Charles de Cossé, 1st Duke of Brissac
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Charles de Cossé, 1st Duke of Brissac (c. 1550 –c. 1621) was a French noble, military commander, governor, courtier and rebel during the latter French Wars of Religion. Son of the Charles I de Cossé and Charlotte d'Esquetot, Brissac was born into a family with a strong military reputation, both his father and uncle being French Marshals. As a second son Brissac was not initially intended to assume the titles of his father, but his brother Timoléon de Cossé was killed during a siege in 1569. Brissac was intimately involved in the French response to the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, being selected by Catherine de Medici the queen's mother as one of the two military commanders for the expedition. In June 1582 he departed with a fleet under the overall authority of Strozzi, another Marshals' son. They were met with disaster at the Battle of Vila Franca do Campo, Strozzi was killed and Brissac took responsibility for extracting the ships that could be saved from the superior enemy. Catherine desired for him to lead another expedition but Henri overruled her, and Brissac looked to the duke of Guise for purpose, becoming involved in the abortive plans for an invasion of England. After these too fell through, Brissac involved himself in the revived Catholic ligue which rose in response to the death of the king's brother in June 1584 and the subsequent threat of a Protestant king. As a result of the dauphins death, Brissac received command of the Château d'Angers. The ligue resolved to make war on the king to get him to revise his policy, and Brissac campaigned in Normandie but was bested by Épernon at the siege of Gien. The war was brought to a close with a favourable settlement to the ligue in September.
Charles de Cossé | |
---|---|
1st Duke of Brissac | |
Born | c. 1550 |
Died | c. 1621 |
Noble family | House of Cossé |
Father | Charles de Cossé, Count of Brissac |
Mother | Charlotte d'Esquetot |
The king was compelled by the terms of the peace to make war on Protestantism, and in the subsequent campaign, the Protestant Condé seized Angers from Brissac. The governor of Anjou, Bouchage aided in the restoring of royal authority over the city, but Henri did not want to return the Château to Brissac, and Brissac was pushed into selling his control of it to the king's favourite Joyeuse. In May 1588 tensions between the ligue and their nominal ally Henri overflowed and Paris rioted against the king's attempt to introduce troops to the capital. In the combats that followed, Brissac drove the royal Swiss guard back across the city, and was prepared to storm the king's residence on 13 May before Henri slipped from the city. Humiliated Henri sought to regain his position at the Estates General of 1588. Brissac was elected as président of the Second Estate and after the king arranged the assassination of the duke of Guise he was briefly arrested. Not viewed as a threat, he was released after a couple of weeks and after some time on his estates he joined the ligueur war against their 'tyrannical' king. He headed first to Angers, where he was bested by Marshal Aumont and then Normandie where he lost a battle to the duke of Montpensier. In 1592, he was established as governor of Poitiers, where he exercised his governorship like he was sovereign. In December 1593 he was appointed governor of Paris, viewed as a reliably ligueur figure, unlike his predecessor. He opened negotiations to betray the city to the royalist candidate for king, Henri IV. For his treachery he was rewarded with the office of Marshal and a large bribe. He was tasked by his new king with campaigning against the last ligueur holdout Mercœur. In 1620 his seigneurie was raised to a duché-pairie by Louis XIII. He died the following year.