East–West Street
Surcouf Street
Also known as: Rue Surcouf
Named after: Robert Surcouf (1773-1827), French privateer from Saint-Malo who raided British East India Company shipping in the Indian Ocean (1773–1827)
Welcome to Surcouf Street, named after Robert Surcouf, the French privateer from Saint-Malo who terrorised British East India Company shipping in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars. He never set foot in Pondicherry, but he sailed these waters. The street that carries his name leads you straight to the beach, past guesthouses and restaurants that make it one of the most pleasant corners of the White Town.
Robert Surcouf (1773-1827) was born in Saint-Malo, the Breton port that produced more privateers than anywhere else in France. He went to sea at thirteen and by his mid-twenties was commanding his own vessels in the Indian Ocean, preying on British merchant shipping under letters of marque from the French government. His base was the Île de France (now Mauritius), his hunting ground the Bay of Bengal and the sea lanes between India and Europe.
His most celebrated action came in October 1800, when he captured the Kent, a heavily armed British East India Company vessel of 38 guns carrying 437 men. Surcouf's corvette La Confiance mounted 18 guns and carried 200. He took her anyway, in a boarding action that became famous across France. When a captured British officer reportedly told him that the French fight for money while the English fight for honour, Surcouf replied: each man fights for what he lacks most.
He retired from privateering in 1807 and returned to Saint-Malo, where he became a successful merchant and shipowner. He died in 1827, celebrated as the King of Corsairs. He never came to Pondicherry, but he sailed the same waters that lapped this shore, raided the same Company whose trading empire this city once challenged, and earned a street in a French colonial town that understood exactly what he represented.
Today this is one of the most pleasant streets in the White Town: a short run lined with guesthouses and restaurants, leading you east toward the beach and the Promenade.
Notable on this street
- Robert Surcouf was born in Saint-Malo in 1773, went to sea at thirteen, and became France's most celebrated privateer in the Indian Ocean.
- His most famous capture: the Kent, a British East India Company vessel of 38 guns and 437 men, taken by his 18-gun corvette in 1800. He boarded her with 200 men.
- When a captured British officer said the French fight for money and the English for honour, Surcouf replied: each man fights for what he lacks most.
- He never came to Pondicherry. His street is here because he sailed the same waters, raided the same Company, and embodied the French maritime spirit the White Town celebrated.
- The street leads east to the beach. Follow it to the end for the Promenade and the Bay of Bengal.
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