Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat

Who was Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat?

Count Justin Napoléon Samuel Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat was a French politician who became Minister of the Navy under Napoleon III. He was the youngest son of the General de Chasseloup-Laubat. Chasseloup-Laubat was an enthusiastic proponent of Colonial Imperialism.

Chasseloup-Laubat was Minister of the Navy and the Colonies during the attacks on Danang and Saigon in Vietnam led by Rigault de Genouilly and his successor Counter-Admiral Page.

When in 1863 the Vietnamese diplomat Phan Thanh Gian visited Napoleon III on an embassy in Paris, Chasseloup-Laubat pressured Napoleon III to have him give up a promise he had made to return territories captured by the French. He threatened Napoleon III with his resignation and that of the whole cabinet, forcing him to order the cancellation of the agreement in June 1864

He worked in combination with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Drouyn de Lhuys.