Pierre de Milard (often referred to as Chevalier Milard, also spelled Chevalier Millard; 1736–1778) was a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer, who became a senior officer and noble in the

Royal Burmese Armed Forces The Royal Armed Forces (,See (Maha Yazawin 2006: 26), (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 236), (Hmannan Vol. 2 2012: 2) for example. ) were the armed forces of the History of Myanmar, Burmese monarchy from the 9th to 19th centuries. It refers to the ...

. He had a key role in supporting the Burmese military efforts against

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...

. He was lavishly rewarded for his efforts, and made the governor of Tabe. De Milard was very close to King

Hsinbyushin Hsinbyushin (, , ; ; 12 September 1736 – 10 June 1776) was the third emperor of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1763 to 1776. The second son of the dynasty founder Alaungpaya is best known for his wars with Qing China and Siam, a ...

. Suffering from a long illness in his last years, the Burmese king asked de Milard on a few occasions to sleep in the same room in order to guard against possible attempts on his life.

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In 1756, Pierre de Milard was a member of a French navy force of two or three warships sent to

Syriam Thanlyin (; or ; , ; formerly Syriam) is a major port city of Myanmar, located across Bago River from the city of Yangon. Thanlyin comprises 17 quarters. It surrounding Thanlyin Township is home to the largest port in the country, Thilawa port, ...

to provide reinforcements and supplies to the forces of Hanthawaddy in the

Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War The Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War () was the war fought between the Konbaung Dynasty and the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom of Burma (Myanmar) from 1752 to 1757. The war was the last of several wars between the Burmese-speaking north and the Mon- ...

. The force was to join the

French officer The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, French Ai ...

Sieur de Bruno who was helping defend the city of Syriam against a Konbaung attack. However, the Konbaung leader

Alaungpaya Alaungpaya (, ; also spelled Alaunghpaya or Alaung-Phra; 11 May 1760) was the founder and first emperor of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma. By the time of his death from illness during his Burmese–Siamese War (1759–60), campaign in Siam, this ...

managed to capture Syriam in July 1756. The two French ships with reinforcements and supplies were also captured by Alaungpaya when Alaungpaya forced Bruno to write a letter to trick them. The French captains were killed and the sailors forced to join the Burmese army. MyanmarMandalay

Chevalier Milard was among the soldiers who were forced into the Burmese army. He was only 20 years old when he was captured. The incorporated French troops with their guns and muskets played a key role in the later battles between the Burmese and the Mons. They became an elite corps, which was to play a role in the Burmese battles against the Siamese (attacks and capture of

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

from 1759 to 1767) and the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

(battles against the Chinese armies of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

from 1766 to 1769). Ultimately Chevalier Milard was nominated Captain of the Guard and Master of the Ordnance for the

Konbaung dynasty The Konbaung dynasty (), also known as the Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်), was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in history of Mya ...

. Milard was involved in the reopening of contacts between the Burmese and the French as Burma was looking for supplies of weapons for its conflicts with the Siamese and the Manchu Chinese. Commercial contacts resumed in 1770 and Milard arranged the visit of the French envoy M. Feraud and the re-establishment of the French shipyard in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. Milard was very close to the Burmese ruler

and for some time slept in the same room as him in order to protect him against possible attacks linked to a succession dispute. Chevalier Milard was also noted for his charitable activities towards schools and churches, thereby promoting Western education in Burma. He died in 1778. He was buried near the village of Ngayabya in the

Sagaing district Sagaing District is the southernmost administrative district in Sagaing Region, northern Myanmar.Hanthawaddy Pegu,

and

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

as "Captain of the Feringhis" ("Captain of the French"), with the title of ''Thiri Yazathu Khyawhthin'',

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

(''myosa'') of Tabe in the Sagaing district.''History of Burma'' By Harvey G. E. p. 231
/ref>

Notes

References

* Coupland, Sir Reginald ''British Empire History. Burma Editor Sir Reginald Couplan

*Findlay, Ronald and O'Rourke, Kevin H. (2007) ''Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium'

*Harvey G. E., ''History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824'', Asian Educational Services, 2000 ,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milard, Pierre De French Navy officers Military history of Myanmar 1736 births 1778 deaths

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