Charles Joseph Patissier, Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau (8 February 1718 or 8 February 1720 – 7 January 1785) or Charles Joseph Patissier de Bussy was the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

of the French colony of

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

from 1783 to 1785. He served with distinction under

Joseph François Dupleix Joseph Marquis Dupleix (23 January 1697 – 10 November 1763) was Governor-General of French India and rival of Robert Clive. Biography Dupleix was born in Landrecies, on January 23, 1697. His father, François Dupleix, a wealthy ''fermier gé ...

in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

, receiving the Order of Saint Louis. He contributed to the recovery from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

of Pondicherry in 1748, and was named in 1782 to lead all French military forces beyond the Cape of Good Hope. He coordinated his operations with

Pierre André de Suffren Admiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren (17 July 1729 – Paris, 8 December 1788), Château de Saint-Cannat) was a French Navy officer and admiral. Beginning his career during the War of the Austrian Success ...

and fought against the British during the Indian campaigns of the American War of Independence.

Early life and military career

Charles Joseph Patissier de Bussy was born as the son of N. Patissier de Bussy, colonel of infantry, and Sophie Ernestine Passaval. He was born either on 8 February 1718 in Bucy-le-Long, or on 8 February 1720 in Ancienville. He had a younger brother named Bouchard Patissier de Bussy, a lieutenant-colonel who died at 32 in July 1757. He also had a sister named Madeleine Sophie Patissier de Bussy. De Bussy was appointed lieutenant in 1733 and captain in 1734. After the death of his father in 1736, he took up service in the French East India Company. He landed the same year in Port-Louis on Isle de France (

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

), whose governor general was

Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais (11 February 169910 November 1753) was a French naval officer and colonial administrator, in the service of the French East India Company. Biography La Bourdonnais entered the service of the Fren ...

. There, he participated in the military protection of the island. In 1738 he was on Île Bourbon ( Réunion).

Yanam

The

Yanam Yanam (Telugu: ''యానాం'') is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united ...

region was presented to the Marquis de Bussy, the French General by

Vizianagaram Vizianagaram is a city and the headquarters of Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is central Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapatnam. The city has a population of 228,02 ...

King Pusapati Peda Vijaya Rama Raju (1670–1756) as a token of gratitude for the help rendered by him in the fight against the rulers of Bobbili. Actually, it was in 1750 when French leader de Bussy was staying with entire battalion near

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

. Many soldiers have died due to some disease (

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

). He was running with financial crisis. Vijayaramaraju of Vizianagaram helped him to overcome financial crisis and rebuild his battalion.

Carnatic Wars

On 23 November 1753, a Paravana of Asif ad-Dawlah Mir Ali

Salabat Jang Salabat Jung, born as Mir Sa'id Muhammad Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi on 24 November 1718, was the 3rd son of Nizam-ul-Mulk. He was appointed as ''Naib Subahdar'' (Deputy Viceroy) to his elder brother, Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung II, the Prime ...

, Subedar of

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

conceded to Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau the paraganas of

Chicacole Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...

Ellore Eluru is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the 14 municipal corporations in the state and the mandal headquarters of Eluru mandal in the Eluru revenue division. The city ...

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

etc. with an annual revenue RS.2, 00,000 for the maintenance of the French troops in the Subah in recognition of the help of these Circars amounted up to 10 lakhs of Rupees per year. de Bussy helped

to be the Subedar of Deccan. The agreement ( Treaty of Aurangabad) made between the French and Salabat Jang in

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is the ...

bears the signature of rukn o dowla syed Lashkar khan lashkar jung, Prime Minister of Salabat Jang. Actually, He was one of the key sub-ordinates of Dupleix who helped him in expanding French activities in Northern Circars and along the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...

. Men in his command also included the famous

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the at ...

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

. In 1756 Marquis de Bussy visited Rajahmundry. Vijayaramaraju had given a warm welcome to Bussy by going in front at Rajahmundry. There were differences between Vizianagaram Maharaja and the ruler of Bobbili, which led to the battle of Bobbili starting on 23 January 1757. The

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

was fought between the Rajah of Vizianagaram, Vijayaramaraju aided by the Bussy, the then French General and the Rajah of Bobbili. During the battle the Bobbili fort was totally destroyed and many Bobbili soldiers died. There is still a street named after Bussy in

Relations with the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II

In the year 1755, De Bussy received letter from the newly ordained

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Alamgir II requesting French assistance to put down the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

. Alamgir II asked if it was possible for De Bussy to dispatch a French contingent of 1000 strong. Alamgir II also promised to pay a hefty sum for the maintenance of the French and even promised to settle disputes in the

Carnatic Wars The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India's coastal Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad State, India. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1744 and 1763. The conflicts involved n ...

in favor of the

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...

Death

De Bussy died in

on 7 January 1785.

Family

He was married to the youngest stepdaughter of Dupleix, Marie in March 1754. He begot a daughter from her who died at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1759.

Notes

References

*d'Hozier, Jean François Louis
''L'impot du sang: ou, La noblesse de France sur les champs de bataille, Volume 3''
* Malleson, George
''History of the French in India: from the founding of Pondichery in 1674 to the capture of that place in 1761''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bussy-Castelnau, Charles Joseph French colonial governors and administrators Governors of French India French generals Order of Saint Louis recipients History of Puducherry French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession French military personnel of the Seven Years' War Yanam 1785 deaths 1718 births People from Aisne