Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769, Lorient
, Brittany
-1832 Lorient) was a French Navy
soldier 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, and took the Vietnamese name of Nguyễn Văn Thắng (阮文勝).
to support the efforts of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh
to conquer Vietnam. He came to Vietnam with Pigneau in 1794. Chaigneau supported the offensives of Nguyễn Ánh, such as the 1801 naval offensive in Thi Nai.
Once Nguyễn Ánh became emperor Gia Long, Chaigneau remained at the court to become a mandarin
. Chaigneau received the tiltle of truong co, together with Philippe Vannier, de Forsans and Despiau, meaning second-class second-degree military mandarins, and later received the title of Grand Mandarin once Gia Long became emperor, with personal escorts of 50 soldiers. He also married into a Vietnamese Catholic mandarin family, as did Vannier or Laurent Barizy. He married Ho Thi Hue, of the Ho Catholic family.
Chaigneau became a Counsellor to Emperor Già Long under the Vietnamese name of Nguyen Van Thang. From 1816, he was in relation with the French Foreign Minister Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu
.
Chaigneau then traveled to France on the Henri in 1819, and returned to Vietnam in 1821, as the French consul in Huế
(he was the first French Consul in Cochinchina), with mission to obtain more trade privileges for France. He offered to emperor Minh Mạng
a peace treaty with France, but this was rejected. Discouraged, he left Vietnam in 1824.
In 1826, his nephew Eugène Chaigneau was sent to Vietnam to replace him as Consul, but Eugène was denied any audience with Minh Mạng.
Chaigneau had a son, Nguyen Van Duc, also known as Michel Duc Chaigneau, who wrote a memoir on his early life in Huế (Souvenirs de Huế) and played a role in the embassy of Phan Thanh Gian
to France in 1863. In France, he became a commissioner for the Ministry of Finance. Another of his sons, Jean Chaigneau, also a half-Vietnamese, later became secretary general of the city of Rennes
.
. Beneath his blue jacket, Chaigneau wears a full Vietnamese dress of red color, with small flowers (visible on the pair of throusers) which suggests a member of the Imperial family (as other French officers, Chaigneau apparently received the honnour of being considered a part of the Imperial family). The roll he wears in his right probably indicates the Madarinal
roll he received from the emperor.
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
-1832 Lorient) was a French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
soldier and an adventurer who played an important role in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in the 19th century. He served the Nguyễn Dynasty from 1794 to 1819, and 1821 to 1826, and took the Vietnamese name of Nguyễn Văn Thắng (阮文勝).
Role in Vietnam
Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau was among the soldiers who were gathered by Father Pigneau de BéhainePigneau de Behaine
Pierre Joseph Georges Pigneau , commonly known as Pigneau de Béhaine, also Pierre Pigneaux and Bá Đa Lộc , was a French Catholic priest best known for his role in assisting Nguyễn Ánh to establish the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnam after the Tây Sơn...
to support the efforts of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh
Gia Long
Emperor Gia Long , born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh , was an emperor of Vietnam...
to conquer Vietnam. He came to Vietnam with Pigneau in 1794. Chaigneau supported the offensives of Nguyễn Ánh, such as the 1801 naval offensive in Thi Nai.
Once Nguyễn Ánh became emperor Gia Long, Chaigneau remained at the court to become a mandarin
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
. Chaigneau received the tiltle of truong co, together with Philippe Vannier, de Forsans and Despiau, meaning second-class second-degree military mandarins, and later received the title of Grand Mandarin once Gia Long became emperor, with personal escorts of 50 soldiers. He also married into a Vietnamese Catholic mandarin family, as did Vannier or Laurent Barizy. He married Ho Thi Hue, of the Ho Catholic family.
Chaigneau became a Counsellor to Emperor Già Long under the Vietnamese name of Nguyen Van Thang. From 1816, he was in relation with the French Foreign Minister Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu
Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu
Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septimanie de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu was a prominent French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration...
.
Chaigneau then traveled to France on the Henri in 1819, and returned to Vietnam in 1821, as the French consul in Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
(he was the first French Consul in Cochinchina), with mission to obtain more trade privileges for France. He offered to emperor Minh Mạng
Minh Mang
Minh Mạng was the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 14 February 1820 until 20 January 1841. He was a younger son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Crown Prince Canh, had died in 1801...
a peace treaty with France, but this was rejected. Discouraged, he left Vietnam in 1824.
In 1826, his nephew Eugène Chaigneau was sent to Vietnam to replace him as Consul, but Eugène was denied any audience with Minh Mạng.
Chaigneau had a son, Nguyen Van Duc, also known as Michel Duc Chaigneau, who wrote a memoir on his early life in Huế (Souvenirs de Huế) and played a role in the embassy of Phan Thanh Gian
Phan Thanh Gian
Phan Thanh Giản or Phan Thanh Jan was a Grand Counsellor at the Nguyễn court in Vietnam. He led an embassy to France in 1863, and committed suicide when France completed the invasion of Southern Vietnam in 1867.Phan Thanh Giản's grandfather was an ethnic Chinese , while his grandmother was a...
to France in 1863. In France, he became a commissioner for the Ministry of Finance. Another of his sons, Jean Chaigneau, also a half-Vietnamese, later became secretary general of the city of Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
.
Depictions
Two depictions of Chaigneau are known: one in which he wears rather Westernized clothing, which is actually a paintover of an original painting in which he wears distinctly Vietnamese clothing, which was discovered underneath after restoration. The original painting, probably painted around 1805 when Chaigneau was about 35, is strongly reminiscent of the uniforms worn by the armies of the soldiers of Emperor Gia LongGia Long
Emperor Gia Long , born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh , was an emperor of Vietnam...
. Beneath his blue jacket, Chaigneau wears a full Vietnamese dress of red color, with small flowers (visible on the pair of throusers) which suggests a member of the Imperial family (as other French officers, Chaigneau apparently received the honnour of being considered a part of the Imperial family). The roll he wears in his right probably indicates the Madarinal
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
roll he received from the emperor.