Étienne François de Choiseul, Duke of Choiseul: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|French general, diplomat and statesman (1719–1785)}}

| name = Étienne François de Choiseul

| death_place = [[Paris]], [[Isle-de-France]], KingdomofFrance

| monarch = [[Louis XV]]

| office = [[Chief Minister of France|First Minister of State]]

| term = 3 December 1758 – 24 December 1770

| predecessor = [[André-Hercule de Fleury]] (1743)

| successor = [[René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou]]

| monarch4 = Louis XV

| predecessor4 = [[Louis Charles César Le Tellier]]

| successor4 = César Gabriel de Choiseul

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1719|6|28|df=y}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1785|5|8|1719|6|28|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Nancy, France|Nancy]], [[Duchy of Lorraine]]

| residence = [[ChâteaudeChanteloup]], [[Touraine]]

| office4 = [[List of ambassadors of France to Austria|Ambassador of the Kingdom of France to the Archduchy of Austria]]

| signature = Signatur Étienne-François de Choiseul.PNG

| allegiance = {{flag|Kingdom of France}}

| serviceyears = 1740 – 1770

| rank = [[Général|Lieutenant General]]

| battles = [[Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739)|Russo-Turkish War]]<br>[[War of the Austrian Succession]]<br>[[Seven Years' War]]

| branch = {{flagicon|Kingdom of France}} [[Royal French Army]]

| term4 = 1757 – 1758

| monarch3 = Louis XV

| honorific_suffix = Marquis of Stainville, Duke of Choiseul

| predecessor1 = [[François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis]]

| honorific_prefix =[[Royal and noble styles#Royal and noble styles in France|The Most High and Most Potent Lord]]

| image = Louis-Michel Van Loo, 'Portrait of the Duke of Choiseul' – Grateau 2015, after p 62.jpg

| caption = Étienne François de Choiseul. Painting by [[Louis-Michel van Loo]].

| office1 = [[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)#Minister for Foreign Affairs (1718–1791)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]]

| monarch1 = Louis XV

| term1 = 3 December 1758 – 13 October 1761

| successor1 = [[César Gabriel de Choiseul]]

| successor3 = Louis Phélypeaux

| term2 = 10 April 1766 – 24 December 1770

| successor2 = [[Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Saint-Florentin|Louis Phélypeaux]]

| predecessor2 = César GabrieldeChoiseul

| monarch2 = Louis XV

| office3 = [[Secretary of State for War (France)|Minister of War]]

| term3 = 27 January 1761 – 24 December 1770

| predecessor3 = [[Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle|Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet]]

| awards = [[File:Ordre du Saint-Esprit Chevalier ribbon.svg|25px]] [[List of the Knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit|Order of the Holy Spirit]]<br>[[File:Order of the Golden Fleece ribbon bar.svg|25px]] [[List of Knights of the Golden Fleece#18th Century|Order of the Golden Fleece]]

'''Étienne François de Choiseul, [[Marquis]] of Stainville, Duke of Choiseul''', [[Order of the Holy Spirit|KOHS]], [[Order of the Golden Fleece|OGF]] (28 June 1719{{snd}}8 May 1785) was a French [[military officer]], [[diplomat]] and [[wikt:statesman|statesman]]. From 1758 to 1761 and from 1766 to 1770, he was [[Foreign Minister of France]] and had a strong influence on France's global strategy throughout the period. He is closely associated with [[France in the Seven Years' War|France's defeat in the Seven Years' War]] and subsequent efforts to rebuild French prestige.

The eldest son of [[François Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville]] (1700–1770),{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}} Étienne François was born in [[Nancy, France|Nancy]] in the [[Duchy of Lorraine]] where his father was one of the leading advisors to the [[Duke of Lorraine]] who ruled an independent [[French-speaking]] state with close cultural and political links with France.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} At birth, he bore the title of '''''comte de Stainville'''''.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}} In 1737, [[Francis Stephen of Lorraine]] (the future [[Holy Roman Emperor]] Francis I) was pressured into giving up Lorraine and becoming ruler of [[Tuscany]] in Italy. Realising that continued loyalty to the House of Lorraine would limit his opportunities, Étienne François transferred his allegiance to France.<ref name="Soltau">Soltau (1909), p.6.</ref>

After gaining experience during the [[Austro-Turkish War (1737-1739)|Austro-Turkish War]],<ref name="Soltau"/> the comte de Stainville entered the French army, and during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] served in [[Bohemia]] (1741) and in [[Italy]] (1744), where he distinguished himself at the [[Battle of Madonna dell'Olmo|Battle of Coni]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}} He was also present at the [[Battle of Dettingen]] in Germany and carried news of the French defeat there to Paris.<ref>Soltau (1909), p.7.</ref> He had been appalled by what he had witnessed of the French forces at Dettingen, particularly what he later described as their "indifference and ignorance", and his experiences motivated his later reforms of the French military.<ref>Blaufarb (2002), p.25.</ref>

From 1745 to 1748, he was with the army in the [[Low Countries]] and was present at the sieges of [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], [[Charleroi]] and [[Siege of Maastricht (1748)|Maastricht]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}} He attained the rank of [[lieutenant-general]] and, in 1750, married [[Louise-Honorine, Duchesse de Choiseul|Louise Honorine Crozat]], daughter of [[Louis François Crozat, marquis du Châtel]] (died 1750), who brought her husband her share of the large fortune of her grandfather [[Antoine Crozat]] as well as his brother [[Pierre Crozat|Pierre]]'s grand [[Hôtel de Crozat]] on the rue de Richelieu, and proved a most devoted wife.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}}{{sfn|Pons|1996|p=151}}

Choiseul gained the favour of [[Madame de Pompadour]] by procuring for her letters that [[Louis XV of France|King Louis XV]] had written to his cousin's wife, Charlotte-Rosalie de Romanet, comtesse de Choiseul-Baupré, with whom the king had formerly had an intrigue;{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}} and after a short time as [[bailli]] of the [[Vosges Mountains|Vosges]], he was given the appointment of ambassador to [[Rome]] in 1753, where he was entrusted with the negotiations concerning the disturbances called forth by the [[papal bull]] ''[[Unigenitus]]''. He acquitted himself skillfully in this task, and, in 1757, his patroness obtained his transfer to [[Vienna]], where he was instructed to cement [[Franco-Austrian Alliance|the new alliance]] between France and [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]]. He was one of the principal authors of the [[Second Treaty of Versailles]], signed in May 1757, which pledged the two states to a combined war in Germany against [[Prussia]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}}

In the years following the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris of 1763]], Choiseul attempted to rebuild the French military. Alarmed by the [[Great Britain in the Seven Years' War|British victory in the Seven Years' War]] and the upset in the [[Balance of power (international relations)|European balance of power]] that followed, he tried to secure continued Spanish support for a future war of revenge against Britain and drew up a number of plans for an invasion of Britain. In an effort to compensate for French territorial losses, he added [[Corsica]] and [[Lorraine (province)|Lorraine]] to the crown of France. He directed the [[French conquest of Corsica]]. He also oversaw a failed scheme to settle [[French Guiana|Guiana]].<ref>Dull (2005), p.246.</ref> By the late 1760s Choiseul was concerned by the growing strength of Russia around the [[Baltic Sea]] fearing that Britain was behind it. He believed they were planning a "northern league" against France. To counter this he hoped to depose or severely weaken the power of [[Catherine the Great]] by encouraging the [[Ottoman Empire]] to attack Russia.<ref>Murphy (1982), p.151.</ref>

However, Choiseul's fall was caused by his action against the [[Jesuits]] and by his support of their opponent [[La Chalotais]], and of the provincial ''parlements''. After the death of Madame de Pompadour in 1764, his enemies, incorporating the King's new mistress, [[Madame du Barry]], in their plots, and the chancellor [[René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou|Maupeou]], were too strong for him.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}} He had supported his sister [[Béatrix de Choiseul-Stainville]], in her attempt to succeed Madame de Pompadour as the king's mistress, which placed him in opposition to Madame du Barry.<ref>Williams, Hugh Noel, Madame Dubarry, Beijer, Stockholm, 1905 {{page needed | date=April 2023}}</ref> In an attempt to boost the Austrian alliance, Choiseul was an advocate of the marriage between the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]], the future [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]], and the archduchess [[Marie Antoinette]], a daughter of the [[Maria Theresa|Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa]] and the [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Francis I]]. Choiseul considered the marriage a personal triumph and believed it would cement his position of power.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

In 1770, a [[Falklands Crisis (1770)|dispute between Britain and Spain]] over the [[Falkland Islands]] threatened to flare into open warfare. As part of his long-term strategy to overturn what he perceived as British hegemony, Choiseul strongly supported Spain and mobilised the French military in preparation for war. Louis XV, who sought peace after the wars that had dominated much of his reign, was angry when he discovered that.<ref>Black (1999), p.116.</ref> At the height of the Falkland Crisis in 1770, Choiseul was dismissed and ordered to retire to his country estate, the [[Château de Chanteloup]]. The crisis was then settled peacefully by Britain and Spain.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

The intrigues against him had, however, increased his popularity, which was already great, and, during his retirement, which lasted until 1774, he lived in the greatest affluence and was visited by many eminent figures.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=261}} He was succeeded as Chief Minister by [[Emmanuel-Armand de Richelieu, duc d'Aiguillon]] whose foreign policy was similar to that of Choiseul. D'Aiguillon favoured a more [[absolute monarchy]] than Choiseul did, and was strongly connected to the faction grouped around Madame Du Barry.<ref>Lever (2000), p.38.</ref> Choiseul enjoyed widespread popularity and many people came to bid him farewell, as a gesture of support, as he prepared to leave Paris for his Chanteloup estate.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} In 1771, he participated in the unsuccessful attempt to arrange a secret marriage between the king and [[Albertine-Elisabeth Pater]] in order to depose Madame du Barry.<ref>Fleury, Maurice & comte, Louis XV intime et les petites maîtresses., Paris, 1909 {{page needed | date=April 2023}}</ref>

Choiseul was interested in music, theatre, and art. He created one of the most important collections of paintings in France and was a generous patron of many French artists. The items in his collection are known with some accuracy because of two important visual records: first, a [[snuffbox]], often referred to as the 'Choiseul box', with five miniature paintings (1770–1771) by [[Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe]], depicting the interior of his Paris residence, the [[Hôtel de Choiseul]] on the [[Rue de Richelieu]]; and second, a 1771 catalog of his collection with engravings created by [[Pierre-François Basan]].<ref>Anonymous 1996; Watson 1966; Basan 1771. {{page needed | date=April 2023}}</ref>

* {{cite book | last=Basan | first=Pierre-François | year=1771 | title=Recueil d'estampes gravées d'après les tableaux du Cabinet de Monseigneur le duc de Choiseul | place=Paris | url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6429350f?rk=257512 | publisher=Pierre-François Basan}}

* {{cite book | last=Black | first=Jeremy | title=From Louis XIV to Napoleon: The Fate of a Great Power | publisher=Routledge | year=1999 | place=London | isbn=978-1857289343}}

* {{cite book | last=Blaufarb | first=Rafe | title=The French Army, 1750–1820: Careers, Talent, Merit | publisher=Manchester University Press | year=2002 | place=Manchester | isbn=978-0719062629}}

* {{cite book | last=Dull | first=Jonathan R. | title=The French Navy and the Seven Years' War | publisher=University of Nebraska | year=2005 | isbn=978-0803260245 | place=Lincoln}}

* {{cite book | last=Murphy | first=Orville T. | title=Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes: French Diplomacy in the Age of Revolution, 1719–1787 | publisher=State University of New York Press | year=1982 | isbn=978-0873954822 | place=Albany}}

* {{cite book | last=Lever | first=Evelyne | title=Marie Antionette: The Last Queen of France | place=New York | publisher=St. Martin's Griffin | year=2000 | isbn=978-0274864997}}

* {{cite book | last=Pons | first=Bruno | title=Waddesdon Manor : architecture and panelling | publisher=Published for the Waddesdon Trust by Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd | publication-place=London | date=1996 | isbn=0-85667-437-0 | oclc=40492856}}

* {{cite book | last=Soltau | first=Roger H. | title=The Duke de Choiseul | year=1909 | place=Oxford | publisher=B.H. Blackwell | url=https://archive.org/details/dukedechoiseul00solt/mode/2up}}

[[Category:Military personnel from Nancy, France]]

[[Category:Politicians from Nancy, France]]

[[Category:Choiseul family]]