Armand Joseph Bruat ( Colmar, 26 May 1796 – '' Montebello'', off Toulon, 19 November 1855) was a French admiral.

Biography

Bruat joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in 1811, at the height of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. His early career included far-ranging sea duties: in 1815, he served in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. From 1817 to 1820 he was with French forces in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

. Then, until 1824, he was stationed first in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

and then the Pacific. As a Lieutenant, Bruat took part in the 1827 Battle of Navarino as maneuver officer on ''Breslaw''. In 1830, he received command of the brig ''Silène'' and cruised off Algiers, taking a number of prizes. As ''Silène'' followed the ''Aventure'' commanded by Félix-Ariel d'Assigny (1794-1846), she was wrecked and the crew was captured during the shipwreck of Dellys, 110 men being massacred. While captive, Bruat managed to transmit observations on the state of the defences of Algier to admiral Duperré. After the Invasion of Algiers, Bruat was promoted to captain and awarded commanded the '' Iéna'', off Portugal. He then served on ''Triton'', before supervising naval constructions in Toulon from 1841. In 1843, he was made the Governor of the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in ...

. During this time, he was also France's agent at the court of Queen Pomare of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

, where he was able to

convince Convince, also known as Bongo or Flenke, is a religion from eastern Jamaica. It has roots in Kumina and Jamaican Maroon religion. History According to research by J. W. Pullis the religion originated in the Portland Parish in Jamaica in the m ...

her to acknowledge a French

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

over her realm. PereLachaise amiral Bruat

In 1849, Bruat became Governor-General of the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

and in 1852 was promoted to vice admiral. In 1854, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, he was named Commander of the French Fleet in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. He died at sea from cholera, near Toulon, on his flagship, the '' Montebello'', on 19 November 1855.

Honours

* Grand officer of the Legion of HonourMinistry of Culture
/ref> * Namesake of Cape Bruat, a former name of Musu Dan in North Korea

Sources and references

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruat, Armand Joseph 1796 births 1855 deaths People from Colmar Admirals of France French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel of the Crimean War Governors of French Polynesia Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Governors general of the French Antilles Deaths from cholera