Secretary of State for Protestant Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Secretary of State for Protestant Affairs , was the secretary of state
in France
during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration
in charge of overseeing French Protestant affairs. From 1749 on, the position was combined with the position of Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
.
(finalized in 1598), an administrative department was created to oversee Protestant affairs. By a royal decision in 1588, one of the four secretaries of state of Henry III
, Forget de Fresne, was given the responsibility of negotiating with the provinces which had large Huguenot
populations (Languedoc
, Dauphiné
, Orléanais
, Maine, Anjou
, Poitou
, Saintonge
, Angoumois
). Trusted by Henry IV
, Forget de Fresne became the principal author of the Edict of Nantes (which he co-signed), and organizer of the department of Protestant affairs.
From 1610 to 1775, this position was held by members of the Phélypeaux
family.
Until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), the secretary -- whose oversight covered a huge geographical area -- was especially concerned with communicating with provincial governor
s, intendant
s and bishop
s regarding real or imagined violations of the provisions of the Edict, and disputes concerning the demolition of temples and religious freedom. As public opinion in the 17th century became increasingly hostile to the Huguenots, the secretaries fulfilled their duties in applying more rigorous measures on the Protestants. In 1685, the then-secretary, Balthazar Phélypeaux, countersigned the Edict of Fontainebleau
.
The department continued to exist after the revocation, although its purview changed. Other than the uprising of the Camisards, the secretaries' duties were focused on two areas: managing the spoliated goods of fugitive Huguenots (which could be transferred to their nearest relatives, provided they were Catholics, but only after extensive legal examination and with the approval of the "Conseil des dépêches") and -- at the request of provincial intendant
s -- the removal of children from families suspected of not having fully converted and of placing them in foster care in convents or in homes for new Catholics.
Louis Phélypeaux
, secretary for 50 years, was famous for the severity with which he fulfilled his duties. Disagreeing with the tolerant policies of the last years of the reign of Louis XV
, and with those that the arrival of Turgot to power seemed to predict, he resigned from the post in 1775.
After 1749 the department of Protestant affairs was attached to the department of the Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
. Named to the secretary position in 1775, Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes espoused values which were in direct opposition to those of his predecessor, and he wished above all to prepare for the return of Protestants to the country. Although his brief tenure (10 months) did not allow him to fulfill his wishes personally, he continued to lobby for this during the tenures of his successors. In 1787, an edict gave Protestants the right to be legal citizens in France.
After 1749, the position was united with the position of Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
:
Secretary of State (Ancien Régime)
The Secretary of State was the name of several official governmental positions – supervising war, foreign affairs, the navy, the king's household, the clergy, Paris, and Protestant affairs – during the Ancien Régime in France, roughly equivalent to the positions of governmental...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
in charge of overseeing French Protestant affairs. From 1749 on, the position was combined with the position of Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
The Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi was the secretary of state in France during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi...
.
History
During the preparation and implementation of the Edict of NantesEdict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
(finalized in 1598), an administrative department was created to oversee Protestant affairs. By a royal decision in 1588, one of the four secretaries of state of Henry III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
, Forget de Fresne, was given the responsibility of negotiating with the provinces which had large Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
populations (Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
, Orléanais
Orléanais
Orléanais is a former province of France, around the cities of Orléans, Chartres, and Blois.The name comes from Orléans, its main city and traditional capital. The province was one of those into which France was divided before the French Revolution...
, Maine, Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
, Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
, Saintonge
Saintonge
Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic coast of France within the département Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes....
, Angoumois
Angoumois
Angoumois was a county and province of France, nearly corresponding today to the Charente département. Its capital was Angoulême....
). Trusted by Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, Forget de Fresne became the principal author of the Edict of Nantes (which he co-signed), and organizer of the department of Protestant affairs.
From 1610 to 1775, this position was held by members of the Phélypeaux
Phélypeaux
Phélypeaux 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...
family.
Until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), the secretary -- whose oversight covered a huge geographical area -- was especially concerned with communicating with provincial governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s, 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...
s and bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s regarding real or imagined violations of the provisions of the Edict, and disputes concerning the demolition of temples and religious freedom. As public opinion in the 17th century became increasingly hostile to the Huguenots, the secretaries fulfilled their duties in applying more rigorous measures on the Protestants. In 1685, the then-secretary, Balthazar Phélypeaux, countersigned the Edict of Fontainebleau
Edict of Fontainebleau
The Edict of Fontainebleau was an edict issued by Louis XIV of France, also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes of 1598, had granted the Huguenots the right to practice their religion without persecution from the state...
.
The department continued to exist after the revocation, although its purview changed. Other than the uprising of the Camisards, the secretaries' duties were focused on two areas: managing the spoliated goods of fugitive Huguenots (which could be transferred to their nearest relatives, provided they were Catholics, but only after extensive legal examination and with the approval of the "Conseil des dépêches") and -- at the request of provincial 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...
s -- the removal of children from families suspected of not having fully converted and of placing them in foster care in convents or in homes for new Catholics.
Louis Phélypeaux
Louis Phélypeaux (1705-1777)
Louis Phélypeaux comte de Saint-Florentin, marquis and duc de La Vrillière , was a French politician.Son of Louis Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière, and Françoise de Mailly-Nesle , he succeeded his father as minister for the "so-called Reformed religion", that is with responsibility for Huguenots...
, secretary for 50 years, was famous for the severity with which he fulfilled his duties. Disagreeing with the tolerant policies of the last years of the reign of Louis XV
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...
, and with those that the arrival of Turgot to power seemed to predict, he resigned from the post in 1775.
After 1749 the department of Protestant affairs was attached to the department of the Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
The Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi was the secretary of state in France during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi...
. Named to the secretary position in 1775, Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes espoused values which were in direct opposition to those of his predecessor, and he wished above all to prepare for the return of Protestants to the country. Although his brief tenure (10 months) did not allow him to fulfill his wishes personally, he continued to lobby for this during the tenures of his successors. In 1787, an edict gave Protestants the right to be legal citizens in France.
List of Secretaries of State for Protestant Affairs
- 1598-1610: Forget de Fresne
- 1610-1621: Paul Phélypeaux, seigneur de Pontchartrain
- 1621-1629: Raymond PhélypeauxRaymond PhélypeauxRaymond Phélypeaux, seigneur d'Herbault et de La Vrillière was a French politician.He was treasurer of the Épargne in 1599, ministre d'État , Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 11 March 1626 to 2 May 1629....
- 1629-1681: Louis Phélypeaux (1598-1681)Louis Phélypeaux (1598-1681)Louis Phélypeaux , seigneur de La Vrillière, marquis de Châteauneuf and Tanlay , comte de Saint-Florentin, was a French politician....
- 1669-1700: Balthazar Phélypeaux
- 1700-1725: Louis Phélypeaux (1672-1725)Louis Phélypeaux (1672-1725)Louis Phélypeaux , marquis de La Vrillière, was a French politician.He succeeded his father Balthazar Phélypeaux as minister for the "so-called Reformed religion", that is with responsibility for Huguenots in 1700...
- 1723-1775: Louis Phélypeaux (1705-1777)Louis Phélypeaux (1705-1777)Louis Phélypeaux comte de Saint-Florentin, marquis and duc de La Vrillière , was a French politician.Son of Louis Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière, and Françoise de Mailly-Nesle , he succeeded his father as minister for the "so-called Reformed religion", that is with responsibility for Huguenots...
After 1749, the position was united with the position of Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
The Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi was the secretary of state in France during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi...
:
- 1775-1776: Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes
- 1776-1785: Amelot de ChaillouAntoine-Jean Amelot de ChaillouAntoine-Jean Amelot de Chaillou was a French politician....
- 1785-1787: Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier de BreteuilLouis Auguste Le Tonnelier de BreteuilLouis Charles Auguste le Tonnelier, baron de Breteuil, baron de Preuilly was a French aristocrat, diplomat, statesman and politician...
- 1787-1789: Laurent de Villedeuil
See also
- Early Modern FranceEarly Modern FranceKingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
- Ancien Régime in FranceAncien Régime in FranceThe Ancien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system established in France from the 15th century to the 18th century under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties...
- Secretary of State (Ancien Régime)Secretary of State (Ancien Régime)The Secretary of State was the name of several official governmental positions – supervising war, foreign affairs, the navy, the king's household, the clergy, Paris, and Protestant affairs – during the Ancien Régime in France, roughly equivalent to the positions of governmental...
- Secretary of State of the Maison du RoiSecretary of State of the Maison du RoiThe Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi was the secretary of state in France during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi...
- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (France)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:...
- Secretary of State for War (France)Secretary of State for War (France)The Secretary of State for War was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The position was responsible for the Army and for overseeing French border provinces...
- Secretary of State of the Navy (France)Secretary of State of the Navy (France)The Secretary of State of the Navy was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. This Secretary of State was responsible for the French navy and for French colonies...