Jean Bart's home town
When Jean was a boy, the Flemish-speaking port town of Dunkerque was part of the Spanish Netherlands. At the age of 6, he would have seen the most unlikely allies capture his town.

In 1658, Dunkerque was encircled. At sea, the ships of dour English Puritan Oliver Cromwell blockaded the port. On land, English troops were joined in besieging the town by those of French "Sun King" Louis XIV, fighting for glory and the Catholic religion.

When a Spanish army came to relieve the siege, they were beaten in the Battle of the Dunes.

Part of the deal was that the captured town was handed over to the English - local people joke that Dunkerque was Spanish, French and English all in one day, but it was not funny at the time!

1662: France gained a North Sea naval base...
Cromwell died, and in 1660, Charles II was invited to return in triumph. Hard-up, he sold Dunkerque to Louis XIV in 1662. Dunkerque was ideally placed as a base from which French corsairs could strike against Spain's supply routes by sea to the Low Countries, and against English and Dutch shipping in the North Sea.

...and a town of brave, daring sailors

Dunkerque's sailors were keen to join up. Their town had been North Sea herring fishermen for centuries, but since the 14th century they had also taken to piracy - preying on passing merchant ships. The town had already gained a reputation as a remote lawless place in the sand-dunes.

Jean Bart's success was attributed to Dunkerque's numerous population of sailors who provided courageous spirited officers and crews; also his own qualities as a bold dashing leader with a good tactical sense; and the support and organising skill of Colbert and the Naval Secretary of State, Louis de Ponchartrain who encouraged the corsairs to act as a disciplined fighting force.

Fighting the Dutch 1672-78
Jean Bart was rapidly promoted. In 1674, he got his own ship "le roi David". Colbert soon noticed his successes in fighting heavily armed Dutch naval ships, and in bringing home Dutch merchant vessels with cargoes of cacao beans, timber, hides, coal, and wine. He married a local inn-keeper's daughter, had a son, François, and by the end of the war was Dunkerque's most celebrated corsair with 81 prizes and a victory at the Battle of the Texel (1674) to his credit.

1678: Fortifying the corsiares' base
With a brief peace in 1678, Jean Bart, now prospering in Royal favour, worked with military engineer Vauban - another Royal protegée who rose from humble beginnings. They designed up-to-date fortifications for the walled town - which were to prove useful in the next stage of Louis XIV's wars at sea....

1688-1694: Daring deeds against stronger foes
From 1688, the rest of Europe saw France as a threat: Louis XIV faced a hostile coalition of England and the Dutch, brought together by William of Orange, and other countries. 

In 1689, Jean Bart's ship was escorting 20 French merchant vessels down the Channel. when they were attacked and captured by a much bigger Anglo-Dutch force. Jean Bart, his lieutenant Claude de Forbin and 20 men were imprisoned in Plymouth. They escaped, stole a boat and were back in France in 2 days!

Louis entrusted Jean Bart with a fleet of light vessels which could skim over the shallow sands of the south North Sea, attacking English and Dutch ships with great success. In vain they tried to stop him by blockading Dunkerque - even twice (1694-5) bombarding the town.

1696-1702: In command
In 1696, Louis XIV promoted Jean Bart to command of the fleet after he had burnt an enemy force of 50 ships. In 1702 Louis XIV ordered the fleet to be prepared for war again. Though weak with sickness, Jean Bart went out to check a ship in a storm and died in his bed soon after.

The end of Dunkerque as a nest of pirates
Attacks from Dunkerque's corsairs so annoyed the English and Dutch, that when peace was made in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, they insisted that the fortifications were destroyed and the harbour filled in. France was not allowed to use Dunkerque as a naval base.

The town was made into a desert, and the desperate inhabitants turned their seafaring skills back to deep-sea fishing. They built up the risky trade of sailing out to the North Sea cod shoals around Iceland - see 'Fishing".

A 1930's shoe polish advertisement uses the image of the pirate hero (Port Museum collection)

Jean Bart - hero of Dunkerque
The spirit of Jean Bart and the corsairs lives on in Dunkerque. He is the town's local hero, with a statue in the main square. His body is buried in the nearby Eglise St. Eloi, whose belfry dates back to the 15th century. Participants in the town's boisterous carnival call themselves "the children of Jean Bart" and sing corsair songs every year.

Plans for a Maritime Heritage Park
There is now a re-enactment society that celebrates his exploits, and plans to re-build one of his ships as centrepiece of a major tourist attraction Maritime Heritage Park in Dunkerque harbour.

The Tourville association has already achieved a prototype model (pictured RIGHT) based on Colbert's naval dictionary, and archeological diving in the Channel off Cherbourg, which discovered six 17th century wrecks - part of Admiral Tourville's fleet whose mission was to restore James II to the English throne. A feasibility study of the Heritage Park estimates it could attract up to 400,000 visitors annually.

http://www.tourville.asso.fr/

Prototype of Jean Bart's flagship - there are plans to rebuilt it full-size.

Places to visit:
Dunkerque Port Museum - the ships, harbour, fishermen, dockers, corsairs and people of Dunkerque in Jean Bart's day and after.
Dunkerque Fine Arts Museum - with local history gallery about the port from the 17th to 19th centuries, including exhibits about Jean Bart.
Dunkerque harbour trip - starting near the Port Museum, a tour by boat of the old port going on to today's industrial harbour

Related background information
Louis XIV - the "Sun King"
Spanish Flanders
William of Orange - Louis XIV's Dutch enemy
Dunkerque carnival - still celebrating Jean Bart in February-March (with the help of local giants...)

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