Philippe Vannier (

Vietnamese name Traditional Vietnamese personal names generally consist of three parts, used in Eastern name order. * A family name (normally patrilineal, The father’s family name may be combined with the mother's family name to form a compound family name) ...

: Nguyễn Văn Chấn / 阮文震, 1762–1842)Tran and Reid, p.206 was a

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 ...

officer and an adventurer who went into the service of

Nguyễn Ánh Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unif ...

, the future emperor

Gia Long Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unifi ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Life

Vannier was born in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, in the town of

Auray Auray (; br, An Alre, or simply ) is a commune in the Morbihan department, administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. Inhabitants of Auray are called ''Alréens'' (French) and ''Alreiz'' (Breton). Geography The city is surrounde ...

.Mantienne, p.156 He had served from 1778 in the Royal

,Salles, p.201 and had reportedly fought in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Philippe Vannier entered the service of Nguyễn Ánh in 1789 following the encouragements of Mgr Pigneau de Béhaine. In 1790, Nguyễn Ánh gave him the command of one of his ships. In 1792 he was in command of a warship furnished by

Jean-Marie Dayot Jean Baptiste Marie Dayot (Vietnamese name: Nguyễn Văn Trí / 阮文智, 1759–1809) was a French Navy officer and an adventurer who went into the service of Nguyễn Ánh, the future emperor Gia Long of Vietnam. Originally from a Brittany ...

, and fought at the battle of Qui Nhơn. In 1800, Philippe Vannier was commander of the ''Phoenix'' (''Phuong-Phi''), the largest ship of Nguyễn Ánh's navy, with 26 guns and 300 men.Salles, p.202 In April 1801, he again fought in front of the harbour of Qui Nhơn, and was nominated General (''Brigadier'') of the Navy. The battle opened the way for Nguyễn Ánh's invasion of northern Vietnam. His second-in-command was another Frenchman, Renon, from

Saint Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

. After the end of the war in 1802 and the victory of Nguyễn Ánh, Philippe Vannier remained in the service of the Vietnamese emperor, as a Mandarin. He married a Vietnamese Christian woman named Madeleine Sel-Dong, with whom he had several children. He served Nguyen under the name Nguyen Van Chan until 1826,Tran, p. 16. but then left Vietnam at the same time as

Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769–1832) was a French Navy sailor and an adventurer who played an important role in Vietnam in the 19th century. He served the Nguyễn dynasty from 1794 to 1819, and 1821 to 1826,Tran, p. 206. and took the Vietnam ...

, soon after the accession of

Minh Mạng Minh Mạng () or Minh Mệnh (, vi-hantu, 明命, lit. "the bright favour of Heaven"; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841; born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu) was the second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of V ...

to the throne. Philippe Vannier died in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

on 6 June 1842. His Vietnamese wife died in the same city on 6 April 1878. One of their grandsons, Emile Vannier, was a Navy officer who participated to the Cochinchina campaign in 1863–1864, and died in 1885.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vannier, Philippe French Navy officers 1762 births 1842 deaths Generals of the Nguyễn lords Nguyen dynasty officials Military history of Vietnam Mandarins of the Nguyễn lords

Life

See also

Notes

References