ROBERT SURCOUF
« Everyone fights for what they lack. »
Robert Surcouf
Born on December 12, 1773 in Saint Malo, Robert Charles Surcouf (1773-1827) became a privateer captain at the age of twenty. He carried out dozens of fights and, between 1795 and 1808, took no less than 44 prizes, two of which – the Triton and the Kent – would enter into legend.
Born on December 12, 1773 in Saint Malo, Robert Charles Surcouf (1773-1827) became a privateer captain at the age of twenty. He carried out dozens of fights and, between 1795 and 1808, took no less than 44 prizes, two of which – the Triton and the Kent – would enter into legend.
“Histoire(s) Mauricienne(s)”, in collaboration with the Mauritius Ports Authority (MPA), highlights the characters, big and small, who have shaped the port of Port-Louis over the centuries.
Between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, during the Franco-English wars of the Republic and then the Empire, the English wanted to seize Mauritius. War between France and England broke out in 1793. Mauritius was besieged and cut off from the world. Port Louis was the key to the Indian Sea but above all the lair of the corsairs who dealt terrible blows to the English navy. Unable to seize it by force, the English established a blockade around the island in order to force its surrender.
When war broke out, the corsairs redoubled their audacity. The Count of Malartic, general commander of the French establishments beyond the Cape of Good Hope, had been appointed governor of Isle de France in June 1792. To end the famine, he circumvented the English blockade and established an agreement with the corsairs for protection against the English and to supply the island with food.
French privateers like du Tertre, Malroux, Drieux, Le Nouvel, Dufourq, Mariette, Carosin, Macquet, Le Blanc, Carosin fought the hegemony of the English navy in the Indian Ocean and their courage commanded the admiration of all. Stories of their exploits gave them hero status, especially because they helped supply the island. But the most famous of them was undoubtedly Robert Surcouf who made Port-Louis his home port and his hideout.
Originally from St Malo, Surcouf embarked for the first time at the age of 15 and a half on a merchant ship. On his way to India, he stopped off at Isle de France and fell under the spell of its exoticism. He returned there in 1794 and fought against the English squadrons which were blockading the island and was noted for his enthusiasm and combativeness. This is how shipowners from the colony entrusted him, at the age of 22, with command of his first boat, the Emilie. From that moment on, he would terrorize English ships heading towards the Bay of Bengal.
It was in 1800 that he made his most famous catch, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. At that time, he commanded a small ship, La Confiance, with 130 sailors on board. One October morning his path crossed that of a powerful 1,500-ton ship armed with 38 cannons and with 437 sailors and soldiers on board. Kent was “as high as the towers of London”. Compared to this fortress of the seas, the little corsair did not weigh much. And yet… Maneuvering skillfully, Surcouf managed to place his ship under the line of fire of the English guns while the guns of La Confiance tore the sides of the powerful English ship. Surcouf captured Kent after a bloody battle. This magnificent capture created extraordinary enthusiasm among the inhabitants of Isle de France but it was also the last episode of the racing war in the Mascarenes, since, a few years later, the English finally took possession of the island.
As for Surcouf, he sailed in the Indian Ocean for a period of 20 years, with a few stays in St Malo. Exceptional sailor, tenacious fighter, Robert Surcouf, the savior of Isle de France, can be considered one of the most authentic heroes in the history of Mauritius.