| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban ( May 15, 1633 - March 30, 1707), commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for both his ability to design fortifications and to break through them.
Vauban was born in Saint-Léger-de-Foucheret (renamed Saint-Léger-Vauban in his honor), in the département of Yonne, in Burgundy, France, into a family of minor nobility.
Although indispensable to Louis XIV, Vauban boldly stretched his goodwill on several occasions. In 1685Events February 6 James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. February 18 Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. June 20, Vauban vocally condemned the repeal of the edict of NantesThe Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant French Protestants (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a Catholic nation. The main concern was civil unity, and the Edict separated civil from religious unity, tre. It appears that his opposition was mostly made on economic grounds. In the 1690sCenturies: 16th century 17th century 18th century Decades: 1640s 1650s 1660s 1670s 1680s 1690s 1700s 1710s 1720s 1730s 1740s Years: 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 Events and Trends World Leaders King Christian V of Denmark ( 1670 1699)., he conducted a comprehensive censusA census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). It can be contrasted with sampling in which information is only obtained from a subset of a population. As such it is a method used f of FlandersThis article is about a region of Western Europe and of Belgium. For other meanings, see Flanders (disambiguation). Today, Flanders ( Dutch: Vlaanderen French: Flandre or Flandres is a region in Western Europe, in Belgium and a nation, the 'community of t and other areas of France, which earned him his nickname as the "French Petty". A prolific writer on many subjects, e.g. forestrySkills Forestry is the art and science and practice of studying and managing forests and related natural resources. Much research and development has been invested in learning about managing forest ecosystems, improving varieties of trees, and in better m, pigThe domestic pig is usually given the scientific name Sus scrofa though some authors call it S. domesticus reserving S. scrofa for the wild boar. It has been a domesticated animal for approximately 5,000 to 7,000 years. The animal is found across Europe, breedingBreeding has several meanings related to procreation: In animal husbandry and in horticulture the selection of stock for propagation and the act of insemination by natural or artificial means is called breeding. See Selective breeding and Artificial selec, monetary policy, colonization, etc., Vauban was made an honorary member of the French Academy of Sciences. Applying his knowledge, he even correctly estimated and plotted out the growth of Canada, predicting its population would be about 30 million by the year 2000.
Dismayed by the inefficiency of Colbertism , Vauban's 1707 tract called for the repeal of all taxes and the imposition of a single tax of 10% on all land and trade with no exemptions. He backed up his argument with a mass of statistics. It was not well-received at the time (the king shunned him thereafter), but it inspired later Enlightenment economists, such as Forbonnais , Mirabeau and the Physiocrats.
He was made Marshal of France on January 14, 1703. He also advised Louis XIV on how to consolidate France's borders, to make them more defensible. He made the radical suggestion of giving up some land, which was indefensible, to allow for a stronger, less porous border with France's neighbours.
He died in Paris, of an inflammation of the lungs.