Louis-Charles-Henri Bertin (September 15, 1752 – April 26, 1822) was a French civil official who served as the first Colonial Prefect of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

and

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

Biography

Bertin was born in

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...

, Île-Royale (modern Cape Breton), in 1752 to Louis Bertin, a surgeon, and Marie-Anne Bertrand. Following France's loss of Louisbourg to the English, the Bertin family removed to Rochefort, France. As an adult, Bertin served as a senior civil servant in the Ministry of the Navy, which was charged with overseeing mercantile shipping, naval operations, and overseas colonies. Around 1792, Bertin served as a

commissaire-ordonnateur An ''ordonnateur'' or ''commissaire-ordonnateur'' in the French colonial era was responsible for fiscal matters in a colony, as opposed to the governor, who was responsible for the military. The relationship between the two heads was often tense. ...

for French naval forces in the Mediterranean, notably in 1793 aboard the Tonnant. By 1798, he had risen to the chief civilian officer for the Port of Bordeaux, before being transferred on July 12, 1798, to the Port of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. Bertin next served as the first

maritime prefect A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...

for

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

from July 1800 to May 1801. At the port, he focused on construction of the bassin de la Barre, a system of locks to ease movement between the outer harbor and the bassin des Capucins, employing some 250 diggers and 60 stonecutters to complete the work. In September 1801, Bertin was promoted to counselor of the state for the navy, and was replaced as maritime prefect by Bourdon de Vatry.

In Martinique

In 1802, with the signing of the

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

, Martinique and St. Lucia were restored to France after six years of British control. Bertin, in May 1802, was named the first colonial prefect of the colony, arriving in Martinique on 18 Messidor X (July 7, 1802). Bertin shared control of the island with Rear Admiral

Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral. Villaret was born at Auch ...

as captain general and Le sieur Lefessier-Grandpré as grand judge. Bertin reported that the inhabitants of Martinique were happy to be once again under French rule, as he moved to establish hospitals and barracks and to refurbish military batteries and fortifications. Bertin also stressed the need to resume trade with

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

. In February 1803, Bertin ordered work to begin on the creation of the Jardin colonial des Plantes de Saint-Pierre. In 1803, France once again declared war on England. Bertin sought support for the island from the United States by opening the ports of Martinique to neutral ships, but this proved ineffective in the face of the British maritime blockade. In 1804, Bertin was replaced by Pierre-Clément de Laussat, who had lost his position as colonial prefect of Louisiana following the sale of the territory to the United States. Bertin retired to France and to private life.

Legacy

in Saint-Pierre bears his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertin, Charles-Henri 1752 births 1822 deaths French Governors of Martinique