Guillaume Bérard was a French Consul established in

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, in 1577 by

Henry III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of ...

. He was the first European to be named Consul in Morocco.''The International City of Tangier'', Stuart, p.38
/ref>''Studies in Elizabethan Foreign Trade'' p.149
/ref> His nomination followed the mission of Louis Cabrette, a French captain who had been used as an envoy to France by Sultan Al-Malek in 1576. Guillaume Bérard was born in

Saorge Saorge (; Royasc: ''Sauèrge''; Brigasc: ''Savurgë''; it, Saorgio, oc, Saorj, lij, Savurgiu) is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. Highway E74 which runs north from ...

near

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

. Guillaume Bérard was a doctor by profession, who first went to live in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. In 1574, he saved the life of Moroccan prince Abd al-Malik during an epidemic in Constantinople, where he was then in exile since the death of

Moulay Abdallah Prince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco, KCVO, (30 July 1935 – 20 December 1983) was the brother of Moulay Hassan, later King Hassan II of Morocco and the son of King Mohammed V of Morocco (1909–1961) and his second wife, Lalla Abla bint Tahar (19 ...

in January 1574. They later became friends due to this event. When Abd al-Malik became Sultan, he asked

that Guillaume Bérard be appointed Consul of France.''Cervantes in Algiers: a captive's tale'' by María Antonia Garcés, p.277 note 39
/ref> Berard, who was a subject of the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a Duchy of Sav ...

, was then naturalized French, and on 10 June 1577 he was elevated to the position of Consul of France "to the King of Fez and Morocco". After the

Battle of Ksar el Kebir A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1578, Guillaume Bérard returned to France to announce the enthronement of Abd al-Malik's successor, Moulay Ahmad al-Mansur. Guillaume Bérard was succeeded by

Arnoult de Lisle Arnoult de Lisle (1556–) was a French physician, Arabist, and diplomat of the 16th and 17th centuries. As a young physician, Arnoult de Lisle married the daughter of Louis Duret, a specialist of Avicenna, in 1586. Morocco (1588–98) In 1587, ...

as physician to the Sultan in 1588. The first Moroccan mission to France would be that of Al-Hajari in 1610-11, followed by Ahmed el-Guezouli in 1612-1613.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berard, Guillaume 16th-century French diplomats 16th-century French physicians French expatriates in Morocco

See also

Notes