Claude de Forbin

Claude de Forbin in Siamese admiral costume

Claude de Forbin (born August 6, 1656 in Gardanne , Provence ; † March 4, 1733 in Saint Marcel Castle near Marseille ) was a French admiral and served as a diplomat in Siam between 1685 and 1688 . He was governor of Bangkok and a general in the Siamese army just before King Narai fell ill and lost his throne after a coup .

Life

Claude de Forbin was born in the village of Gardanne in Provence; his family came from Marseille and dates back to the 14th century. Today he is the most famous representative of the Forbin Gradanne . He left home at a very young age, which suggests a headstrong character. On the advice of an uncle, he entered the navy and served during a first battle in 1675. After he had worked for a short time with the musketeers and killed the Chevalier de Gourdon in a duel , he was sentenced to death by the popular assembly in Aix, later pardoned. Under the name of his brother he went back to the Navy and served under the command of Count d'Estrées in North America and in 1683 under Duquesne in Algiers , always distinguished by excellent courage.

The following years were the most remarkable of his life when he accompanied the Chevalier de Chaumont on the ship Oiseau to Siam . There, the Greek Constantine Phaulkon had risen to become head of government under King Narai (r. 1656–1688) and played with the intention of introducing Catholicism . As is known, this could not be realized and Chaumont and his companions traveled back to France. Forbin, however, was offered the post of Grand Admiral, combined with that of Supreme Commander of the Siamese forces and the Governor of Bangkok. Phaulkon's jealousy resulted in intrigues, which Forbin could not master, and so after two years he left Siam for France. His successor as governor was the Chevalier de Beauregard .

Battle of Cape Lézard ( Jean Antoine Théodore de Gudin )

Afterwards Forbin served under Jean Bart in the war against England, where they escorted a convoy. When Bart and Forbin were attacked by stronger forces, they sacrificed their positions to let the convoy escape and were taken prisoner to Plymouth . After eleven days they escaped and went back to France on a small boat across the English Channel . In 1691 Forbin fought as captain of a ship in the North Sea , in 1693 off Lagos , in 1695 in the Mediterranean and off Constantinople, and in 1697 at the siege of Barcelona . After further episodes in the War of the Spanish Succession in 1703/04, he attacked an English convoy in June 1706 and took seven ships. 1707 he became rear admiral ( Chef d'Escadre ). In the battle of Cap Lézard he helped Duguay-Trouin destroy the English convoy of 80 ships to Portugal, capturing 60 merchants and taking four ships of the line as a prize, one ship was destroyed. In 1708 he led Prince James Francis Edward Stuart to Scotland to recapture the throne from England, an attempt which failed because he was ill-prepared.

In January 1715 Forbin left the Navy and died on March 4, 1733 in Saint-Marcel near Marseille. His secretary wrote his memoirs in 1730. Forbin was considered one of the best captains in France.

effect

Six ships of the French Navy were or still carry the name Forbin .

See also

• French-Thai relations

literature

• Forbin, Claude de . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 10 : Evangelical Church - Francis Joseph I . London 1910, p. 639 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Including one still in service today, for assembly and armament see archive link ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (last accessed on December 6, 2010)