Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Étienne Eustache Bruix (17 July 1759 – 18 March 1805) was a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer and politician who served as Minister of the Navy and the Colonies from 1798 to 1799.

Life

Bruix was born to a family from

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

. He started sailing as a volunteer on a

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

commanded by captain Jean-François Landolphe.

Early career

In 1778, he joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine (officer cadet). He served on the frigates ''Fox'' and ''Concorde'', taking part in the Battle of Fort Royal on 29 April and 30 April 1781, in the Invasion of Tobago in May–June, in the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

on 5 September, in the Battle of Saint Kitts on 25 January 1782, and in the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782. He was promoted to Ensign in November 1781. Bruix was given command of the 10-gun aviso ''Pivert'', and tasked with surveying the coasts and harbours of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

. He was aided in the task by Puységur. Bruix was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in May 1786. He was elected member of the Académie de Marine in 1791, and promoted to Captain on 1 January 1793, and given command of the 80-gun ''Indomptable''. However, he was dismissed from the service in October 1794. Retiring to the outskirts of Brest, he wrote a memorandum titled ''Moyens d'approvisionner la marine par les seules productions du territoire français'' (Means of Provisioning the Fleet Solely by What Is Produced in French Territory). This advocacy of naval

autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movement ...

as a way to defeat British blockades attracted notice, and Navy Minister Laurent Truguet recalled Bruix in 1795 to appoint him to the command of the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently de ...

''Éole''. He held this command up to the moment he was sent to join Villaret-Joyeuse's squadron as Chief of Staff ( major general).

Appointment as Navy Minister

Eustache Bruix given command of a division under Admiral Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles during the French attempt to invade Ireland in 1796. Lazare Hoche noticed him on that campaign and promoted him to contre-amiral in May 1797. He was then appointed Navy Minister from 28 April 1798. Upon taking office, he rushed to Brest to take personal command of a fleet that was about to sail for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in an attempt to extricate the French army trapped there since its invasion in 1798. Favourable winds and fog allowed him to evade the British blockade, and he sailed South with 25

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

. Anticipating a possible landing in Ireland, still unsettled in the wake of the United Irishmen's rebellion, the blockading fleet drew off North-Westwards, giving Bruix a considerable headstart before realising his true destination. Off

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, Bruix encountered a British blockading force of 15 ships of the line under Lord Keith. Despite his numerical superiority and the 28 Spanish ships of the line harboured in Cadiz, Bruix declined to attack and continued into the Mediterranean. Having made a detour to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

for repairs, Bruix received news that

André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...

was besieged in Genoa, and orders to assist him. He rerouted the fleet to the Gulf of Genoa to resupply the beleaguered army but was driven back by the weather. Meanwhile, Keith had followed him into the Mediterranean and gathered together the scattered British squadrons in the area at

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

. Bruix abandoned his venture, eluded his pursuers and returned to the Atlantic. He made his junction with a Spanish squadron that attached to his fleet, and he returned to Brest. After this expedition, known as the '' Croisière de Bruix'', he resigned as Minister of the Navy on 11 July 1799, and took command of the fleet assembled at

île d'Aix Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino a ...

, ready to sail to Spain, but the British reinforced their blockade, the admiral fell ill and the peace of Amiens prevented the fleet from leaving port. He was promoted to Vice-amiral from 13 March 1799.

Later career and death

Bruix was privy to the secret

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

18 Brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the ...

(9 November 1799). After seizing power, Bonaparte promoted Bruix to

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in 1801, and appointed him as Conseiller d'État the following year. War having broken out again, Napoléon conceived a plan for a new invasion of England, and put Bruix in command of the flotilla based at

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

that would carry the invasion troops across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. Bruix undertook the work but in July 1804 refused to obey Napoleon's personal order to take the fleet out of harbour for a review, in the face of a developing storm. The furious Emperor reprimanded Bruix and came close to striking him. A subordinate carried out Napoleon's instruction but at the cost of 200 lives. Following this incident Bruix fell ill and had to return to Paris, where he died of tuberculosis, aged only 45.

Legacy

Boulevard de l'Amiral-Bruix in Paris is named in his honour.

Citations

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruix, Etienne Eustache 1759 births 1805 deaths People from Nord-Est (department) People from Saint-Domingue Ministers of marine and the colonies French Navy admirals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French slave traders 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe