Michel Bégon (1638-1710)
Encyclopedia
Michel Bégon, known as Michel V Bégon or le Grand Bégon (25 December 1638, Blois
- 14 March 1710, Rochefort
) was a French ancien regime official. He was intendant
de la marine at the port of Rochefort and intendant of the généralité
of La Rochelle
, as well as a passionate plant collector (he met the naturalist Charles Plumier
in the Antilles
, and Plumier later named the begonia
after him).
of Blois
, and Michel V's father and grandfather were receveurs des taille
s). Michel V devient became garde des Sceaux 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
(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 îles du Vent (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
.
Michel V was seigneur of Picardière and Mirbelin (or Murbelaix), and also possessed an estate at Saint-Pierre on Martinique
, which he sold in 1684 on leaving the Antilles. He was made Intendant of Saint-Domingue
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, fonction 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 généralité
of La Rochelle
(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.
, daughter of Jacques Charron (surintendant of Maria Theresa of Spain
'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
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 descendents:
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
- 14 March 1710, Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
) was a French ancien regime official. He 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...
de la marine at the port of Rochefort and intendant of the généralité
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...
of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, as well as a passionate plant collector (he met the naturalist Charles Plumier
Charles Plumier
Charles Plumier 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...
in the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
, and Plumier later named the begonia
Begonia
Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia...
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 présidialPrésidial
The Présidial was a judicial tribunal of the French Ancien Régime, set up in January 1551 by Henry II of France and suppressed by a decree of the National Assembly in 1790....
of Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
, and Michel V's father and grandfather were receveurs des taille
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 based on how much land it held.-History:Originally only an "exceptional" tax The taille was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancien...
s). Michel V devient became garde des Sceaux 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
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
(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 îles du Vent (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
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
.
Michel V was seigneur of Picardière and Mirbelin (or Murbelaix), and also possessed an estate at Saint-Pierre on Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, which he sold in 1684 on leaving the Antilles. He was made Intendant of Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
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, fonction 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 généralité
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...
of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
(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 ColbertJean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
, daughter of Jacques Charron (surintendant of Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
'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
Chambre des comptes
Under the French monarchy, the Courts of Accounts 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 Audit...
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 descendents:
- Michel, married Jeanne-Élisabeth de Beauharnois de La BoischeHouse of BeauharnaisThe House of Beauharnais or Beauharnois is a French noble house. It is now represented by the Duke of Leuchtenberg, descendant in male line of Eugène de Beauharnais.-History:...
(a family protected by the PhélypeauxPhélypeauxPhélypeaux is the name of a French family from Blésois region . Its two principal branches were those of the lords of Herbault, La Vrillière, and Saint Florentin, and of the counts of Pontchartrain and Maurepas...
which took over leadership of the navy in 1690). - Catherine, married Jacques Barin, marquis de la Galissonnière (Nantes, 1646 – Poitiers, 1737) in 1691. Their son Roland-Michel Barrin de La GalissonièreRoland-Michel Barrin de La GalissonièreRoland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière, Marquis de La Galissonière, sometimes spelled Galissonnière, was the French governor of New France from 1747 to 1749 and the victor in the Battle of Minorca in 1756.- New France :...
, like Catherine's brother Claude-Michel, went into the colonial administration of New FranceNew FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. - Scipion-Jérôme was made bishop of Toul (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 (15 March 1683 – 3 April 1748), known as le chevalier Bégon, married advantageously and entered the colonial administration of New France