François Caron (; 1600 – 5 April 1673) was a French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

refugee to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

who served the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

(''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie'' or VOC) for 30 years, rising from cook's mate to the director-general at Batavia (Jakarta), only one grade below governor-general. He retired from the VOC in 1651, and was later recruited to become director-general of the newly formed French East Indies Company in 1665 until his death in 1673.Frazer, Robert Watson. (1896)
''British India,'' p. 42.
/ref> Caron is sometimes considered the first Frenchman to set foot in Japan, although he was actually born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

to a family of Huguenot refugees. He only became a naturalized citizen of France when he was persuaded by Colbert to become head of the French East Indies Company, in his 60s. Thus the native-born French Dominican missionary Guillaume Courtet may have the stronger claim. Regardless, the first known instance of any Franco-Japanese relations precedes them both, being the visit of

Hasekura Tsunenaga was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Ph ...

to France in 1615.

Japan

Caron began as a cook's mateOtterspeer, Willem. (2003)
''Leiden Oriental Connections, 1850–1940'', p. 355.
/ref> on board the Dutch ship ''Schiedam'' bound for Japan, where he arrived at

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 28,172, and a population density of 120 people per km2. The total area of the city is Geography Hirado City occupies the northern part of Nagasaki P ...

in 1619. He transferred off the ship (either legitimately or via desertion) and began working in Hirado, becoming a full factory assistant in 1626. He quickly developed an aptitude for the Japanese language, and became involved with a local woman (the daughter of Eguchi Jūzaemon) with whom he had six children. In 1627 he served as interpreter on a VOC mission to the shogunal capital of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

, the first of many diplomatic trips he would make. On 9 April 1633, Caron was promoted to senior merchant, making him the second ranking Company official in Japan. In 1636, the new VOC Director-General Philip Lucasz, wishing to learn about the territories he was charged with overseeing, sent a list of 31 questions about Japan which Caron was charged with answering. Caron's answers formed the outline for his work ''Beschrijvinghe van het machtigh coninckrijcke Jappan'' ("Description of the Mighty Kingdom of Japan"), published as an appendix to a corporate history in 1645 and as an independent book in 1661. This was one of the first reports to introduce Japan in any detail to a European audience and was widely read, receiving translations into German, French, and English. Caron was a gifted diplomat and was important to Dutch efforts to ingratiate themselves with the Shogunate at whose mercy their trade operated. In 1636, on another mission to Edo, Caron presented a magnificent copper lantern (which was installed and still stands at

Nikkō Tōshō-gū is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Together with Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji, it forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 42 structures of the shrine included in the ...

shrine) as a gift to secure the release of the hostage

Pieter Nuyts Pieter Nuyts or Nuijts (159811 December 1655) was a Dutch Exploration, explorer, diplomat and politician. He was part of a landmark expedition of the Dutch East India Company in 1626–1627 which mapped the southern coast of Australia. He bec ...

, who as VOC ambassador to Japan had instigated a diplomatic incident so severe it forced the shutdown of Hirado for several years. On 3 February 1639, Caron succeeded Nicolaes Couckebacker as the VOC ''

opperhoofd is a Dutch word (plural ) that literally translates to "upper-head", meaning "supreme headman". The Danish cognate , which is a calque derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch or Low German word, is also treated here. The standard Ge ...

'' (chief ''

factor Factor (Latin, ) may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, such a factor is a resource used ...

'' or merchant) in Japan. At this time, the shogunate was implementing severe isolationist policies, including the expulsion of nearly all foreigners and the criminalization of Christian proselytizing. The Portuguese trading out of

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

were completely expelled, and the VOC warehouses at Hirado were destroyed, ostensibly because one was engraved with the Christian date of its erection ("AD 1638"). The Dutch, now the only Europeans allowed to trade on Japanese soil, were forced to relocate to the small artificial island of

Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...

, although Caron ended his term as ''opperhoofd'' shortly before the move took place in the summer of 1641.

Return to the Netherlands

Kingdoms Japan Siam - Caron - title page

In 1641, Caron's Japan contract with the company expired, and he went to Batavia awaiting a transfer to Europe, accompanied by his family.Leup, Gary P. (2003)
''Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543–1900)''. p. 8pp. 62-63
/ref> At that time, he was nominated member of the

Council of the East Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

, the governing body of the VOC in Asia, next to the governor-general. On 13 December 1641 Caron sailed back to Europe as commander of the merchant fleet.

New assignments in Asia

Although he was rewarded handsomely for his services with a capital of 1,500 guilders, he again left for Asia in 1643 aboard the ''Olifant''. He arrived in Batavia to find that his Japanese consort had died. As they were never legally married, Caron submitted a formal petition to legitimize his children by her, which was accepted. Meanwhile, during his brief return to Europe, he had become engaged to Constantia Boudaen, who arrived in 1645 and bore him a further seven children. In September 1643, he headed an army of 1,700 men against the Portuguese in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. In 1644, Caron was then named governor of

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

); and was the chief VOC official on the island until 1646. During this period, Caron's achievements included restructuring the production of rice, sulfur, sugar and indigo, and moderating the trade with Chinese pirates. He had to return to Batavia in 1646. In 1647, he was appointed director-general, second in command after the governor-general. In 1651, Caron was recalled to the Netherlands, together with Cornelis van der Lijn, due to allegations of private trade, but he successfully defended his case, and was able to resign with honor from the company.

Appointment with the French East Indies Company

The arenas of French rivalry with England and Holland expanded to Asia in 1664 when the French Finance Minister

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

persuaded

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

to grant a patent to a newly contrived French East Indies Company. Somehow Colbert managed to entice Caron into accepting a leadership role in this nascent enterprise. He became the company's Director General in 1665. This action was perceived as treason by the Dutch, and Caron was banned eternally from the Provinces.

Japan and China

Caron advocated for establishing trade with both Japan and China, laying out a system of purchasing silks and other trade good from China, then selling them in Japan for silver at "60 or 70 percent profit". This silver could then be immediately used to purchase more goods from China to sell in a "wheel of commerce," self-sustaining after only an initial outlay of silver from France itself. In Caron's view, "this is the only trade that can enrich the French Company". An official letter from Louis XIV to the Emperor of Japan was drawn up and instructions prepared for its delivery and subsequent trade negotiations, but it seems that this plan was not carried to fruition and the letter was never conveyed to Japan. It is unlikely that this effort would have succeeded, as Japan was deeply committed to its ''

Sakoku is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all ...

'' policy of isolation at that time.

Madagascar

In 1665, François Caron sailed to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. The Company failed to found a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

on Madagascar but established ports on the nearby islands of Bourbon (now

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

) and Isle de France (now

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

). In the late 17th century, the French established trading posts along the east coast.

India

Caron succeeded in founding French outposts at

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

(1668) and at

Masulipatam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headqua ...

(1669) in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

;Pope, George Uglow. (1880).
''A Text-book of Indian History,'' p. 266.
/ref> and Louis XIV acknowledged those successes by awarding him the Order of St. Michael. He was "Commissaire" at

between 1668 and 1672. The French East India Company formally set up a trading centre at Pondicherry in 1673. This outpost eventually became the chief French settlement in India. In 1672, he helped lead French forces in

, where the strategic bay at Trincomalee was captured and St. Thomé (also known as Meilâpûr) on the Coromandel coast was also taken; however, the consequences of his military success was short-lived. The French were driven out these modest conquests while Caron was en route to Europe in 1673. He died as his ship sank off Lisbon on 5 April 1673, while he was returning to Europe.

Honors

* Order of St. Michael, 1672