Pierre-Alexandre Forfait
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Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait (21 April 1752 – 8 November 1807) was a French engineer,
hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...
and politician, and Minister of the Navy.


Career

Born to a family of rich merchants, Forfait studied at a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
college in
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
, where he was awarded prizes in Mathematics and Hydrography upon graduation.Lebreton, p.146 In 1773, and in spite being a
Commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...
, he was admitted as an assistant member of Rouen Academy and assistant naval engineer, before serving at Brest harbour.Levot, p.190 In 1777, Forfait rose to sub-engineer under
Antoine Groignard Antoine Groignard (4 February 1727 – 26 July 1799), was a French naval constructor who developed standard designs for French war ships, and built and improved the dry docks at the French naval bases in Toulon and Brest. Family Groignard was so ...
. In 1781, he was made an adjunct member of the Naval Academy. In 1783, he embarked on the 110-gun ''Terrible'', part of a Franco-Spanish fleet assembled before Cádiz under Admiral
d'Estaing d'Estaing is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing (1729–1794), French general and admiral * Guillaume-Hugues d'Estaing (died 1455), French Roman Catholic cardinal and bishop * See also ...
, but the end of the
American War of Independence 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 ...
occurred before it saw action. Forfait nevertheless helped repair eleven of the ships of the fleet.Levot, p.191 After the Treaty of Paris, he returned to work at the Naval Academy and notably authored a ''Traité de la mâture''"Treaty of Rigging" upon request by
Castries Castries () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous Castries Quarter, district has a population of just under ...
, then Secretary of State of the Navy. In recognition, he was admitted as a corresponding member in the Academy of Sciences. He simultaneously developed new techniques to improve the disposition of cargo in ships' holds. In 1789, he was appointed director of service of
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
harbour, where he improved the design of
fluyt A fluyt (archaic Dutch language, Dutch: ''fluijt'' "flute"; ) is a Dutch type of sailing ship, sailing vessel originally designed by the shipwrights of Hoorn as a dedicated ship transport, cargo vessel. Originating in the Dutch Republic in the 16 ...
s. He was then sent to England to study the British shipbuilding techniques, and authored the ''Observations sur la marine de d'Angleterre''"Observations on the Navy of England" upon his return. After the outbreak of the French Revolution, Forfait was elected at the Legislative Assembly in 1791 as deputy for the
Seine-Inférieure Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...
. His moderate positions earned him the mocking nickname of "''
Juste Milieu ''Juste milieu'' (meaning "middle way" or "happy medium") is a term that has been used to describe centrism, centrist political philosophies that try to find a balance between extremes, and artistic forms that try to find a middle ground between th ...
''","Right Middle" which he wore with pride. At the end of his mandate in September 1792, he returned to shipbuilding at Le Havre. Around this time, Forfait designed the 38-gun frigate ''Seine'', which included structural innovations"''L'acculement du maître-couple, et le transport vers les extrémités des capacités perdues au milieu par cet acculement''"; Levot, p.192 and were designed to carry
24-pounder long gun The 24-pounder long gun was a heavy calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. 24-pounders were in service in the navies of France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. They were comparable ...
s — more powerful than the usual
18-pounder long gun The 18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of naval artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 19th century, on the second deck of third-rate ships of th ...
s usually born by ships of this size, although the ''Seine'' was eventually armed with 18-pounders. The ''Seine'' class, built on these plans, came to comprise 7 ships. Forfait furthered his efforts with the ''Romaine'' class in 1794, and was also involved in the design of the ''Etna''-class corvettes. During the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
, he was accused at a political club of Le Havre. He was eventually freed by the
Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...
and made general inspector for forests. In 1794, he was tasked to design specialised ships to navigate the
Seine river The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...
; he consequently design a lugger, the ''Saumon'', and authored a ''Mémoire sur la navigation de la Seine''.Levot, p.192 In 1797, the Directory tasked him, along with Rosily-Mesros and David, to study the possibility of establishing a military harbour in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
; these studies were followed by the construction of an arsenal. He was then sent to the recently captured
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, where he oversaw the launch of ships under construction in her
arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and appropriated by the French in the Campaign of Italy; in August 1797, these frigates were launched as ''Muiron'' and ''Carrère''. Tasked with the naval preparations of the
French campaign in Egypt and Syria The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a ...
, Forfait prepared 15 ships of the line, 14 frigates, 72 lesser warships and 400 transports in
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
,
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
,
Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...
and
Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...
. He then returned to
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
, where he designed 3 heavily armed
gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...
s to repel British
bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (Naval long gun, long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but ...
s. After the
Coup of 18 Brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the Fr ...
, Forfait became
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's first Minister of the Navy, an office which he held from November 1799 until his resignationLebreton, p.147 on 1 October 1801, while simultaneously designing ships of the Navy and plans for Boulogne harbour. At the collapse of the
Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...
and the outbreak of the
War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition () was a European conflict lasting from 1805 to 1806 and was the first conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. During the war, First French Empire, France and French client republic, its client states under Napoleon I an ...
in May 1803, Forfait was tasked with improving the
Flottille de Boulogne The ''Flottille de Boulogne'' was a large French fleet of small Gunboat, gunboats, Brig, brigs, and Barge, barges built in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Boulogne on the orders of French Consulate, First Consul Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte from 1801. It was a ...
. In 1805, Forfait was sent to
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
as
Maritime Prefect A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French government who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region known as a maritime prefecture (''Préfecture maritime''). As of , there are three maritime prefec ...
, tasked to establish a naval presence there. He managed to successfully launch the 74-gun , whose originally intended launch had been botched by her constructors, leaving the ship damaged and stuck on her railing.Roche, p.223 He nevertheless fell in disfavour after the affair. Forfait retired in Rouen, where he died on 8 November 1807.


Honours

* Commandeur of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
* The French Navy
screw corvette Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, Screw sloop, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were p ...
''Forfait'' was named in his honour. * A large portrait of Forfait is exposed at the Mairie of Rouen.


Works

* ''Traité élémentaire de la mâture des vaisseaux à l’usage des élèves de la marine'', Paris, Clousier, 1788 * ''Observations sur l’établissement des milices bourgeoises et de la milice nationale de l’année'', 1789 *
Opinion de Pierre Forfait sur l’affaire du Ministre de la marine
', Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1792 * ''Expériences faites, par ordre du gouvernement sur la navigation de la Seine'', Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1792 * ''Rapport sur la proposition d’armer trente vaisseaux fait au nom des Comités Diplomatique et de Marine'', Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1792 *
Opinion sur le projet d'organisation de l'artillerie de la marine
', Paris, Impr. nationale, 1792 * ''Lettres d'un observateur sur la marine, sur son organisation actuelle et sur la guerre continentale et maritime en général'', Paris, Clousier, 1802 * ''Marine et colonies. Exercice de l’an VIII. Compte que rend aux consuls de la République le Cen P.-A.-L. Forfait des dépenses ordonnancées pour le service de son département pendant l’an VIII'', Paris, Impr. de la République, an IX * ''Solutio problematis ab Regia scientiarum et literarum academia Mantuana propositi ad annum MDCCLXXVI : Eum modum determinare, quo, minimo labore, & minima impensa, navigabiles alvei expediantur ex arenae, & terrae acervis, qui horum fundum altius evehunt'', Mantuae, Typis H.A. Pazzoni, 1777


Sources and references


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forfait, Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent First French Empire Engineers from Rouen 1752 births 1807 deaths French marine engineers Commanders of the Legion of Honour Members of the Legislative Assembly (France)