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François Caron (1600–1673) was a French
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
refugee to the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
who served the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie'' or VOC) for 30 years, rising from cook's mate to the director-general at
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
(Jakarta), only one grade below governor-general. He retired from the VOC in 1651, and was later recruited to become director-general of the newly formed
French East Indies Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...
in 1665 until his death in 1673.Frazer, Robert Watson. (1896)
''British India,'' p. 42.
/ref> Caron is sometimes considered the first Frenchman to set foot in Japan, although he was actually born in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to a family of Huguenot refugees. He only became a naturalized citizen of France when he was persuaded by Colbert to become head of the French East Indies Company, in his 60s. Thus the native-born French Dominican missionary
Guillaume Courtet Guillaume Courtet, OP (1589–1637) was a French Dominican priest who has been described as the first Frenchman to have visited Japan. He was martyred in 1637 and canonized in 1987. Career Courtet was born in Sérignan, near Béziers, in 1589 o ...
may have the stronger claim. Regardless, the first known instance of any Franco-Japanese relations precedes them both, being the visit of
Hasekura Tsunenaga was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phi ...
to France in 1615.


Japan

Caron began as a cook's mateOtterspeer, Willem. (2003)
''Leiden Oriental Connections, 1850–1940'', p. 355.
/ref> on board the Dutch ship ''Schiedam'' bound for Japan, where he arrived at
Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The component ...
in 1619. He transferred off the ship (either legitimately or via desertion) and began working in Hirado, becoming a full factory assistant in 1626. He quickly developed an aptitude for the Japanese language, and became involved with a local woman (the daughter of Eguchi Jūzaemon) with whom he had six children. In 1627 he served as interpreter on a VOC mission to the shogunal capital of Edo, the first of many diplomatic trips he would make. On 9 April 1633, Caron was promoted to senior merchant, making him the second ranking Company official in Japan. In 1636, the new VOC Director-General Philip Lucasz, wishing to learn about the territories he was charged with overseeing, sent a list of 31 questions about Japan which Caron was charged with answering. Caron's answers formed the outline for his work ''Beschrijvinghe van het machtigh coninckrijcke Jappan'' ("Description of the Mighty Kingdom of Japan"), published as an appendix to a corporate history in 1645 and as an independent book in 1661. This was one of the first reports to introduce Japan in any detail to a European audience and was widely read, receiving translations into German, French, and English. Caron was a gifted diplomat and was important to Dutch efforts to ingratiate themselves with the Shogunate at whose mercy their trade operated. In 1636, on another mission to Edo, Caron presented a magnificent copper lantern (which was installed and still stands at
Nikkō Tōshō-gū is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Together with Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji, it forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 42 structures of the shrine included in the n ...
shrine) as a gift to secure the release of the hostage
Pieter Nuyts Pieter Nuyts or Nuijts (born 1598 – 11 December 1655) was a Dutch Exploration, explorer, diplomat and politician. He was part of a landmark expedition of the Dutch East India Company in 1626–27 which mapped the southern coast of Australia. ...
, who as VOC ambassador to Japan had instigated a diplomatic incident so severe it forced the shutdown of Hirado for several years. On 3 February 1639, Caron succeeded
Nicolaes Couckebacker Nicolaes, Nicolaas, or Nicolas Coeckebacker or Couckebacker was twice Chief of the Dutch trading factory at Hirado, the Japanese trading post of the Dutch East India Company. He arrived in 1633 and stayed until fall 1635. His second stay as VOC Op ...
as the VOC ''
opperhoofd ''Opperhoofd'' is a Dutch word (plural ''opperhoofden'') that literally translates to "upper-head", meaning "supreme headman". The Danish equivalent ''overhoved'', which is derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch or Low German word, is als ...
'' (chief ''
factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...
'' or merchant) in Japan. At this time, the shogunate was implementing severe isolationist policies, including the expulsion of nearly all foreigners and the criminalization of Christian proselytizing. The Portuguese trading out of
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
were completely expelled, and the VOC warehouses at Hirado were destroyed, ostensibly because one was engraved with the Christian date of its erection ("AD 1638"). The Dutch, now the only Europeans allowed to trade on Japanese soil, were forced to relocate to the small artificial island of
Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...
, although Caron ended his term as ''opperhoofd'' shortly before the move took place in the summer of 1641.


Return to the Netherlands

In 1641, Caron's Japan contract with the company expired, and he went to
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
awaiting a transfer to Europe, accompanied by his family.Leup, Gary P. (2003)
''Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543–1900)''. p. 8pp. 62-63
/ref> At that time, he was nominated member of the
Council of the East Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
, the governing body of the VOC in Asia, next to the governor-general. On 13 December 1641 Caron sailed back to Europe as commander of the merchant fleet.


New assignments in Asia

Although he was rewarded handsomely for his services with a capital of 1,500 guilders, he again left for Asia in 1643 aboard the ''Olifant''. He arrived in Batavia to find that his Japanese consort had died. As they were never legally married, Caron submitted a formal petition to legitimize his children by her, which was accepted. Meanwhile, during his brief return to Europe, he had become engaged to Constantia Boudaen, who arrived in 1645 and bore him a further seven children. In September 1643, he headed an army of 1,700 men against the Portuguese in
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. In 1644, Caron was then named governor of
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
(
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
); and was the chief VOC official on the island until 1646. During this period, Caron's achievements included restructuring the production 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 was recalled to the Netherlands, together with
Cornelis van der Lijn Cornelis van der Lijn (1608 – 27 July 1679) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1646 until 1650. Early career Van der Lijn was born in Alkmaar, possibly in 1608. He went, in 1627, as assistant ( nl, assistent) to Batavia, Dutch E ...
, 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 Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
persuaded
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
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 1665. This action was perceived as treason by the Dutch, and Caron was banned eternally from the Provinces.


Japan and China

Caron advocated for establishing trade with both Japan and China, laying out a system of purchasing silks and other trade good from China, then selling them in Japan for silver at "60 or 70 percent profit". This silver could then be immediately used to purchase more goods from China to sell in a "wheel of commerce," self-sustaining after only an initial outlay of silver from France itself. In Caron's view, "this is the only trade that can enrich the French Company". An official letter from Louis XIV to the Emperor of Japan was drawn up and instructions prepared for its delivery and subsequent trade negotiations, but it seems that this plan was not carried to fruition and the letter was never conveyed to Japan. It is unlikely that this effort would have succeeded, as Japan was deeply committed to its ''
Sakoku was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...
'' policy of isolation at that time.


Madagascar

In 1665, François Caron sailed to
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. The Company failed to found a
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
on Madagascar but established ports on the nearby islands of Bourbon (now
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
) and Isle de France (now
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
). In the late 17th century, the French established trading posts along the east coast.


India

Caron succeeded in founding French outposts at
Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
(1668) and at
Masulipatam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquarte ...
(1669) in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
;Pope, George Uglow. (1880).
''A Text-book of Indian History,'' p. 266.
/ref> and Louis XIV acknowledged those successes by awarding him the
Order of St. Michael , status = Abolished by decree of Louis XVI on 20 June 1790Reestablished by Louis XVIII on 16 November 1816Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Louis XI of France , h ...
. He was "Commissaire" at
Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
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 Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, where the strategic bay at Trincomalee 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 5 April 1673, while he was returning to Europe.


Honors

*
Order of St. Michael , status = Abolished by decree of Louis XVI on 20 June 1790Reestablished by Louis XVIII on 16 November 1816Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Louis XI of France , h ...
, 1672


See also

*
Nanban trade period or the , was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to the first ''Sakoku'' Seclusion Edicts of isolationism in 1614. Nanban (南蛮 Lit. "Southern barbarian") is a Japanese word which had been used to designate ...
* Franco-Japanese relations


Notes


Further reading

* * Campbell, William. (1903)
''Formosa Under the Dutch: Described from Contemporary Records.''
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. * Danvers, Frederick Charles. (1888)
''Report to the Secretary of State for India in Council on the Records of the Records of the India Office: Records Relating to Agencies, Factories and Settlements not Now Under the Administration of the Government of India.''
London: Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO), by Eyre and Spottiswoode. * Frazer, Robert Watson. (1896)
''British India.''
London: G.P. Putnam & Sons. * Leup, Gary P. (2003)
''Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543-1900).''
London:
Continuum International Publishing Group Continuum International Publishing Group was an academic publisher of books with editorial offices in London and New York City. It was purchased by Nova Capital Management in 2005. In July 2011, it was taken over by Bloomsbury Publishing. , al ...
. * Otterspeer, Willem. (1989)
''Leiden Oriental Connections, 1850-1940.''
Leiden:
Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...
. (paper) * Pope, George Uglow. (1880)
''A Text-book of Indian History.''
London: W. H. Allen. * * Jozef Rogala. (2001)
''A Collector's Guide to Books on Japan in English: A Select List of Over 2500 Titles with Subject Index.''
London:
Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
. (paper) * Yavari, Neguin, Lawrence G. Potter and Jean-Marc Ran Oppenheim (2004)
''Views From The Edge: Essays In Honor Of Richard W. Bulliet.''
New York:
Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
. (cloth) * ''Mémoires de François Martin, Fondateur de Pondichéry (1665-1694)'', publiées par Alfred Martineau, ''Bibliothèque d'Histoire Coloniale'', Paris, 1934 {{DEFAULTSORT:Caron, Francois 1600 births 1673 deaths French explorers Colonial governors of Dutch Formosa French colonial governors and administrators Governors of French India Dutch chiefs of factory in Japan Businesspeople from Brussels Dutch East India Company people