Pierre de Ségusson
16th Century French noble and diplomat / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pierre de Ségusson, sieur de Longlée (c. 1540–1592/1598) was a French noble, churchmen and ambassador during the latter French Wars of Religion. Born into a noble family of the province of Maine, Longlée entered a career in the church. By 1556 he had secured a court position as a valet de chambre, and this would be followed with the position of gentilhomme servant in 1574 at the start of the reign of Henri III. He served as the sécretaire (secretary) to the French ambassador to España the baron de Saint-Gouard for nine years, and is first attested in the role in 1574. He performed a variety of services for the ambassador during this time, and was warmly recommended to the French court by his superior. In 1579 he undertook an extraordinary mission to Portugal for the crown, to advocate for the queen mothers rights to the Portuguese throne. He would again travel to Portugal with Saint-Gouard in 1581-1582 during the crisis of the Portuguese succession, and when Saint-Gouard was relieved as ambassador at the end of 1582, Longlée was chosen to serve as his temporary replacement. His appointment would not however be temporary, despite this he would not receive the formal office of ambassador, and through his ambassadorship from 1582 to 1580 he technically held the position of 'permanent resident'.
Pierre de Ségusson sieur de Longlée | |
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12th French Ambassador to Spain | |
In office August 1582 – April 1590 | |
Preceded by | Baron de Saint-Gouard |
Succeeded by | Vacant |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1540 Asnières |
Died | 1592-1598 |
Parents |
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In this position he was faced with the collapse of Franco-Spanish relations. This was induced firstly by the intervention of the king's brother, the duc d'Alençon (duke of Alençon) in the rebellion against Spanish rule in Spanish Nederland. Longlée made efforts to try and convince the Spanish king Felipe II that Henri was uninvolved in his brothers enterprises. He also attempted to secure the release of captive Frenchman who had been pressed into service in the Spanish galleys. In 1584 he reported to Henri on the treasonous dealings of the duc de Montmorency and king of Navarre. In June of that year the king's brother Alençon died, this worsened relations between France and España, as Alençon had been the king's heir, and in his absence the succession defaulted to the Protestant king of Navarre, a prospect which was intolerable to Felipe. Through his ambassador in France, Felipe threw his weight behind the Catholic ligue (league) that formed to oppose Navarre's succession among other royal policies. In March 1585 the ligue entered war with the French crown, with Felipe's support. Longlée protested to the Spanish king without luck. Longlée continually complained about the actions of the Spanish ambassador in France. In August 1585 he reported on the intrigues of several representatives of the queen of Navarre, who hoped to form an alliance with Felipe against her husband. As the Spanish moved towards war with England, Longlée provided what information he could on the Armada they were preparing. In 1589, Henri was assassinated, and was succeeded by his Protestant cousin the king of Navarre who took the name Henri IV, Longlée remained a loyal royalist through this transition. Henri was not recognised as the French king by Felipe or the ligueur (leaguer) party in France and thus Longlée's position in España became even more tenuous. After a few months requesting Henri authorise his recall he received permission to retire from España in April 1590. He received only limited reward for his diplomatic service from Henri, who made him a gentilhomme ordinaire de la chambre du roi (ordinary gentleman of the king's chamber) by 1592. He died sometime between 1592 and 1598.