de Chauvelin, was a French soldier, diplomat and writer. A correspondent of Voltaire, one of his three children with his wife Agnés Thérèse Mazade d'Argeville was Bernard-François, marquis de Chauvelin.-Life:He served in Italy and Flanders and...
(1716-1773), father of Bernard-François, marquis de ChauvelinBernard-François, marquis de ChauvelinBernard-François, marquis de Chauvelin was a French nobleman and liberal.Born in Paris, the scion of an illustrious family, Chauvelin initially followed his father François Claude Chauvelin as Master of the King's Wardrobe to Louis XVI. However, despite being of noble birth, he had been raised...
; - Claude Louis (1718-1750), marquis de Grosbois, died without issue ;
- Anne Espérance (°1725), who married (1) (1747) Henri René François Édouard Colbert de Maulévrier (†1748) and then (2) (1763) the chevalier des Acres de L'Aigle ;
- Anne Madeleine (°1727), who married (1748) Louis-Michel Chamillart (1709-1774), comte de La Suze ;
- Anne Sabine Rosalie (°1732), who married (1752) Jean François de La Rochefoucauld (1735-1789), vicomte de La Rochefoucauld, marquis de Surgères ;
- Henri PhilippeHenri Philippe de ChauvelinHenri Philippe de Chauvelin was a French cleric and politician. He was a canon of Notre Dame de Paris and a councillor to the parlement de Paris...
(1716-1770), known as the abbé de Chauvelin.
The maréchal d’Huxelles
Nicolas Chalon du Blé
Nicolas Chalon du Blé, marquis d'Uxelles and Cormatin was a French general and Foreign Minister. He was also created a knight and Marshal of France by Louis XIV, and was a diplomat for Louis XIV and Philippe II, Duke of Orléans.-Biography:-Early years:du Blé was born at Chalon-sur-Saône.His...
, president of the council for foreign affairs and member of the Regency council from 1718, presented Chauvelin to cardinal Fleury. Chauvelin became Fleury's collaborator and advisor and when Fleury became prime minister in 1726 he was quick to bring Chauvelin into his cabinet, making him garde des sceaux on 17 August 1727 following the dismissal of Joseph Fleuriau d'Armenonville
Joseph Fleuriau d'Armenonville
Joseph Jean Baptiste Fleuriau d'Armenonville was a French politician.Fleuriau d'Armenonville was born in Paris and obtained a place in government service in 1683 through his brother-in-law, Claude Le Peletier de Morfontaine, then Controller-General of Finances...
, then secretary of state for foreign affairs the following day after the dismissal of Charles Jean Baptiste Fleuriau de Morville.
As Garde des sceaux, Chauvelin had to share his powers with Henri François d'Aguesseau
Henri François d'Aguesseau
Henri François d'Aguesseau was Chancellor of France three times between 1717 and 1750.-Biography:He was born at Limoges, France, in a family of magistrates...
, who held onto the unsackable post of Chancellor of France. On 2 September 1727, the king codified the division of powers between the two men : d’Aguesseau held onto his roles as president of the councils and the king's representative to the Parlement, whilst Chauvelin was put in charge of the affairs of the 'Librairie' and given the presidency of the Seal. In this post, Chauvelin exercised censorship over several works linked to the Unigenitus Bull controversy. The seal right also gave him access to major revenue streams. Barbier called him "prodigiously rich". He was also able to buy the château de Grosbois
Château de Grosbois
The château de Grosbois is a French castle in Boissy-Saint-Léger, Val-de-Marne.- History :In 1190, Philip II of France gave the abbaye de Saint-Victor de Paris lands at Grosbois in exchange for lands in the bois de Vincennes...
in 1731 from Samuel-Jacques Bernard (1686-1753)
Samuel-Jacques Bernard (1686-1753)
Samuel-Jacques Bernard , comte de Coubert after the death of his father in 1739, was the son of the financier Samuel Bernard, the richest commoner in France and his first wife, née -Magdeleine Clergeau; he was superintendent of finance for Queen Maria Leszczyńska from 1725, a maître des requêtes,...
, son of the financier Samuel Bernard
Samuel Bernard
Samuel Bernard , Count of Coubert , was a French financier.-Life:Of Dutch origin, Samuel Bernard was the son of the painter and engraver Samuel-Jacques Bernard...
. In 1734, he became 'seigneur engagiste' of the Château de Brie-Comte-Robert
Château de Brie-Comte-Robert
The Château de Brie-Comte-Robert is a castle in the town of Brie-Comte-Robert in the Seine-et-Marne département of France.-12th - 13th centuries:...
, and in 1750 razed its towers and courtyards down to a single storey, sparing the tour Saint-Jean, the seigneurial symbol.
As foreign secretary, Chauvelin was very hostile to Austria, continually seeking to set Spain against Austria. The peace-loving Fleury was often involved in secret negotiations, such as the 1735 preliminaries in Vienna, which subordinated peace to resolution of the Lorraine question - by secret negotiations, Fleury got François de Lorraine to renounce his claim, with Chauvelin only intervening to defeat the last remnants of Austrian resistance. Fleury no longer need Chauvelin so on 20 February 1737 the latter was dismissed and taken to his château de Grosbois
Château de Grosbois
The château de Grosbois is a French castle in Boissy-Saint-Léger, Val-de-Marne.- History :In 1190, Philip II of France gave the abbaye de Saint-Victor de Paris lands at Grosbois in exchange for lands in the bois de Vincennes...
, then to Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
the following 6 July. He tried for a rapprochement with Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
on Fleury's death in January 1743, but was disgraced a second time and exiled to Issoire
Issoire
Issoire is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-Geography:Issoire is located on the Couze River, near its junction with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway to Nîmes...
, then to Riom
Riom
Riom is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the seat of the dukes of Auvergne. The city was of Gaulish origin, the Roman Ricomagus...
. Jean de Viguerie observed "Such great rigours are hard to explain. Chauvelin had been one of the confidents of the king, who wrote to him often. But it was maybe that was justly the cause of his disgrace. Louis XV was able to regret being his confident." He was able to return to Paris in April 1746 thanks to the intercession of marquis d’Argenson and the comte de Maurepas but stayed out of political life from that date until his death in 1762.