Gabriel DeClieu
Encyclopedia
Gabriel-Mathieu d'Erchigny de Clieu (region of Dieppe
, France, ca. 1687 – Paris, 29 November 1774), naval officer, was the governor of Guadeloupe
from 1737 to 1752 and the founder of Pointe-à-Pitre
. He was awarded the rank of commander of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis.
De Clieu is celebrated for his claim to have introduced coffee
to the French colonies of the Western Hemisphere in the 1720s and his support for its cultivation.
in 1720. According to de Clieu's account, water was rationed on the voyage, and he shared his ration with the seedlings. The story is repeated in many histories of coffee. However, a recent history points out that though it may well be true that de Clieu brought a seedling to Martinique, and perhaps even that he shared his water ration with it, coffee was already growing in the Western Hemisphere: in the French colony of Saint-Domingue
since 1715 and in the Dutch colony of Surinam since 1718.
, France are currently working a museum to commemorate the legend of DeClieu.[9-Stewart Lee Allen, The Devil's Cup, New York: Ballantine, 1999, 158.]
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
, France, ca. 1687 – Paris, 29 November 1774), naval officer, was the governor of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
from 1737 to 1752 and the founder of Pointe-à-Pitre
Pointe-à-Pitre
Pointe-à-Pitre is the largest city of Guadeloupe, an overseas région and département of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a sous-préfecture, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Pointe-à-Pitre....
. He was awarded the rank of commander of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis.
De Clieu is celebrated for his claim to have introduced coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
to the French colonies of the Western Hemisphere in the 1720s and his support for its cultivation.
Introduction of Coffee to Martinique
The story of de Clieu's introduction of coffee comes from his account in the Année littéraire of 1774. According to this account, he arranged to transport a coffee plant (or perhaps several) from the greenhouses of the Jardin royal des plantes (which had originally received two plants from Holland in the 1710s) to MartiniqueMartinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
in 1720. According to de Clieu's account, water was rationed on the voyage, and he shared his ration with the seedlings. The story is repeated in many histories of coffee. However, a recent history points out that though it may well be true that de Clieu brought a seedling to Martinique, and perhaps even that he shared his water ration with it, coffee was already growing in the Western Hemisphere: in the French colony of Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
since 1715 and in the Dutch colony of Surinam since 1718.
Museum
De Clieu's descendants in DieppeDieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
, France are currently working a museum to commemorate the legend of DeClieu.[9-Stewart Lee Allen, The Devil's Cup, New York: Ballantine, 1999, 158.]