Early years He was born at the
Château de Rosny near
Mantes-la-Jolie into a branch of the
House of Béthune a noble family originating in
Artois, and was brought up in the Reformed faith, a
Huguenot. In 1571, at the age of eleven, Maximilien was presented to Henry of Navarre and remained permanently attached to the future king of France. The young Baron of Rosny was taken to Paris by his patron and was studying at the
Collège de Bourgogne at the time of the
St Bartholomew's Day Massacre, from which he escaped by discreetly carrying a Catholic
book of hours under his arm. He studied mathematics and history at the court of Henry of Navarre.
A warrior with Henry On the renewed outbreak of civil war in 1575, he enlisted in the Protestant army. In 1576 he accompanied the
Duke of Anjou, younger brother of king
Henri III, on an expedition into the
Netherlands in order to regain the former
Rosny estates, but being unsuccessful he attached himself for a time to the
Prince of Orange. Later, rejoining Henry of Navarre in
Guyenne, he displayed bravery in the field and particular ability as a military engineer. In 1583 he acted as Henry's special agent in Paris, and during a respite in the
Wars of Religion he married an heiress who died five years later. On the renewal of civil war, Rosny again joined Henry of Navarre, and at the
battle of Ivry (1590) he was seriously wounded. He counselled Henry IV's conversion to Catholicism (made official on 25 July 1593) but steadfastly refused to become a Catholic himself. Once
Henry IV of France's succession to the throne was secured (), the faithful and trusted Rosny received his reward in the shape of numerous estates and dignities.
Sully in power From 1596, when he was added to Henry's finance commission, Rosny introduced some order into France's economic affairs. Acting as sole
Superintendent of Finances at the end of 1601, he authorized the free exportation of grain and wine, reduced legal interest, established a special court to try cases of speculation, forbade provincial governors to raise money on their own authority, and otherwise removed many abuses of tax collecting. Rosny abolished several offices, and by his honest, rigorous conduct of the country's finances, he was able to save an average of a million
livres a year between 1600 and 1610. His achievements were not solely financial. In 1599, he was appointed grand commissioner of highways and public works, superintendent of fortifications and grand master of artillery; in 1602, governor of
Nantes and of
Jargeau, captain-general of the Queen's ''
gens d'armes'' and governor of the
Bastille; in 1604, he was governor of
Poitou; and in 1606, made first duke of
Sully and a
pair de France, ranking next to princes of the blood. He declined the office of
constable of France because he would not become a Catholic. '', Paris Sully encouraged agriculture, urged the free circulation of produce, promoted stock-raising, forbade the destruction of the forests, drained swamps, built roads and bridges, planned a vast system of canals and actually began the
Canal de Briare. He strengthened the French military establishment; under his direction, the construction of a great line of defences on the frontiers began. Abroad, Sully opposed the king's colonial policy as inconsistent with French interests, in opposition to men like
Samuel Champlain who urged greater colonial efforts in Canada and elsewhere. Neither did Sully show much favor toward industrial pursuits but, on the urgent solicitation of the king, he established a few silk factories. He fought together with Henry IV in
Savoy (1600–1601) and negotiated the treaty of peace in 1602. In 1603, he represented Henry at the court of
James I of England, and arranged gifts of jewellery for influential courtiers. Throughout the reign of Henry IV, he helped the king to put down insurrections of the nobles, whether Catholic or Protestant. It was Sully, too, who arranged the marriage between Henry IV and
Marie de' Medici.
Fall from power and last years The political role of Sully effectively ended with the assassination of Henry IV on 14 May 1610. The king was on his way to visit Sully, who lay ill in the Arsenal; his purpose was to make final preparations for imminent military intervention in the disputed succession to
Jülich-Cleves-Berg after the death of
Duke John William. The intervention on behalf of a
Calvinist candidate would have brought the king in conflict with the Catholic
Habsburg dynasty. After the death of Henry IV Sully published, in the deceased king's name, his ‘Grand Design’, a plan to stop the religious wars. His starting point was that the three churches (Catholic, Lutheran and Calvinist) were there to stay. He planned an international organization, consisting of a Europe of 15 more or less equally strong powers, incidentally dissolving the Habsburg empire and thus making France Europe's strongest state. A balance of power mechanism and a permanent assembly of ambassadors should prevent wars in Europe. Military power would only be needed towards the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Although a member of the Queen's council of regency, his colleagues were not inclined to put up with his domineering leadership, and after a stormy debate he resigned as superintendent of finances on 26 January 1611, retiring into private life. The queen mother gave him 300,000
livres for his long services and confirmed him in possession of his estates. He attended the meeting of the
Estates-General in 1614, and on the whole was in sympathy with the policy and government of
Richelieu. He disavowed the
Blockade of La Rochelle, in 1621, but in the following year was briefly arrested. The baton of
marshal of France was conferred on him on 18 September 1634. The last years of his life were spent chiefly at
Villebon, Rosny and his château of Sully. He died at Villebon at the age of 81. ==Family==