| Jean-Marie Dayot | |
|---|---|
 Jean-Marie Dayot (left) and his brother Félix Dayot (right). | |
| Born | 1759 |
| Died | 1809 (aged 49–50) |
| Place of birth | Port Louis, Ile Maurice |
| Place of death | Tonkin Gulf, Vietnam |
| Allegiance |
 FranceFile:Early Nguyen Dynasty Flag.svg Vietnam |
| Service/branch |
French Navy Vietnamese Navy |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet of Cochinchina and Commandant des bâtiments français de l'Anam |
| Battles/wars | Qui Nhơn, 1792 |
Harbour of Qui Nhơn by Jean-Marie Dayot (1795).
Jean Baptiste Marie Dayot (Vietnamese name: Nguyễn Văn Trí / 阮文智, 1759–1809)[1] was a French Navy officer and an adventurer who went into the service of Nguyễn Ánh, the future emperor Gia Long of Vietnam.
Originally from a Britany family settled in Ile Bourbon, Jean-Marie Dayot was born in Port Louis, Ile Maurice. He became a Lieutenant de vaisseau auxiliaire in the French Royal Navy.[2] He met with Pigneau de Béhaine either in the Ile Bourbon or Pondicherry, and is thought to have commanded one of the two commercial ships which accompanied the warship Méduse with Pigneau de Behaine to Vietnam.[2]
Map of Saigon, by Jean-Marie Dayot (1795).
Entering the service of Nguyễn Ánh, by 1790 he was in command of a naval division composed of two European warships belonging to Nguyễn Ánh. In 1792, he fought in the naval battle against the Tây Sơn in front of Qui Nhơn, sinking 5 warships, 90 galleys and about 100 smaller boats. In 1793, against at Qui Nhơn, he captured 60 Tây Sơn galleys.[2]
Jean-Marie Dayot also did considerable hydrographic work, making numerous maps of the Vietnamese coast, which were drawn by his talented brother.[3]
In 1795, Jean-Marie Dayot stranded his ship, was condemned for negligence and put to the cangue. Disgusted, he left Cochinchina.[2][4]
Jean-Marie Dayot then settled in Manila, from where he traded with Mexico. He died in 1809 when his ship sank in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1809. His brother would die in Macao in 1821.
Notes[]
References[]
- Mantienne, Frédéric 1999 Monseigneur Pigneau de Béhaine, Editions Eglises d'Asie, 128 Rue du Bac, Paris, ISSN 12756865 ISBN 2-914402-20-1
- Salles, André 2006 Un Mandarin Breton au service du roi de Cochinchine, Les Portes du Large ISBN 2-914612-01-X
The original article can be found at Jean-Marie Dayot and the edit history here.