Everything about Fran Ois Caron totally explained
François Caron (
1600-
1673), was a French
Huguenot refugee to the
Netherlands who served the
Dutch East India Company (the
Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or
VOC, literally "United East India Company") for 30 years, rising from cabin boy to Director-General at Batavia, only one grade below Governor-General. He was later to become Director-General of the
French East Indies Company (1667-1673).
He is sometimes considered the first Frenchman to set foot in Japan: he was actually born in
Brussels to a familly of French Huguenot refugees; but he only became a naturalized citizen of France when he was persuaded by
Colbert to become head of the
French East Indies Company, which was intended to compete with the Dutch and the English in Asia.
Japan
Caron began as a cook's mate on-board the Dutch ship
Schiedam bound for Japan, where he arrived in 1619. His language skills had developed; and in 1627, he traveled to Edo as the interpreter for the VOC mission to the shogunal capital. He isn't quite the first known instance of
Franco-Japanese relations, since he was preceded by the visit of
Hasekura Tsunenaga to France in 1615.
Caron stayed in Japan for over twenty years, eventually becoming the VOC's
opperhoofd (chief
factor or merchant) in Japan. During this period, he married a Japanese woman (Eguchi Jūzaemon) and had six children. His entire family followed him to Nagasaki when the Japanese forced the Dutch to abandon their outpost at Hirado; The family moved with him to
Batavia when he left Japan in 1641.
In 1626, Caron was working in
Hirado as full assistant.
On April 9, 1633, Caron was promoted as a senior merchant, making him the second ranking Company official in Japan. On February 12, 1639, he succeeded
Nicolaes Couckebacker as President and head of the Company's trade in Japan.
The Company's headquarters were moved from Hirado to
Dejima in
Nagasaki in 1641.
Return to the Netherlands
In 1641, Caron's Japan contract with the company expired, and he went to
Batavia awaiting a transfer to Europe. At that time, he was nominated
member of the
Council of the East Indies, the governing body of the VOC in Asia, next to the Governor-General.
On December 13,
1641, Caron sailed back to Europe as commander of the merchant fleet.
New assignements in Asia
Although he was rewarded handsomely for his services with a capital of 1500 gilders, he again left for Asia in 1643 aboard the
Olifant. In September 1643, he headed an army of 1700 men against the Portuguese in
Ceylon.
In 1644, Caron was then named governor of
Formosa (
Taiwan); and he was the chief VOC official on the island until 1646. During this period, Caron his achievements included resturcturing production of of rice, sulfur, sugar and indigo, and moderating the trade with Chinese pirates.
He had to return to Batavia in 1646. In 1647, he was appointed Director-General, second in command after the Governor-General.
In 1651, Caron had to return to the Netherland, due to allegations of private trade, but he successfully defended his case, and was able to resign with honor from the Company.
Appointment with the French East Indies Company
The arenas of French rivalry with England and Holland expanded to Asia in 1664 when the French Finance Minister
Jean-Baptiste Colbert persuaded
Louis XIV to grant a patent to a newly-contrived French East Indies Company. Somehow Colbert managed to entice Caron into accepting a leadership role in this nascent enterprise. He became the company's Director General in 1667.
This was perceived as treason by the Dutch, and Caron was banned eternally from the Provinces.
Madagascar
In 1664, François Caron, sailed to
Madagascar. The Company failed to found a
colony on Madagascar but established ports on the nearby islands of Bourbon and Île-de-France (today's
Réunion and
Mauritius). In the late 17th century, the
French established trading posts along the east coast.
India
Caron succeeded in founding French ouposts at
Surat (1668) and at
Masulipatam (1669) in
India; and Louis XIV acknowledged those successes by awarding him the
Order of St. Michael. He was "Commissaire" at
Pondicherry between 1668 and 1672. The French East India Company formally set up a trading centre at Pondicherry in 1673. This outpost eventually became the chief French settlement in India.
In 1672, he helped lead French forces in
Ceylon, where the strategic bay at Tincomalee was captured and St. Thomé (also known as Meilâpûr) on the Coromandel coast was also taken; however, the consequences of his military success was short-lived. The French were driven out these modest conquests while Caron was en route to Europe in 1673.
He died as his ship sank off Lisbon on
April 5,
1673, as he was returning to Europe.
Honors
Caron's widely read book
François Caron. (1636). Beschrijvinghe van het Machtigh Coninckryck Japan und Siam. Amsterdam (in Dutch).
. (1672). Wahrhaftige Beschreibung zweyee mächtigen Königreiche Japan, Siam, und Corea.
Nürnberg (in German).Further Information
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