Nicolas Chalon du Blé

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Nicolas Chalon du Blé
Marquis of Uxelles and Cormatin
Born24 January 1652
Chalon-sur-Saône, France
Died10 April 1730(1730-04-10) (aged 78)
Paris, France
FatherLouis Chalon du Blé, Marquis of Uxelles
MotherMarie Le Bailleul
Military career
Allegiance
RankMarshal of France
Wars
Awards

Nicolas Chalon du Blé,

Louis XIV, and was a diplomat for Louis XIV and Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
.

Biography

Burgundy
.

Early years

du Blé was born at Chalon-sur-Saône.

His appearance was described as tall and ruddy, with a huge wig and a hat pulled down over his eyes. He tended to hide his military orders and decorations under a plain, tightly buttoned coat.[1]

Second son of Louis Chalon du Blé, marquis of

Camille le Tellier de Louvois
.

Military career

See also: Nine Years' War
Map of the Siege of Mayence, in 1689. Engraving, Paris, 1756

He was granted military leadership in 1688, during the Nine Years' War; he served as

Place de Mayence fortress in Mainz
, when the French army was forced to retreat.

He initially defended during the

Louis XIV of France, and was rewarded with the fief of Rougemont-le-Château
(1696), and he received the baton of Marshal, in 1703.

Diplomatic career

He took part as a diplomat at the preliminary conferences of Geertruidenberg on 9 March 1710, but the peace negotiations were broken by Louis XIV at the end of the following June. Chalon du Blé again represented the king during the negotiation for the Peace of Utrecht in 1713.

He was one of the aristocratic architects of the polysynody system of government, and obtained the first presidency of the Council of Foreign Affairs, (1715–1718) when the regency of Philippe II began. This appointment was made against the better judgement of the Regent, who held different foreign policy aims than Blé, and who had been the target of scorn from Blé's social circle. The Regent made the decision primarily to keep his enemy in plain view rather than in subterfuge against the government.

As president of the Council of Foreign Affairs, Blé tended to the popular, traditional French view of favoring Catholic Spain over Protestant Great Britain. This was in contradiction to the Regent, who admired Britain's

Cellamare Conspiracy came to light in 1718, however, Blé gave up antagonizing the Regent and "became polite, agreeable, and ate from his hand" in the words of Saint-Simon. According to one source, the Regent even made Blé kiss the Treaty of the Triple Alliance, which allied France with Britain and the Dutch Republic against Spain.[1]

Nicolas Chalon du Blé was one of the most notable homosexuals of his age, known for his attraction to young valets as well as aspiring officers whom he "domesticated".[1][2] He died in Paris in 1730.

References

  1. ^ a b c The Man Who Would Be King; The Life of Philippe d'Orléans, Regent of France by Christine Pevitt. Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in Great Britain, 1997.
  2. ^ Didier Godard, Le Goût de Monsieur. L'homosexualité masculine au XVIIe siècle, editions H & O, Montblanc, 2002, page 171


Political offices
Preceded by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Torcy
Minister of Foreign Affairs

23 September 1715 – 1 September 1718 		Succeeded by


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