Benoît de Boigne
Encyclopedia
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
, who made his fortune and name in India. He was also named president of the general council of the French département of Mont-Blanc by Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
.
The son of shopkeepers, Leborgne was a career military man. He was trained in European regiments and then became a success in India in the service of Mahadaji Sindhia of Gwalior in central India, who ruled over the Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
. Sindhia entrusted him with the creation and organization of an army. He became its general, and trained and commanded a force of nearly 100,000 men organized on the European model, which allowed the Maratha Empire to dominate north India and be the last native state of Hindustan
Hindustan
Hindustan or Indostan, literal translation "Land of River Sindhu ", is one of the popular names of South Asia. It can also mean "the land of the Hindus"...
to resist the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Along with his career in the army, Benoît de Boigne also worked in commerce and administration. Among other titles, he became a jaghir
Jaghir
A jaghir was a governance bestowed on Indian regional governors by their emperors. The jaghir composed of a smaller district within the empire, and was managed by the regional governor, or Jaghirdar....
which gave him enormous land holdings in India.
After a turbulent life, Benoît de Boigne returned to Europe, first to England, where he married a French emigrant after having repudiated his first, Persian wife; then to France during the Consulate, and finally back to Savoy (then an independent kingdom). He devoted the end of his life to charity in Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, where he was born. The king of Piedmont-Sardinia
Piedmont-Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia or Sardinia, also Piedmont-Sardinia, Sardinia-Piedmont or Piemonte, refers to the states of the House of Savoy from 1720 or 1723 onwards, following the award of the crown of Sardinia to King Victor Amadeus II of Savoy under the Treaty of The Hague...
gave him the title of Count.
Early life
He was born at Chambéry in Savoy on 24 March 1751, the son of a fur merchant. His paternal grandfather, born at Burneuil in PicardyPicardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
, moved to Chambéry, in the Dukedom of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
, at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1709 the grandfather married Claudine Latoud, born in 1682. They had thirteen children, of whom only four reached the age of twenty, and opened up a fur shop on rue Tupin in Chambéry.
His father, Jean-Baptiste Leborgne, born in 1718, frequently traveled on business to wild-fur markets and brought back bearskins, fox, beaver, and marten furs, and many other animal pelts. Sometimes he traveled as far as Scotland, and he dreamed of going to the Indies. His wife was against this, but he passed his dream on to his son.
His mother, Hélène Gabet, born in 1744, was born into a family of notaries who worked closely with the Savoy Senate. Although her family was not happy about her marriage to a fur merchant, they accepted it. Benoît was the third of the couple's seven children – three boys and three girls. One of his brothers, Antoine-François, became a monk at the monastery of Grande Chartreuse
Grande Chartreuse
Grande Chartreuse is the head monastery of the Carthusian order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse , France. Originally, the château belonged to the See of Grenoble...
, but influenced by ideas of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, he left and later married. His son Joseph became a notable lawyer in Turin. Benoît, who had been destined for the law, was not the only adventurer in his family. His brother Claude went to Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, in what is now the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. Claude was imprisoned in Paris during the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, and later became a deputy for the island of Santo Domingo (now called Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
) in the Council of Five Hundred
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred , or simply the Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France during the period commonly known as the Directory , from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the...
under the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
. During the first empire (of Napoleon) he was named to office in Paris and took the title of Baron. This title was given to him, like the title of Count given to his brother Benoît Leborgne, by the king of Piedmont-Sardinia, in 1816. At the age of 17, Benoît Leborgne fought a duel with a Piedmont officer and wounded him. This cost him his chance to join the Brigade de Savoie. He therefore enlisted in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
.
Early military career
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. This regiment was made up mostly of Irish emigrants who did not want to serve the British; at this time Irish Catholics were disenfranchised in their own country under the anti-Catholic penal laws
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....
. During this period, many Irishmen left Ireland for the Catholic countries of Europe or for North America. Here Benoît Leborgne learned English and the rudiments of army life. He listened to the military tales of his superior officers, especially those of Major Daniel Charles O'Connell
Daniel Charles O'Connell
Daniel Charles, Count O'Connell was the uncle of Daniel O'Connell "the Liberator." He was from a noble family of Derrynane House, County Kerry, Ireland, but because of the Penal Laws of the time, which forbade a Catholic to have any education or profession, he, like many other ambitious young...
about India. Many years later, he met O'Connell again in England and was introduced through him to his future wife Adèle.
While in the Irish Regiment, Leborgne took part in several campaigns which took him across Europe, as well as to islands in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, including Bourbon Island (now called Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
). In 1773, at age 22, Benoît Leborgne resigned from the army. Lord Clare and Colonel Meade had died, bringing changes to the Regiment. Europe was at peace and his chances of promotion had become slim.
The Russian-Turkish war
As he was leaving the Irish Regiment, young Leborgne learned from the newspapers that Prince Fyodor Grigoryevich OrlovOrlov
Orlov is the name of a Russian noble family which produced several distinguished statesmen, diplomatists and soldiers. The family first gained distinction in the person of four Orlov brothers, of whom the senior was Catherine the Great's paramour, and the two junior were notable military...
of Russia was raising, in the name of Empress Catherine II of Russia, a Greek regiment to attack the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. At the time, Russia was attempting to extend its territory to acquire a port on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, and was using the anti-Turkish sentiments of people under Ottoman domination to aid its project. Leborgne saw a chance of advancement and adventure. He went back to Chambéry for a short time and got a letter of recommendation to Prince Orlov through the cousin of a client of his mother's, who was a close acquaintance of the prince. First Leborgne went to Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, which was then the capital of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, where he met the cousin. Afterwards, he went to the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, then crossed to the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. He arrived in Paros
Paros
Paros is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets...
, where Prince Orlov was forming his Greek-Russian regiment. The prince accepted him and he joined the ranks.
Leborgne quickly saw that his enlistment was a mistake. The prince confided to him his doubts on the future military campaign and its chances of victory. These pessimistic forecasts were quickly confirmed. On the island of Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
, the Turks were victorious, and the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) ended for Leborgne with his capture by the Turks, although some members of his regiment succeeded in escaping. He was taken to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and became a slave, where he had to do menial work for many weeks. However, his owner soon noticed that he could speak English and put him to work dealing with the British Lord Algernon Percy
Lord Algernon Percy
Lord Algernon Malcolm Arthur Percy was a British career soldier and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1882 to 1887....
. Percy, surprised to see a European slave, was able to procure Leborgne's freedom after a week of negotiations, with the aid of the British embassy.
Preparations for India
Lord Percy took Leborgne as a guide through the Greek islands back to Paros, where Leborgne officially resigned from his regiment. He was free again, but had only his last pay received from before his resignation. He travelled to SmyrnaSmyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
(now Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
), which at the time was a prosperous, booming city. There, Leborgne met merchants from many countries, including India, which was believed to hold much wealth, like the diamonds of Golconda
Golkonda
Golkonda or Golla konda a ruined city of south-central India and capital of ancient Kingdom of Golkonda , is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad.The most important builder of Golkonda was a Hindu Kakatiya King...
and the sapphires of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
). Some of these merchants told him their theories about the existence of trade routes passing north of India, in upper Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
or along the glaciers of Karakoram
Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...
. He also learned that many rajahs regularly sought out European officers to organize and command their armies.
These stories persuaded Leborgne to try his chances. Through his friend Lord Percy, he was able to get letters of recommendation to Lord Hastings
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
and Lord Macartney
George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney
George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, KB was an Irish-born British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat. He is often remembered for his observation following Britain's success in the Seven Years War and subsequent territorial expansion at the Treaty of Paris that Britain now controlled...
in India. He also asked for letters of recommendation from Prince Orlov in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, where the prince obtained an audience for him with the Empress Catherine II. Leborgne explained to her he wanted to discover new trade routes to India passing through Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
or Kashmir. The empress, wishing to extend her power to Afghanistan, agreed to help him. At the end of 1777, Leborgne began a journey with many detours. After having tried to travel by land, he gave up and decided to reach India by ship. However, during the voyage to Egypt, a storm washed away all his possessions, including the letters of recommendation. Not wishing to abandon his journey, Leborgne went to the British consulate in Egypt and met Sir Baldwin. After a number of discussions, he was advised to take service in the British East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, and he was given a letter of recommendation to this effect.
Military glory and fortune in India
In the late 18th century, the Moghul Empire was gradually collapsing. The British were triumphing over their Portuguese, French, and Dutch rivals in India, where all the countries had hastened to install trading posts. The British East India Company was the most powerful military and economic force and came to dominate India, including its princes. The British established a powerful colonial administration placed under the direct responsibility of the British Crown. Many Europeans benefited from the political confusion of India, offering their services as mercenaries to Indian princes and becoming rich merchants themselves. The Europeans had the advantage of military experience in the European wars, knowledge of arms production, especially cannons, and of new military strategies.Arrival in India; disappointment
In 1778, Leborgne arrived at the Indian port of Madras (now ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
). He was poor and to make a living, taught fencing. While teaching, he met a nephew of the British governor of the city, Sir Thomas Rumbold. He was offered a position as an officer in the 6th battalion of sepoy
Sepoy
A sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier in the service of a European power. In the modern Indian Army, Pakistan Army and Bangladesh Army it remains in use for the rank of private soldier.-Etymology and Historical usage:...
s, a troop of local inhabitants raised by the Company. He accepted, and gradually learned the local customs and began training the sepoys. He lived in Madras for four years, but became restless. He was ambitious, and decided to go to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
in the north of India, where the Moghul Emperor Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II , also known as Ali Gauhar, was a Mughal emperor of India. A son of Alamgir II, he was exiled to Allahabad in December 1759 by Ghazi-ud-Din, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah.Shah Alam II was considered the only and...
held court. The Marathas and Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
s were employing Europeans and giving them the command of their armies. The new governor, Lord MacCartney, gave Leborgne letters of recommendation to the governor of the province of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, in Calcutta, and Leborgne sailed there.
He met governor Warren Hastings, who approved his projects of exploration. Again he was given letters of recommendation, this time to Asaf-Ud-Dowlah
Asaf-Ud-Dowlah
Asaf-Ud-Daula was the nawab wazir of Oudh from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797, and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah, his mother and grandmother being the begums of Oudh, whose spoliation formed one of the chief counts in the charges against Warren Hastings.-Life:A contemporary chronicler describes...
, the Nawab of Oudh, in Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
. The rajah was a vassal of the British. In January 1783, Leborgne started his trip. He traveled through many extremely poor villages, learning about the culture and religion of India and noted the different Muslim and Hindu neighborhoods in various places.
Arrival in Lucknow
Image:PolierMartinWombwellZoffany.jpg|thumb|300px|Painting of Antoine-Louis Polier, Johann Zoffany, Claude Martin and John Wombwell.
rect 269 140 344 305 Claude Martin
Claude Martin
Major General Claude Martin was an officer in the French, and later the British, army in India. He rose to the position of Major General in the British East India Company...
rect 124 147 181 298 Antoine-Louis Polier
desc none
In Lucknow, Leborgne was received by the nabab Asaf-ud-Daulah and was invited to live with Colonel Pollier, in the service of the Company. As Middleton, an Englishman present when Leborgne met the nabab, explained to him afterward, this invitation was in fact an order; if he refused he would have been thrown in prison. Colonel Antoine Polier
Antoine Polier
Colonel Antoine-Louis Henri de Polier was a Swiss adventurer, art collector, military engineer and soldier who made his fortune in India in the eighteenth century.-Early life:...
, a Swiss, received him warmly. Leborgne discovered that Lucknow had many European residents. He met two who spoke French. The first, Claude Martin
Claude Martin
Major General Claude Martin was an officer in the French, and later the British, army in India. He rose to the position of Major General in the British East India Company...
, was from Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
s and had made his fortune in India; the second, Drugeon, was from Savoy like himself. The nabab gave Leborgne a kelat, richly decorated with gold and diamonds, along with letters of exchange for Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
and Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, and 12,000 rupees. The nabab kept Leborgne, with many others, as a privileged captive for five months. Polier explained to Leborgne that although he had been given the letters of exchange, he would have to be patient. While waiting, Leborgne began to learn Persian and Hindi.
He also changed his name at this time to sound more aristocratic. From then on he called himself de Boigne, inspired by the English pronunciation of his name (English-speakers could not pronounce the "r" correctly). Along with Claude Martin, his friend from Lyons, de Boigne occupied himself by selling silver jewelry, silk carpets, and arms enameled in gold. He also went tiger-hunting on elephant-back with Polier and the nabab.
Leaving Lucknow for Delhi. The emperor Shah Alam against the Marathas
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
in the company of Polier, who also had to go there for business. During the trip, de Boigne saw the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
and other Indian sights, including various smaller kingdoms and tribes. In Delhi, an Englishman named Anderson offered to get de Boigne an audience with Emperor Shah Alam, whose court was at the Red Fort. During this audience, de Boigne told the emperor about his proposal to seek new trade routes, but the emperor put off any decision ("We'll see"). De Boigne waited in Delhi, hoping for a favorable answer. However, circumstances were about to change. The day after the audience, an imperial edict gave Mahadji Sindhia the government of the provinces of Delhi and Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
. In other words, Sindhia became the imperial regent and the real power, while Emperor Shah Alam, without being deposed, was now only a figurehead. In 1790, de Boigne summarized Indian politics of the time:
"The respect toward the house of Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
[the Moghul dynasty] is so strong that even though the whole subcontinent has been withdrawn from its authority, no prince of India has taken the title of sovereign. Sindhia shared this respect, and Shah Alam [Shah Alam II] was still seated on the Moghul throne, and everything done in his name."
In the midst of these political upheavals, de Boigne met Armand de Levassoult, a European friend of Polier. Levassoult was in the service of Begum Joanna Nobilis (Begum Samru of Sardana, d. 1836), an influential woman respected by the emperor, but also by his Maratha adversaries. For a few days, de Boigne found himself in Delhi unable to go north, since the local administration did not give him permission. However, he met Levassoult again and Levassoult invited him to go to Sindhia's camp with him.
Doubted by Marathas, betrayed by Jaipur
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. He soon learned that this theft had been ordered by Sindhia himself, who wanted to know more about this suspect European. De Boigne, wanting revenge, decided to send a discreet message to Sangster in the besieged citadel and proposed an attack on the Maratha camp. But while he was waiting for the answer, he was called by an enraged Sindhia who had discovered the message. De Boigne had to explain that his act was a response to the theft of his baggage and letters of exchange.
Sindhia discussed with De Boigne about an expedition to the north of India and a resulting possible invasion by the Afghans. He then offered to de Boigne the command of the camp guard, which de Boigne refused. Vexed, Sindhia dismissed him without returning his precious papers. This misadventure showed de Boigne that his project of exploration was unpopular among Indians, and he decided to abandon it. His argument with Sindhia came to the ears of Sindhia's enemies, first to those of the Rajah of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
, who was looking for a European officer to form two battalions. De Boigne accepted the offer and returned to Lucknow to raise and train the troops. The British, suspicious, asked de Boigne to explain himself to Hastings, who, after hearing his intentions, allowed him to continue. Once the battalions were recruited and operational, de Boigne and his men started for Jaipur. However, en route they were stopped at Dholpur
Dholpur
Dholpur is a city in eastern-most parts of the Rajasthan state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur princely state, before Independence....
by a local petty lord whose fortress blocked the only passage. After they gave him a ransom, he allowed them to pass. This episode displeased the Rajah of Jaipur, who dismissed de Boigne without any compensation, while keeping the two new battalions.
In the service of the Maratha empire
Kalinjar
Kalinjar is a fortress-city in the Bundelkhand region of central India. Kalinjar is located in Banda District of Uttar Pradesh state, near the temple-city and World Heritage Site of Khajuraho. The fortress is strategically located on an isolated rocky hill at the end the Vindhya Range, at an...
in the region of Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...
. The rajah of this region ended up parleying with de Boigne, which allowed Sindhia to enter Delhi as its master. The Maratha chief named himself "Column of the Empire" and Prime Minister. His seizure of power led to many conflicts and betrayals.
Over the next few years there were many battles among Marathas, Moghuls, Rajputs and Rathore
Rathore
The Rathore is a Suryavanshi Rajput clan same caste as Lohana. Their Kuldevi is Nagnechiya Mata and "Karani Mata". Rathores are originally from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh. Rathores are historically considered the samurais of India...
s. At the battles of Lalsot
Lalsot
Lalsot is a city and a municipality in Dausa district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.-Demographics: India census, Lalsot had a population of 28,278. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Lalsot has an average literacy rate of 59%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male...
(May 1787) and of Chaksana (24 April 1788), de Boigne and his two battalions proved their worth by holding the field when the Marathas were losing. The year 1788 was especially turbulent. On August 10, Gholam Kadir had the Emperor Shah Alam's eyes torn out. On August 14, the Maratha army, allied with the army of Begum Joanna and of that of her old enemy Ismail Beg, entered Delhi, retaking the town it had once lost. Kadir escaped but was captured, and the Marathas killed him gruesomely, among other tortures putting out his eyes and cutting off his ears and nose. His corpse was then given to the emperor. Once more Mahadji Sindhia had triumphed and was now the true power in India. It was at this time that Benoît de Boigne proposed to Sindhia the creation of a brigade of 10,000 men in order to consolidate his conquest of India. Sindhia refused because his treasury could not afford it, but also because he had doubts about the superiority of the artillery-infantry combination, as opposed to the cavalry that had been the main weapon of the Maratha armies. This refusal caused a new dispute between the two men, and Benoît de Boigne resigned. Once more unemployed, he returned to Lucknow.
Commercial life and first marriage
Back in Lucknow, Benoît de Boigne found his old friends Antoine-Louis Polier and Claude Martin. Martin persuaded de Boigne to work with him in trade. His military skills were useful, for at the time, Indian trade routes were dangerous, and even warehouses in the cities were sometimes robbed. Claude Martin and Benoît de Boigne built a warehouse inside an old fort. It included saferooms and a trained armed guard to watch it. Quickly, this business became successful. De Boigne also carried on a trade in precious stones, copper, gold, silver, indigo, cashmere shawls, silks, and spices. He became rich and now owned a luxurious house with many servants, a wine-cellar, and valuable horses. At this time, de Boigne fell in love with a young woman from Delhi named Noor ("light" in Arabic). She was the daughter of a colonel in the Persian Guard of the Great Moghul, whom he had met to discuss a simple lawsuit. The same day, he asked the colonel for his daughter's hand in marriage. After a long discussion, the father accepted, even though de Boigne refused to convert to Islam as was normally required for the husband of a Muslim woman. De Boigne wooed Noor, who could speak perfect English. The wedding lasted several days, first in Delhi, with sumptuous feasts, then more simply in Lucknow. The couple had two children, a daughter born in 1790 and a son in 1791.A general in the service of the Maratha empire, with the title of jaghir
Jaghir
A jaghir was a governance bestowed on Indian regional governors by their emperors. The jaghir composed of a smaller district within the empire, and was managed by the regional governor, or Jaghirdar....
, a fief given for the lifetime of its holder, against a payment in return to the imperial treasury. At the death of its holder, the jaghir reverted to another deserving officer. The revenues from the jaghir allowed the officer to pay his men. Benoît de Boigne received the Doab
Doab
A Doab is a term used in India and Pakistan for a "tongue" or tract of land lying between two confluent rivers...
, a region of plains in Uttar Pradesh. This plain was covered with jungle and included several towns like Meerut, Koal and Aligarh. De Boigne had to use some of his savings to renovate this new land. He built a citadel and stores. The military camp built by de Boigne was very European. To work with the new brigade, he hired Drugeon from Savoy, Sangster from Scotland, John Hessing
John Hessing
John Hessing was a military officer who served in the armies of the Maratha Confederacy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He commanded 3000 Maratha regular troops in the Battle of Kardla, where the Maratha armies defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad on March 12, 1795...
, a Dutchman, as well as Frémont and Pierre Cuillier-Perron
Pierre Cuillier-Perron
Pierre Cuillier-Perron , French military adventurer in India, whose name was originally Pierre Cuillier, was born at Luceau near Château-du-Loir in France, the son of a cloth merchant....
, two Frenchmen, a German named Anthony Pohlmann
Anthony Pohlmann
Anthony Pohlmann was a Hanoverian soldier who served in the armies of the British East India Company and Daulat Scindia. Pohlmann arrived in India as a sergeant in a Hanoverian regiment serving the East India Company in Madras. He deserted his regiment in 1792 or 1793 and took employment in the...
and an Italian, Michael Filoze. The administrative and military language became French, and the flag of Savoy, red with a white cross, became the ensign of the new brigade. Because of his high rank, Sindhia obliged de Boigne to have a personal guard, and de Boigne chose 400 Sikhs and Persians. The brigade itself consisted of approximately nine battalions of infantry, each with its own artillery and baggage train. The brigade artillery included about fifty bronze cannons, of which half were big-caliber and transported by oxen, and the other pieces by elephants and camels. De Boigne's brigade also invented a weapon composed of six musket-barrels joined together. The brigade was supported by 3000 elite cavalry, 5000 servants, team drovers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and others. A novelty for India was the ambulance corps, in charge of rescuing wounded soldiers, including enemy soldiers. De Boigne also acquired a parade elephant named Bhopal. The brigade was ready in 1790.
Military campaigns and victories
Starting in 1790, the brigade had to face Rajputs, Ismail Beg, and the rajahs of Bikaner and Jaipur. De Boigne decided to attack this coalition by surprise on May 23. De Boigne demonstrated his military talent by gaining one victory after another. The West India Company began to become concerned about this new Maratha army, dangerous to their domination. Within six months of 1790, in a hostile, hilly terrain, de Boigne's brigade defeated 100,000 men, confiscated 200 camels and 200 cannons, many bazaars, and fifty elephants. The Maratha army attacked and took seventeen fortresses by siege. It won several decisive battles, among which the most difficult were the battles of PatanBattle of Patan
The Battle of Patan was fought on 20 June 1790 between the Maratha Confederacy and the Rajputs of Jaipur and their Mughal allies.-Background:...
, Mairtah, and Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...
. The Rajputs recognized the authority of Sindhia as prime minister. The Marathas were now the masters of northern and northwestern India. During these military campaigns, de Boigne continued his commercial association with Claude Martin from a distance. Sindhia, more powerful than ever, asked de Boigne to raise two more brigades. These were formed and their command was given by de Boigne to Frémont and Perron, assisted by Drugeon.
For a while, de Boigne could enjoy his new social position and the respect that his victories had won him, as well as the reforms which he had undertaken in his jaghir. But the calm was of short duration, and military campaigns started up again. The Marathas of central India became a threat. Due to internal differences, a new coalition of Holkar and Sindhia's enemy Ismail Beg, menaced the territory of Sindhia in northern India, and in spite of diplomatic negotiations and promises of imperial titles, there was a battle of Lakhari in 1793 between Holkar
Holkar
The Holkar dynasty , whose earliest known clan-man was Malhar Rao, who joined the service of the Peshwa in 1721, and quickly rose to the ranks of Subedar...
-Ismail Beg and Sindhia. De Boigne's brigades won and captured Ismail Beg, but his life was spared because de Boigne admired his brave spirit. De Boigne now attacked Holkar and after a fourth battle, the most exciting and dangerous, according to de Boigne, his troops won another victory. However, de Boigne was weary of war. The rajah of Jaipur, now in a position of weakness, preferred peace. De Boigne was rewarded by Sindhia with an enlargement of the jaghir, and also gave a jaghir to de Boigne's son, only an infant at the time.
Trusted by Maratha chiefs. European events
Sindhia had become the most powerful man in India, with many enemies. As they were not able to beat him militarily, the Maratha chief faced conspiracies, intrigue and treason. De Boigne was a faithful follower and Sindhia trusted him and made him a confidant. De Boigne now was running imperial affairs for Sindhia in north and northwestern India. The minister Gopal Rao, whose brother had been engaged in a famous plot with Nana Farnavis (Nana Fadnavis), came to Aligarh to visit de Boigne to show his loyalty to Sindhia. But while India was now a confederation under the Maratha authority, the situation in Europe was changing profoundly. The French Revolution had overturned the equilibrium in Europe, and also in Europe's colonial empires. On November 12, 1792, a Savoy assembly proclaimed its unity with France. Until 1815, de Boigne was now considered a Frenchman like any other. The brigades of the Maratha army under de Boigne's command were under European officers now divided by the political situation in Europe: one of the two French officers was a royalist and the other supported the revolution. De Boigne tried to keep his army out of European politics. He was more worried about the situation of Sindhia, who was still in Poona. Sindhia ordered him to send help, as he had to struggle against British intrigues, but also against those of Holkar and Nana Farnavis. De Boigne sent him 10,000 men under the command of Perron. Perron did not arrive in time. On February 12, 1794, Sindhia was killed in an ambush by Nana Farnavis. De Boigne remained faithful to Daulat Rao Sindhia, the nephew and legitimate heir of Sindhia. De Boigne soon realized that the political situation had changed. His ideal of India as a confederation of free states would never come to pass. Sindhia's successor was less capable than his predecessor. In 1795, after twenty years in India, and in worsening health, de Boigne left his command, installing Perron in his place, and prepared his departure for Europe. At the end of his career in India, he was head of an army of almost 100,000 men, organized on the European model. The Maratha confederation was therefore the last indigenous state of Hindustan to resist the British. In November 1796 de Boigne left India, accompanied by his family and his most faithful Indian servants. He sold his personal guard to the British, with the consent of his men, for a price equivalent to 900,000 GerminalGerminal
Germinal is the thirteenth novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. Often considered Zola's masterpiece and one of the most significant novels in the French tradition, the novel – an uncompromisingly harsh and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France...
gold francs.
Return to Europe and second marriage
Benoît de Boigne left for England, where he installed his household near London. Although he had been born a Savoyard, the Revolution had made him a Frenchman, and therefore a potential enemy of the British. His wealth and his letters of credit were held in abeyance at the bank. However, his military prowess was known to many British who had campaigned in India, some of whom had dined with him in India. This sympathy allowed de Boigne to take British nationality on January 1, 1798. The nationality was conditional upon his remaining in Britain or its colonies. Wishing to leave London, de Boigne acquired a house in the English countryside, in DorsetDorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
shire. He considered going back to Chambéry, his native town, but the political situation was too uncertain. He also thought of entering politics, but his position was not good enough for the British parliament, since the parties expected candidates to have gone to the best British schools, have well-connected friends, and also to have a wife who could carry on diplomatic conversation and organize parties and receptions. De Boigne had his family christened, and Noor became Hélène. Although his seat was in the country, he was near London and went there often. He met many French emigrants, all waiting to be able to go back to France. In 1798, de Boigne met a Mademoiselle d'Osmond, sixteen years old. He repudiated his first wife, who had not been able to adapt to British customs and had become more and more distant, returning to her Indian habits. De Boigne was now completely taken by his new love. Not being legally married to Hélène under British law, he agreed to give her alimony and engaged a tutor for their children. On June 11, 1798, he married Adèle d'Osmond.
Unhappy second marriage; discovery of France under the Consulate
His second wife, born in 1781, was an emigrant from a penniless, though noble, old family from NormandyNormandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. De Boigne did not reveal his own lowly origins before the marriage. He seems to have wished, after his adventurous life, to start a family and establish himself in Europe through the help of his wife's high-placed relations. But from the beginning, the marriage was not a success. De Boigne had a hard time adapting to European manners after so long in India, and the 30-year difference in age between him and his wife added to the difficulty. He was jealous. He also now took opium to assuage the pain of his dysentery, and his wife and her family claimed he abused it. During this period, France was under the Consulate, and many French emigrants returned to France. De Boigne decided to go back as well, and in 1802 he settled in Paris, where the consul Napoleon Bonaparte was enjoying great popularity. De Boigne's wife went back to live with her parents. On April 30, 1802, de Boigne discovered from Drugeon, who had stayed in India, that Perron had become an important person there, but that Perron was greedy for money and seized his friend's property to get de Boigne's money and accelerate its decline.
In Paris, de Boigne became friends with General Paul Thiébault, who asked him several times to meet Napoleon so that he could become an officer in the French army. However, de Boigne, who was now in his fifties, did not want to return to his former rank of colonel, under the orders of younger men. Although he refused, the offer was renewed. In 1803, Napoleon offered a new proposition to Benoît de Boigne. He asked him to take command of Russian and French troops who would reach India through Afghanistan and chase off the British. But nothing came of this. Benoît de Boigne bought the Château de Beauregard, La Celle-Saint-Cloud
Château de Beauregard, La Celle-Saint-Cloud
Château de Beauregard is a former house in La Celle-Saint-Cloud south-west suburbs of Paris, five kilometers north of Versailles.The name of the domain seems to have its roots in the Middle-Ages...
for his wife, and she moved in on November 2, 1804. The property was ceded to Francesco Borghèse, Prince Aldobrandini of the House of Borghese, on November 14, 1812, in exchange for a house in Châtenay (now Châtenay-Malabry
Châtenay-Malabry
Châtenay-Malabry is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.8 km from the center of Paris.The commune includes the valley la vallée aux loups with green forests and pretty houses including the estate of French writer Chateaubriand. It also includes the Butte...
).
Final return to Savoy
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born French nobleman, thinker, writer and politician.-Biography:...
.
Having returned from the isle of Réunion, Benoît de Boigne received the title of Field Marshal on October 20, 1814, and the Croix de Saint-Louis (Order of Saint Louis
Order of Saint Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis was a military Order of Chivalry founded on 5 April 1693 by Louis XIV and named after Saint Louis . It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, and is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles...
) on December 6. His wife was pleased. On February 27, 1815, Louis XVII gave him the Legion of Honor for services rendered as President of the Conseil général du département du Mont-Blanc. De Boigne was a fervent royalist, and ardent partisan of the Savoy government. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
, king of Sardinia and Savoy, gave him the title of Count in 1816, and Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.-Early life:...
conferred upon him the Grand Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is an order of chivalry awarded by the House of Savoy, the heads of which were formerly Kings of Italy...
. In 1814 and 1816 he was named General in France and in Savoy.
During the last years of his life, Benoît de Boigne occupied himself in managing his immense fortune. He bought much land in the vicinity of Chambéry and of Geneva, and also in the west of the modern département of Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
, including, in 1816, the château de Lucey. He spent much of his time on the development of his native city. He was a member of the city council of Chambéry in 1816. Although he no longer served in the military, he received the title of lieutenant-general in the armies of the king of Sardinia in 1822. On December 26, 1824, he was elected to the Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Belles-Lettres of Savoy, with the academic title "Effectif."
From 1814 until his death, de Boigne made many donations to the city of Chambéry, financing public and religious organizations, for welfare, education, and public works. He had no children with Adèle d'Osmond, so he made the decision to legitimize and naturalize his son Charles-Alexandre from his first marriage to Hélène (Noor). On June 21, 1830, Benoît de Boigne died in Chambéry. He was buried inside the church of Saint-Pierre-le-Lémenc. A funeral oration was given for him on August 19, 1830, in the metropolitan church of Chambéry, by the Canon Vibert, pro-vicar-general of the diocese and member of the royal academic society of Savoy.
Descendants of Benoît de Boigne
Charles-Alexandre de Boigne was born in Delhi, India in 1791. He married Césarine Viallet de Montbel in 1816. The marriage had been encouraged by his father. Césarine Viallet de Montbel was from a large Savoy family who had been parliamentarians and later ennobled. They had thirteen children. Charles-Alexandre, educated in England, had studied law, but spent most of his life as a minor courtier at the Savoy court, managing his land and inheritance. He was assisted by Thomas Morand, a Chambéry notary who had been chosen by Benoît de Boigne. Charles-Alexandre also had to liquidate the foundations and donations of his father. Charles-Alexandre died on July 23, 1853. His son Ernest acceded to the title. Ernest married Delphine de Sabran-Pontevès. Ernest de Boigne became captain of the firemen of the city of Chambéry, but soon became involved in politics. He was elected to the Savoy parliament, then became a deputy to the legislative body in 1860. He was twice reelected, as a conservative, in 1863 and 1869. He was decorated with the Legion of Honor.At the fall of the Second Empire, he lost his election in 1877. He became the mayor of Lucey. He died in 1895 at Buisson-Rond.Benefactor of Chambéry
He left a permanent fund of 6500 pounds yearly to the metropolitan church of Chambéry for, among other things, the choir. He gave a second fund of 1250 pounds to the Compagnie des nobles Chevaliers-Tireurs-à-l'Arc (Company of noble knight archers).
De Boigne gave many donations for charity, including giving beds to hospitals. He donated 22,400 francs for three hospital beds at the Hôtel-Dieu, a charity hospital, and later gave 24,000 francs for another four beds for poor, sick foreign travelers of any nation or religion. He paid 63,000 francs for the construction of various buildings at the Hôtel-Dieu of Chambéry, and gave a beggars' home the sum of 649,150 francs. He founded an old age home, the Maison de Saint-Benoît, which cost him 900,000 francs. He also paid for a place in the orphanage for 7300 francs, and ten beds at the charity hospital, for patients with contagious illnesses, who could not be admitted to Hôtel-Dieu. De Boigne also gave a trust fund of 1650 pounds a year, about 33,000 francs, to help poor prisoners every week with laundry and food. He gave another perpetual trust of 1200 pounds or 24,000 francs to the poor "shameful" of the city, to be distributed at their homes. Finally, he left a trust fund of 1200 pounds to the firemen of Chambéry to help the sick and wounded.
De Boigne gave 30,000 francs to build the church of the Capucins, and 60,000 francs to build a theater. Among his other numerous donations, two were important. One was 320,000 francs for various works, as well as the ownership without usufruct of the property of Châtenay. The second donation was for 300,000 francs to demolish the cabornes [stone huts] and open up a wide avenue across the city. He also gave 30,000 francs for the repair of the city hall and 5000 francs for the bell-tower of Barberaz.
De Boigne also gave four major donations to education. He gave 270,000 francs to reorganize the collège of Chambéry; he gave a trust fund of 1000 pounds a year, 20,000 francs, to the Société royale académique de Chambéry for the encouragement of agriculture, arts, and letters; he gave two trust funds of 150 pounds apiece, or 3000 francs, to the Frères des Écoles chrétiennes (Brothers of Christian Schools) and to the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Both of these groups gave a free education to children, the first to poor children, the second to girls.