Jean Bart was born in Dunkirk on 21 October 1650. At that time the town was going through a turbulent phase; French since 1646, it returned to Spain in 1652 before being placed under English rule in 1658 and then was finally bought back by France in 1662.
Attracted by the higher salaries offered by the United Provinces (Holland) at that time an ally of France, Jean Bart, enlisted as a midshipman on board the ship of an exceptional commander, Admiral de Ruyter.
However, in 1672, he returned to Dunkirk when Louis XIV declared war on the United Provinces.
He was given command of larger and larger ships before being recruited into the French Royal Navy where he gave excellent service to the kingdom.
This skillful man had no equal when it came to dodging through the sandbanks off Dunkirk and escaping the vigilance of the British and the Dutch who soon called him 'Louis the Great's greatest pirate’.
Protecting the port was one of Jean Bart's most important tasks.
After an 18th century engraving. Port Museum Collection.
Ennobled by Louis XIV in 1694 and promoted to command the port in 1699, Jean Bart died in Dunkirk of pleurisy on 27 April 1702 at the age of 52. He left behind the memory of a peerless sailor and a brilliant fighter, ready to accomplish the most varied missions his king sent him on.
Arrival of Jean Bart in Dunkirk after the Texel Battle. Oil painting by Amédée de Taverne, 1840. Port Museum Collection.