Charles-Philippe vicomte de Patin (19 April 1687 – 17 July 1773) was a prominent figure in the Austrian Netherlands during the Age of Enlightenment. Born 1687, in Ypres, he gained recognition as a Flemish writer, poet, magistrate, and legal and fiscal expert. His notable contributions include the publication of () in 1726. Additionally, he served as the President of the Council of Flanders from 1742H. Pirenne, Histoire de Belgique des origines a nos jours, Bruxelles, La renaissance du Livre, 1948–1952, deel III, p. 137 until his death in 1773, in Ghent. On 10 April 1715, he married Therese Waltrude du Bois, the daughter of François du Bois and Catherine Devos, in Ghent.
Pseudonyms Other forms of name and title were applied to de Patin in certain contexts.Pseudonym list for author Charles-Philippe de Patin on website of the International Standard Name Identifier http://www.isni.org/000000008094989X These include: Charles Philippe burghgrave de Patin – is old Flemish, it means 'viscount' Charles Philippe vicomte de Patin – is 'viscount' in French Carolus Philippus Pattyn Iprensis – Official documents during the life of de Patin were written in Latin; refers to where Charles Philippe had grown up, namely Ypres Patin van Ieper – means 'from Ypres'. Because de Patin was well known during his life, in certain documents they simply refer to him in such colloquial manner Charles-Philippe de Pattyn – This is the format that the National Library of the Netherlands used to register de Patin's book when they shared a digitized version on Google Books on 13 December 2013 Karel Filips Pattijn – a modern () Dutch formFrans Eric Rene De Pauw, Het Mare Liberum van Grotius en Pattijn, Uitgeverij voor rechts- en bestuurswetenschappen Die Keure N.V., Oude Gentweg 104, Brugge, 1960. Note that in this dissertation the author has systematically translated each person's name, even when English, Spanish, French or Austrian into a Dutch version except for the Dutch 'Hugo de Groot' whom he calls by his Latinized name 'Grotius'. The spelling 'Pattijn' for instance never occurred in any of the historical references, neither did 'Filips', and are hence merely a 20th century creation by De Pauw. M. Pattyn – Name in Flemish as written by the publisher Vander Elst on de Patin's book printed in 1727, 'M' stands for Mister, Pattyn is the most common way this family name is spelled in Flanders by families that are not related to Charles-Philippe de Patin
Ancestry Charles-Philippe de Patin is a descendant of a long-standing aristocratic lineage,R. De Vegiano (seigneur d'Hovel), Jacques Salomon François Joseph Léon de Herckenrode: Nobiliaire des Pays-Bas et du Comté de Bourgogne: I, 1529-1531de la Motte et de Combles Waroquier Sieur de Mericourt (Louis Charles Comte de): Tableau genealogique, historique, chronologique, heraldique et geographique ..., p. 104 which has been characterized by G. Van Hoorebeke as possessing a "noble of race" status.A. Merghelinck wrote about the genealogy study published by G. Van Hoorebeke that it is too often truncated in the first degree thereby hiding additional siblings in the different mentioned generations, Royal Library at Brussels, handwritings, Merghelinck Foundation, Ypres, nr 412, document 24 The family's origins can be traced back to the 13th century, specifically to the castle of Selles in Cambrai, France. Additionally, the family has more recent ancestral ties to Geluwe, Menin, Dadizele, and Ypres during the 17th century.Roger Coussé en Martin Boudry, De familie Pattyn of de Patin, in : Iepers Kwartier, December 1984, p. 100.Annales de l'Academie d'Archeologie de Belgique, Tome Quatorzieme, printed by Imprimerie J. E. Buschmann, Rue des Israelites, Anvers, 1857
The mother of Charles-Philippe de Patin was Catherine Therese de Smet, born in Ypres in 1663. His father was Pierre de Patin (Dadizele, 1660 – Bixschoote 1735), who held the titles of Lord of Langemarck, Shaepweide, Ter Beke,E. Huys, Geschiedenis van Gheluwe, Kortrijk, Drukkerij Vooruitgang, Tweede uitgave, p. 375 Burgcautere, and Nonneland. Pierre de Patin held the position of bailiff of the barony of Guysengrave stone of Pierre de Patin, quoted by G. Van Hoorebeke, Genealogie de la noble famille Gobert, avec un apendice relative al la famille de Patin, in Annales de l'Academie d'archeologie de Belgique, tome X, Anvers, Froment, 1853, 218 and was a clerk at GeluweE. Hellin, Histoire du Conseil Prive, Rijksarchief te Brussel, Conseil prive Autrichien, registre 766, part II, p. 192 near Ypres. Additionally, he served as a deputy magistrate for the noblemen and vassals at the Chamber and Lordship of Ypres, fulfilling various roles as an alderman and representative of the government.Nobility Letter of Charles Philippe viscount de Patin, December 5, 1735 In 1699, he was appointed as a council member of the city of Ypres, and in 1705, he assumed the responsibility of distributing bourgeoisie rights for the city.A. Merghelynck, Cabinet des titres de généalogie et d'histoire de la West-Flandre et des régions limitrophes, Tournai, Vasseur-Delmée, 1896-1897, p. 27.
The paternal grandfather of Charles Philippe was Philippe de Patin, born in Menin in 1637, died 1712. He married Anne Vermeersch in 1637. Additionally, Charles Philippe's oldest sister, Adrienne de Patin, born in Menin 1634, died in Geluwe in 1710, was married to Marinus Vermeersch, Anne's brother. The Vermeersch family were land proprietors in Geluwe,Het familiefonds Maertens de Noorthout (stukken MDN/611en MDN/616 : Stukken inzake een hofstede en gronden te Geluwe) while the de Patin family enjoyed affluence, partly owing to the inherited assets of Philippe de Patin's mother, Marie Douchy (1610–1681) of Geluwe. These assets were passed down through her grandfather's line, the de Peutevin family.http://search.arch.be/eadsearch/inventaris/index/rubriek/Y1/beginjaar/1700/eindjaar/1800/eadid/BE-A0513_102171_100634_DUT/open/c%3A0./inventarisnr/I10063400000956/level/file about de Peutevin at Geluwe According to De Pauw, it is noted that Charles-Philippe de Patin's uncle was involved in the brewing industry in Ypres, while his father, Pierre de Patin, engaged in the trade of commodities with the French. Charles-Philippe de Patin had a sibling named Charles Joseph de Patin (1691-1762). Charles Joseph had the titles of Squire and Lord of Nonneland and Letuwe and was entrusted with overseeing forest management in Austrian Belgium. In 1717, Charles Joseph entered into matrimony with Marie Jacqueline de Voldere, and after her decease, he contracted a second marriage with Genevieve Mombry in 1732.
Early years and education In 1687, Charles Philippe was born in Ypres, which had been under French control since the signing of the Treaty of Nijmegen on 17 September 1678. During this period, the city had undergone significant fortification efforts led by Sebastien de Vauban.J. E. Cornillie, Ieper door de eeuwen heen, printed by the city council, 1950, p. 245 Despite his upbringing in French Ypres, Charles-Philippe decided to pursue his studies at the (the Old University of Leuven), situated on the Belgian side of the border within the Spanish Netherlands, rather than enrolling in a French university. This choice reflects the de Patin family's allegiance to what would eventually be recognized as Austrian Belgium. Notably, this loyalty was acknowledged in Charles Philippe's letter of nobility, wherein Charles VI, granted him the esteemed title of viscount. The text mentioned above also refers to the family's steadfast adherence to Catholicism throughout the tumultuous French wars of religion. In the Spanish Netherlands, it was customary for registrars to spell the family name as Pattyn or Patyn. However, the family maintained their original French name, 'de Patin'.
During the period of the Spanish Succession conflict in 1710, Charles Philippe accomplished the acquisition of a Master's Degree in Law from the University of Leuven (, now usually referred to as the Old University of Leuven).Rijksarchief te Brussel, archief van de Leuvense universiteit, nr. 281, Liber computum receptorum universitatis, rekening van receptor Leunckens, van 1 maart 1710 tot 31 augustus 1710: mentions "Licentiati juris solvent sex florenses, fuerent 40, valet 240. Nomina 40 : Carolus Philippus Pattyn Iprensis" Charles Philippe served as the fiscus at the University of Leuven in 1709 and held the dean position at the .
During reign of Charles VI Charles-Philippe de Patin rapidly gained recognition as a prominent legal practitioner towards the conclusion of the Spanish Netherlands.Notes sur des Presidents et membres du Conseil de Flandre, Koninklijke bibliotheek te Brussel, handschriften, Van den Gheyn, IX, 6126 (16870), tweede levensbeschrijving The establishment of the Austrian Netherlands occurred in 1715. On 12 October 1720, de Patin, a lawyer by profession, was appointed as a counselor of the Council of Flanders by Prince Eugene of Savoy, who served as the governor of the Netherlands from 1716 to 1725.Lijsten van advokaten postulerende in den Raad van Vlaanderen 1620–1737, Stadsarchief Gent, Archief van de praktizijnen van de Raad van Vlaanderen, 200/1B, 16.Rijksarchief te Brussel, Conseil de'Etat, nr. 654 On 8 April 1721, Charles Philippe was granted the title of by a decree. Subsequently, on 12 April 1721, he solemnly swore an oath in the presence of Christophe Ernest, the head of the Council, who held the title of Count de Baillet.Rijksarchief te Brussel, archief van de Grote Raad, Partie generale, Registres aux patentes, commissions admissions et serments, nr 4, folio 111
During the early contention period, a conflict arose between Austrian Belgium, the Maritime Powers of Britain, and the United Dutch ProvincesP. Geyl, Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse stam (herziene uitgave) · dbnl, Wereldbibliotheek N. V., Amsterdam/Antwerpen 1948-1959, p. 277 regarding establishing an Indian Company similar to the East and West Indian Companies. This conflict centered around the Ostend Company in Austrian Belgium, which received a patent from Charles VI, on 19 December 1722. In 1726, Charles Philippe authored the first iteration of his literary work titled ('freedom of the seas'). During that period, the Austrian emperor had not yet enlisted the services of de Patin. Consequently, his work, as stated by De Pauw, was composed to safeguard the economic autonomy of Austrian Belgium. This was achieved by challenging the prevailing monopolies held by Britain and the Dutch East India Company and advocating for the legitimate rights of the Ostend Company. However, the media widely disseminated favorable remarks about his work and expressed support for granting de Patin elevated social positions.Vandervynckt Pere et Fils (Luc Jean Joseph respectively Emmanuel) calls de Patin's work 'this was a work that made de Patin very renown', Recueil des recherches historiques et chronologiques du Grand Conseil de Malines, 1776, Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent, handschrift G 14231, deel II, p. 640; also in Rijksarchief te brussel, Manuscrits divers, 860 A, p. 283.Europische Mercurius, p. 251, November 1726