Philippe Vannier

Infobox Military Person
name= Philippe Vannier
lived= 1762-1842
placeofbirth= Auray, France
placeofdeath= Lorient, France


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=
branch=French Navy, Vietnamese Navy
serviceyears=
rank=General
commands=
battles=Qui Nhon, 1792
Qui Nhon, 1801
awards=
laterwork=
portrayedby=

Philippe Vannier (1762-1842) ["Viet Nam: Borderless Histories" - Page 206by Nhung Tuyet Tran, Anthony Reid [http://books.google.com/books?id=-Q8BfU1Z9UcC&pg=PA206&dq=Philippe+Vannier+Mandarin&sig=ACfU3U24_X0rpu988Jlu9uMhpWgj08f0PA] ] was a French Navy officer and an adventurer who went into the service of Nguyen Anh, the future emperor Gia Long of Vietnam.

Life

Vannier was born in Britany, in the town of Auray.Mantienne, p.156] He had served from 1778 in the Royal French Navy,Salles, p.201] and had reportedly fought in the American War of Independence.

Philippe Vannier entered the service of Nguyen Anh in 1789 following the encouragements of Mgr Pigneau de Béhaine. In 1790, Nguyen Anh gave him the command of one of his ships. In 1792 he was in command of a warship furnished by Jean-Marie Dayot, and fought at the battle of Qui Nhon. In 1800, Philippe Vannier was commander of the "Phoenix" ("Phuong-Phi"), the largest ship of Nguyen Anh's navy, with 26 guns and 300 men. [Salles, p.202] In April 1801, he again fought in front of the harbour of Qui Nhon, and was nominated General ("Brigadier") of the Navy. The battle opened the way for Nguyen Anh's invasion of northern Vietnam. [Salles, p.202]

His second in command was another Frenchman, Renon, from Saint Malo.

After the end of the war in 1802 and the victory of Nguyen Anh, Philippe Vannier remained in the service of the Vietnamese king, as a Mandarin. He married a Vietnamese Christian woman named Madeleine Sel-Dong, with whom he had several children. [Salles, p.202] He served Nguyen under the name Nguyen Van Chan until 1826, ["Viet Nam: Borderless Histories" - Page 206by Nhung Tuyet Tran, Anthony Reid [http://books.google.com/books?id=-Q8BfU1Z9UcC&pg=PA206&dq=Philippe+Vannier+Mandarin&sig=ACfU3U24_X0rpu988Jlu9uMhpWgj08f0PA] ] ["A Vietnamese Royal Exile in Japan: Prince Cuong De, 1882-1951" - Page 16 by My-Van Tran, Tran My-Van [http://books.google.com/books?id=XTW6ZlhLUQYC&pg=PA16&dq=Philippe+Vannier+Mandarin&sig=ACfU3U3GOQTM7ZGYUsa3wW6wa0kXnDTVRg] ] but then left Vietnam at the same time as Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau, soon after the accession of Minh Mang to the throne.

Philippe Vannier died in Lorient on 6 June 1842. [Salles, p.202] His Vietnamese wife died in the same city on 6 April 1878. [Salles, p.202]

One of their grandsons, Emile Vannier, was a Navy officer who participated to the Cochinchina campaign in 1863-1864, and died in 1885. [Salles, p.202]

ee also

*France-Vietnam relations

Notes

References

*Mantienne, Frédéric 1999 "Monseigneur Pigneau de Béhaine", Editions Eglises d'Asie, 128 Rue du Bac, Paris, ISSN 12756865 ISBN 2914402201
*Salles, André 2006 "Un Mandarin Breton au service du roi de Cochinchine", Les Portes du Large ISBN 291461201X