Eustache de Beaumarchais

Eustache was probably born in the hamlet of Beaumarchais, now part of Othis, into a family of the petty nobility.

It was in his capacity as seneschal of Toulouse that he was sent with an army to Navarre in 1276, to put an end to the civic unrest and stave off invasion by Aragon and Castile.

In 1279, Eustache and Imbert de Beaujeu were appointed joint military commanders in Languedoc, a position they held until 1282.

Philip died late in 1285, and in February 1288 his successor confirmed Eustache as a royal knight and seneschal of Toulouse in letters patent.

In the county of Toulouse, Eustache oversaw the construction of 22 bastides: Rimont (1272), Alan (1272), Montréjeau (1272), Fleurance (1274), Valence-d'Albigeois[c] (1275), Beaumont-de-Lomagne (1279), Verdun-sur-Garonne (1279), Saint-Lys (1280), Mirande (1281), Pavie (1281), Cazères (1282), Cologne (1284), Miélan (1284), Plaisance-du-Touch (1285), Réjaumont (1285), Pampelonne (1285), Boulogne-sur-Gesse (1286), Valentine (1287), Aurimont (1287), Beaumarchés[d] (1288), Grenade-sur-Garonne (1290) and Sorde (1290).