Captain Sir Christopher Cole (10 June 1770 – 24 August 1836) was an officer of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

who served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Although he saw distinguished service in all three conflicts, he is best known for his exploits in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

in 1810 and 1811, in which he was instrumental in the capture of the islands of Amboyna and

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. Cole's early career involved extensive service in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, operating against the French during the last years of the American Revolutionary Wars and serving in several large battles. During the peace that followed, Cole remained in the Navy and forged a working relationship with Captain

Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younge ...

that would last two decades. During his later career, Cole was commended for his service on operations in Surinam, and was praised in 1808 for his part in a successful diplomatic mission to

Fath Ali Shah Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (; 5 August 1772 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irrevocable ceding of Iran's northern territories in the Caucasus, com ...

, the ruler of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, although the aftermath of the mission would lead to a breakdown in his relationship with Pellew, by this time the British commander in the Indian Ocean. In 1810, Cole was sent to the Dutch East Indies during a campaign to seize the Spice Islands and launched an attack on the well-fortified island of Banda Neira. Despite a disastrous start to the operation, Cole personally led a tiny force of men into the main fortress on the island and captured it, prompting a total surrender. This was followed in 1811 with an invasion of Java, which Cole planned and successfully executed. Highly praised and well rewarded for his service, Cole entered politics at the end of the war and twice sat as a member of parliament before his death in 1836.

Early life

Christopher Cole was born on 10 June 1770, the son of Humphrey and Phillis Cole, in Marazion, Cornwall. In May 1780 at age nine, Cole was sent to sea to accompany his brother John, chaplain on the

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

HMS ''Royal Oak'' under Captain Sir Digby Dent. ''Royal Oak'' was stationed off North America at the time, participating in the

, and Cole subsequently accompanied Dent to HMS ''Raisonnable'' and then HMS ''Russell'', the flagship of Commodore Sir Samuel Drake in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. While serving on ''Russell'', Cole was engaged at the Battle of Fort Royal in April 1781. In June 1781, Cole moved ships again, joining with Drake. ''Princessa'' served in numerous actions over the following year, including the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

in September 1781, the Battle of St. Kitts in January 1782 and the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782.Tracy, p. 85 Following the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

that ended the war, Cole remained in service aboard his brother Commander Francis Cole's 14-gun brig-sloop at Halifax. In May 1783, Cole moved to under Captain Thomas Foley and remained on board until February 1785 when he moved to the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

under the command of Captain

. Pellew and Cole were to have a lengthy and close working relationship over the next twenty years. Cole was in ''Winchelsea'' for three years before moving to HMS ''Crown'' at the recommendation of Drake. ''Crown'' was sent to the East Indies under Commodore William Cornwallis later in 1789, and Cole, who had passed his lieutenant's examination in January was frustrated by the lengthy delay in his promotion, occasioned by distance and the death of Drake in November.

War with France

Cole remained in the East Indies for the next four years, moving from ''Crown'' to HMS ''Minerva'' under Cornwallis and in June 1793 becoming an acting lieutenant aboard HMS ''Bien Aime'' under Captain Richard King. In September 1793, more than four years after passing his examinations, Cole was finally promoted to lieutenant and the following year joined HMS ''Cerberus'' off Ireland under Captain John Drew, at the direct order of Lord Chatham who ensured that Cole was the most senior lieutenant aboard despite his recent promotion. In June 1795, Cole moved to HMS ''Sans Pareil'' in the

under Captain Lord Hugh Seymour and in 1799 took part in the invasion of Surinam, for which service Seymour awarded him promotion to commander in the prize ship HMS ''Surinam''. During his time in command of ''Surinam'', Cole achieved a number of successful cruises, including the capture of two

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s and the recapture of a merchant

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

in March 1800, and introduced new regulations aboard his ship that kept his men in good health in the

. In 1801, Seymour died from a fever, but Cole's activities had already been noticed by Sir John Thomas Duckworth who replaced Seymour and Cole was made a

post captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to di ...

on 30 June 1801 in Duckworth's flagship HMS ''Leviathan'', followed by command of the frigate HMS ''Southampton'' the following year. Shortly after taking command of ''Southampton'' the Peace of Amiens brought the Revolutionary Wars to an end and the frigate was paid off.Tracy, p. 86 Within a year the

had begun, and Cole was returned to active service, chosen by Pellew, now a rear-admiral, to command his flagship HMS ''Culloden''. Pellew was sent out to the Indian Ocean in 1804, and Cole remained with him there for three years, participating in the Java campaign of 1806–1807. The stress of service in the Far East caused the relationship between the two men to break down, and in March 1807 Cole took command of the new frigate HMS ''Doris''. In 1808, ''Doris'' was detached from Pellew's command to escort a diplomatic mission under John Malcolm to

, the ruler of

. Throughout the mission, Cole remained at Bushire in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and was rewarded for his service with the thanks of the Governor General of India and a £500 award, but his conduct was publicly criticised by Pellew. Following Pellew's replacement by Rear-Admiral William O'Bryen Drury, ''Doris'' was sent to serve in the

Strait of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...

, on a mission to obtain a working relationship with the Spanish government in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. For his successful efforts he was given command of the frigate HMS ''Caroline'' in 1809 and the following year was given command of a squadron with which to attack the

Molucca Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...

on a free commission. Banda1810Cole

Sailing to the well-defended island of Banda Neira, Cole planned an audacious attack on 10 August 1810, his troops storming the fortress and successfully capturing it. The following year he took a leading role in the planning of the invasion of Java, which was successfully completed under Rear-Admiral Robert Stopford. For his services, he was knighted in May 1812, awarded a specially minted medal and given an honorary doctorate by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. In 1813, Cole returned to Europe and took command of the ship of the line HMS ''Rippon'' in the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

. In October 1813 he captured the damaged French frigate ''Weser'', and in February 1814 he recaptured an extremely valuable Spanish treasure ship previously seized by a French warship. On 1 September 1814, ''Rippon'' was decommissioned and Cole's career at sea came to an end after 34 years on continual service.Tracy, p. 87

Politics and retirement

As a reward for his services, Cole was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1815 and at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in the same year, was presented with the Order of Maria Theresa by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and the

Order of St George Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He married Mary Lucy, daughter of Lord Ilchester and widow of Welsh landowner Thomas Mansel Talbot, with whom he had long been connected. The couple had no children, although Mary had six surviving children from her first marriage. His fame in Britain for the Banda Neira operation was enough to see him elected as a member of parliament in 1817 for the Glamorganshire seat, although he lost the seat the following year. In 1820 he was elected again, retaining the seat until 1830 when he made way for his stepson Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. The Navy honoured his service with command of the royal yacht HMY ''Royal Sovereign'' in 1828 and a position as a colonel of Royal Marines in 1830. He died in August 1836 at his home Lanelay Hall, Pontyclun, near

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. He is buried in the graveyard of

St Andrew's Church, Penrice The Church of St Andrew, Penrice (community), Penrice, Swansea, Wales dates from the 12th century. A Listed building, Grade II* listed building, St Andrew's remains an active parish church in the parish of South-West Gower, in the Diocese of Swan ...

on the

Gower peninsula The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards th ...

, adjacent to his wife's previous family home, Penrice Castle. His wife survived until 1855, and his stepson spent sixty years in parliament.

Arms

Notes

References

* * *
Cole, Sir Christopher
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...