Jean+Bart

= Jean Bart (October 21 1651 – April 27 1702) =

Table Of Contents:
1) Early Life 2) Career 3)Personal/Married Life 4)Legacy 5)Bibliography

=Early Life: = Jean Bart was born on October 21st 1651 in what is now northern France. Born into a poor Flemish family of sailors in Dunkerque (Originally Dutch), he had a younger brother called Gafpard. Jean Bart went to sea for the first time at the age 12. When he was a boy, the English captured his home town. As a teenager Jean joined the Dutch Navy to fight the English. He served under the brilliant Dutch admiral De Ruyter, as a cabin boy, and learned seamanship and naval tactics from him.



Location Of Dunkerque In Northern France Birthplace of Jean Bart.

=Career: = 1662 In 1658, Dunkerque was captured by the British and when Charles II returned to power, he sold it to the French. Dunkerque was a great naval base to launch raids against Spanish, Dutch and British shipping in the North Sea. Jean’s Success at capturing spanish vessels was credited to the numerous sailors and fishermen and pirates that lived in the lawless town. They were good sailors and were quickly whipped up into a tip-top disciplined military fighting force. The men also made courageous officers and Jean Bart’s own qualities such as a fearless leader with a strategist’s mind.

1672-1678 Jean Bart was very successful in the French Navy; he advanced through the ranks with astonishing speed. In 1674, he was awarded his own ship, titled “Le Roi David.” (Which translates to “The King David”) Soon thereafter, Louis XIV’s Minister of The Marine, Colbert, saw Jean Bart’s huge success at fighting the Dutch warships and its merchant vessels. Bart brought home tons of Dutch cargoes in the name of France ranging from Timber to hides to cocoa beans. By the end of the war, he was Dunkerque’s most famous corsair with 81 captured vessels and credited with winning the Battle of The Texel in 1674.

1678 In 1678, Dunkerque and its celebrated corsair, Jean Bart, had a short lived peace. Jean worked with a military engineer named Sébastien le Prestre de Vauban. He was commissioned by Louis XIV to design and supervise the building of a chain of forts; these were designed to ensure that France's north-east border lands could never be recaptured. Jean and Vauban worked together to build up to date fortifications for Dunkerque so that it could not be recaptured by an invading force.

He achieved his greatest successes during the Nine Years war (1688 - 1697). The Peace of Ryswick (1697) put a close to his active service. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Personal/Married Life: = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jean Bart Married twice and had 14 children with his wives. His first wife was a local inn-keeper's daughter called Nicole Gontier on 3 February 1676; she was 16 at the time. She died in 1682 after giving 4 children who the oldest Francois became a vice-admiral. Later he married Jacoba Tugghe on October 13th 1689. She gave him 10 children and supported him until his death. Jean Bart died of Pleurisy on April 27 1702 in which he supposedly caught while going out to the harbor to come greet his custom made ship.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1689, the beginning of this war he was captured by the English and taken to Plymouth. But 3 days later, they succeeded in escaping to Brittany in a rowboat, together with 20 other sailors.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1691 he got through the blockade of Dunkirk burning a Scottish castle and four villages.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1694 he had his greatest success in the Action of June 29 1694, when he captured a huge convoy of Dutch grain ships, saving Paris from starvation.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1696 he Destroyed the Dutch fleet in the Battle of Dogger Bank (1694).



=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Legacy: = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many anecdotes tell of the courage and bluntness of the 2.04 m tall, uncultivated sailor, who became a popular hero of the French Navy who Sank a total of 386 ships and also sank or burned a great number more. The town of Dunkirk has honoured his memory by erecting a statue of him which even during WWII when the town was 90% destroyed survived. He is an example of a self made man and many sailors strive to emulate him.



=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bibliography: = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Vie De Jean-Bart : Chef Descadre Sous Louis XIV." Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. [].

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nationality ·, By. "Jean Bart." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. [].