The Pontcallec Conspiracy
Louis XV of France was but five years old when his father died in 1715, and during his childhood the throne was controlled by a Regent, Phillippe, Duke of Orleans. The French treasury was bereft of funds following the many wars during the reign of Louis XIV and heavy taxation was raising resentment. The Estates of Brittany, essentially a collection of the nobles and clergy of that region with a small number of delegates from the towns, resisted the higher taxes and refused them, leading to many of the Estates’ exile. During this time the French Duke of Maine, who believed the Regency should be his, communicated with the Spanish King his desire to overthrow the Regency.
In Brittany it became known the Duke of Maine wanted to raise an army of support, and several of the Breton nobles, led by the Marquis de Pontcallec, assembled recruits from their estates. Meanwhile the War of the Quadruple Alliance erupted between Spain and France. The Breton nobles led by Pontcallec sent emissaries to Spain. The Spanish responded by announcing their intention to overthrow the French Regency and place Phillip V on the French throne, terms which Pontcallec accepted, along with 2,000 Irish Catholic troops which were sent to Brittany on Spanish ships.
The Regency had by then already placed the Duke of Maine under arrest, along with his wife, and dispatched Royal soldiers to Brittany to enforce the collection of taxes from the rebellious nobles. When they were routed by Breton peasants led by some of the nobles, Phillippe sent an army of 15,000 men under Pierre de Montesquiou to enforce the law. The conspiring nobles were forced to take refuge in Pontcallec’s estate. When the Irish troops arrived they quickly realized they were no match for the French Army at hand, and withdrew back to the ships. Some of the Breton nobles managed to escape with them.
The rest were taken, along with Pontcallec, in late December 1719. The Duchess of Maine had already confessed to the existence of conspiracies to overthrow the Regency and Phillippe moved swiftly to exert his authority. Of the 23 conspirators whom Phillippe described as key to the plot, 16 had escaped, either with the Irish troops or by other means. Seven of the key conspirators were in his hands and they were tried in court, with the escapees being tried in absentia. Of the seven in his hands, four were found guilty and sentenced to death, including Pontcallec.
The four were executed by beheading on the day of their sentencing. The conspirators convicted in absentia were exiled from France for ten years. Pontcallec became a folk hero in Brittany in the manner of William Wallace of Scotland or Robin Hood in England. The conspiracy was a failure in all of its goals, which were poorly defined from the beginning. Phillippe continued as Regent until 1723, when Louis XV was crowned King of France. Phillippe died at Versailles in December of that year.