Genus Phelypaea

For Louis Phélypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain (1643–1727), French nobleman and politician. He served France in various senior positions – head of the Brittany parliament, controller-general of finances, navy secretary, the king’s secretary of State (1690) and chancellor of France (1699–1714). He lived during a period of considerable volatility. A capable administrator, he was held partly responsible for the French navy’s defeat in 1692 at the battles of Barfleur and La Houge. King Louis IV planned to land an army in England and restore James II to the throne. The 44 French ships, some ill-equipped, came up against an 82-ship Anglo-Dutch force and were defeated. Phélypeaux retired when he came into disagreement with Louis XIV over a religious matter.