Captain Ramón Arnaud Vignon (1877–1915) was an officer in the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National ...

and the last Mexican governor of

Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( or ; ) is an uninhabited, coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is from Paris, France, from Papeete, Tahiti, and from Mexico. It is an overseas state private property of France under direct authority of the Minis ...

Early years and military enlistment

Ramón Arnaud was born in

Orizaba Orizaba () is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a 2005 census ...

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, in 1877, to Ángel Arnaud and Carlota Vignon, Mexicans of French origin who had settled in Veracruz in the aftermath of the 1862–1867

French Intervention This is a list of wars involving France and its predecessor states. It is an incomplete list of French and proto-French wars and battles from the foundation of Frankish Kingdom, Francia by Clovis I, the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian king who uni ...

. He completed his primary education in Orizaba and, influenced by a friend of his, the son of General

Bernardo Reyes Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón (30 August 1850 – 9 February 1913) was a Mexican general and politician, with aspirations to be President of Mexico. He died in a coup d'état against President Francisco I. Madero. Born in a prominent libera ...

, decided to enlist in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. He was unable to secure entry to the

Military Academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

in Mexico City but, assisted by the influence of General Reyes, enrolled as a sergeant in the 7th Cavalry Regiment. Shortly after enlisting, however, he deserted; he was promptly tracked down, arrested, sent to the military prison in Tlatelolco for 5½ months, and demoted to a private in the 23rd Infantry Battalion. In the space of three years, however, he had regained his earlier rank after fighting against

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

insurgents in the Caste War of Yucatán. Shortly after that, he was posted to Japan in the company of Col. Abelardo Ávalos.

Governor of Clipperton

Upon his return from East Asia, the government of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Porfirio Díaz placed him in charge of the military garrison on

, an atoll in the Pacific subject to a sovereignty dispute between Mexico and France. At first he was reluctant, believing that this amounted to an exile from Mexico, but Col. Ávalos convinced him by telling him that President Díaz had personally chosen him to protect Mexico's interests in the international conflict with France, and that the fact that he spoke English, French, and Spanish would assist him in protecting Mexico's sovereignty over the territory. He consequently accepted and arrived on Clipperton as governor in 1906. By 1914, the situation on the island had turned difficult. With the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution and the overthrow of

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...

, the Mexican supply ship that sailed between Clipperton and Acapulco had stopped coming. An American ship arrived, bringing provisions and rescuing a German, Gustav Schultz (the representative of the company which mined guano on Clipperton Island), who had lost his mind. The Americans also impressed upon Arnaud the seriousness of the problems which confronted Mexico (including the American occupation of Veracruz) and informed him of the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, advising him to abandon the island. Nevertheless, the captain and the rest of the soldiers decided to remain, staying faithful to their duty even though their homeland had forgotten them.

Final days

In 1915, an outbreak of scurvy claimed many of the colonists' lives and in 1915, by now desperate and at the head of a colony that had no food, Arnaud set sail with three soldiers in a canoe in pursuit of a passing ship they had spied. They were unable to reach the ship, however, and the canoe sank while returning, drowning all four of its occupants.

References

*Arnaud, Gabriela. ''CLIPPERTON Una Historia de Honor y Gloria''. México, Bubook,2015 *Restrepo, Laura. ''La Isla de la Pasión''. México, Alfaguara, 2005 *Sangri Namur, Enrique. ''Isla Clarión: Territorio desconocido''. 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnaud, Ramon Mexican soldiers Mexican people of French descent People from Orizaba 1877 births 1915 deaths Clipperton Island People who died at sea Mexican expatriates in Japan