Claude, comte de Forbin-Gardanne (6 August 1656 – 4 March 1733) 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, nobleman and diplomat. From 1685 to 1688, he led a diplomatic mission to the

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

. He became governor of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

and a general in the Siamese army, and left Siam shortly before King Narai fell ill and was deposed by the 1688 coup d'état. Returning to Europe, he got involved in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

and the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

Biography

Claude de Forbin was born in the village Gardanne in the

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, as a member of a family established in Marseille in the 14th century. Later divided into several branches, Claude de Forbin was the most famous of the branch Forbin Gardanne. High-spirited and ungovernable in his boyhood, he ran away from his home, and through the influence of an uncle entered the navy, serving his first campaign in 1675. For a short time he quit the navy and entered the musketeers. There, he killed the chevalier de Gourdon in a duel, and was sentenced to death by the Parliament of Aix; he managed to obtain a grace and joined the Navy under his brother's identity. He served under the Count d'Estrées during the American campaign, and under Duquesne that of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in 1683, on all occasions distinguishing himself by his impetuous courage.

Grand Admiral of Siam

The most remarkable episode of his life was his mission to Siam. During the administration of the Greek adventurer Phaulcon in that country, the project was formed of introducing the Christian religion and European civilisation, and the king sent an embassy to

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. In response a French embassy was sent out, Forbin accompanying the Chevalier de Chaumont with the rank of major aboard the ''Oiseau''. When Chaumont returned to France, Forbin was induced to remain in the service of the Siamese king, and accepted, though with much reluctance, the posts of grand admiral, general of all the king's armies and governor of

. During his tenure he crushed the Makassar Revolt at Bangkok, although almost at the cost of his own life. His position, however, was soon made untenable by the jealousy and intrigues of the minister Phaulcon; and at the end of two years he left Siam, reaching France in 1688. He was replaced as Governor of Bangkok by the Chevalier de Beauregard.

War with England

Claude de Forbin was afterwards fully engaged in active service, first with

Jean Bart Jean Bart (; ; 21 October 1650 – 27 April 1702) was a Flemish naval commander and privateer. Early life Jean Bart was born in Dunkirk in 1650 to a seafaring family, the son of Jean-Cornil Bart (c. 1619–1668) who has been described various ...

in the war with England, when they escorted a convoy; attacked by superior forces, Forbin, aboard the ''Jeux'', and Jean Bart, aboard the ''Railleuse'', sacrificed themselves in a delaying action to allow the convoy the escape. They were both captured and taken to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. They succeeded in making their escape after 11 days, crossed the Channel on a small craft, and were soon serving their country again. Made a '' capitaine de vaisseau'' in June 1689, he commanded the ''Neptune'' in the Battle of Beachy Head (1690). After a campaign in the North Sea in 1691, he commanded the ''Perle'' in Barfleur, where he was wounded. He greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Lagos in 1693. Commanding the ''Marquis'' in 1695, he campaigned in the Mediterranean and

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. In 1697, he served in

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in the siege of

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. During the

, he led a three-

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 ...

division in the Adriatic, where he

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

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, bombed

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and ransomed Fiume. In 1703 and 1704, he hunted down the privateers from

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. In June 1706, he attacked a British convoy, capturing seven ships; on 12 July, he seized two Dutch ships, and on 28 October, engaging a strongly escorted Dutch convoy, he captured three ships and sank another one. In 1707, he was made a '' Chef d'Escadre'' (

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

). On 12 May he captured a British convoy of 18 ships en route for Portugal. In the summer he led the ''Mars'' and a division into the

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, returning to Brest on 23 September with 34 captured ships. On 21 October in the Battle at the Lizard, he helped Duguay-Trouin in attacking a British convoy set for Portugal: of 80 ships, 15 merchantman and three ships of the line were captured, and 1 other was sunk. In 1708, he led Prince

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...

to Scotland, in an attempt to reclaim the British throne; ill-prepared, the attempt failed, and Forbin ceased to navigate. He quit the Navy in January 1715, and died on 4 March 1733 in Saint-Marcel Castle near

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. His ''Memories'' were published in 1730, written by his secretary.

Notes

References

* * Attribution *

External links