Nicolas Béhuchet (1288 – 24 June 1340), also known as Colin Béhuchet, was a French admiral and

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

. Together with

Hugues Quiéret Hugues Quiéret ( 129024 June 1340) was a French nobleman, admiral and military commander. He was a knight, lord of Tours-en-Vimeu and of Hamicourt, both in Picardy. Before becoming an admiral, he was an advisor, Chamberlain, Grand Master of ...

, he commanded the French fleet during the early phases of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...

. At the

battle of Arnemuiden The Battle of Arnemuiden was a naval battle fought on 23 September 1338 at the start of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. It was the first naval battle of the Hundred Years' War and the first recorded European naval battle usi ...

in 1338, Béhuchet ordered the English prisoners massacred. The following years, he and Quiéret fought the English in the Channel. Two years after Arnemuiden, the French fleet was anchored at

Sluys Sluis (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Sluus ; french: Écluse) is a town and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January ...

in preparation of an invasion of England. The fleet was attacked by

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

's English fleet and was destroyed in the

battle of Sluys The Battle of Sluys (; ), also called the Battle of l'Écluse, was a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between England and France. It took place in the roadstead of the port of Sluys (French ''Écluse''), on a since silted-up inlet between ...

. After this defeat, the captured Béhuchet was hanged as a revenge for the massacre at Arnemuiden.

References

1340 deaths French Navy admirals French people executed abroad People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging People executed under the Plantagenets 14th-century executions by England Executed military personnel 14th-century French people People of the Hundred Years' War Executed French people Year of birth unknown French financiers 1288 births {{France-mil-bio-stub