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Major-General Claude Martin (5 January 1735 – 13 September 1800) was a French army officer who served in the French and later British East India companies in colonial India. Martin rose to the rank of major-general in the British East India Company's Bengal Army. Martin was born in Lyon, France, into a humble background, and was a self-made man who left a substantial lasting legacy in the form of his writings, buildings and the educational institutions he founded posthumously. There are now ten schools named after him, two in Lucknow, two in Kolkata and six in Lyon. The small village of Martin Purwa in India was also named after him.
In 1751 at the age of 16 Martin decided to seek his fortune abroad, and he signed up with the French Compagnie des Indes. His mother is reported to have said that he should not return from enlisting as a soldier until he was "in a carriage". Sunday, 26 November 2000 accessed July 2007 He was posted to India where he served under Commander and Governor Joseph François Dupleix and General Thomas Arthur Lally in the Carnatic Wars against the British East India Company. When the French lost their colony of Pondichéry in 1761, he accepted service in the Bengal Army of the East India Company in 1763, ultimately rising to the rank of Major General.
He was initially employed at the then-new Fort William in Calcutta, Bengal, and afterwards on the survey of Bengal under the English Surveyor General James Rennell. In 1776, Martin was allowed to accept the appointment of Superintendent of the Arsenal for the Nawab of Awadh, Asaf-ud-Daula, at Lucknow, retaining his rank but being ultimately placed on half pay. He resided in Lucknow from 1776 until his death. It was the 'Reign of Terror' during the French Revolution that prevented him from returning "in a carriage". His friend, Antoine Polier, gave up his wives and children, as he left India to return France. Polier was stabbed to death in a criminal assault during the aforesaid revolution. Martin never formally gave up his nationality as a Frenchman, but definitely intended to, towards the end of his life, as he sought promotions in the Bengal Army.
Beginning with the French East India Company he was quick to realise the changing power dynamics and chose to build his army career with the British East India Company. He was recognized for his military talents and got important experience in various military encounters. His administrative acumen was also well known and it was his reputation that made Shuja-ud-Daula the Nawab of Awadh to request for his services at Lucknow.
His service at the court of Nawab together with supplementary aids to the company during the attack on Tipu Sultan at Seringpatnam shows that his strategic skills remained intact even in his later years. He was promoted to the ranks of Colonel (in 1793) and Major General (in 1795) being an extraordinary case, since no alien soldier in the Company Army was allowed to rise above the rank of Major.
His architectural skills were much in demand at Lucknow and his nearness to Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula gave him a unique opportunity to participate in the making of modern Lucknow. Martin moved to Lucknow almost at the same time when Asaf-ud-daula shifted the Capital to Lucknow. Asaf-ud-daulah and Claude Martin became chief architects of the city of Lucknow. Raj Bhavan (Hindi for 'Government House') is the official residence of the governor of Uttar Pradesh. Raj Bhavan used to be called Kothi Hayat Baksh. Major General Claude Martin drew the layout of the building in 1798 after Nawab Asaf-ud-daula, the East India Company made Sadaat Ali Khan its new ruler. The new ruler liked the buildings designed by Claude Martin. The contract for the construction of Kothi was undertaken by Martin as requested by Saadat Ali Khan.
Some of the buildings of Lucknow which have Martin's distinctive touch are: Farhad Baksh, Asafi Kothi, Bibiapur, Barowen and of course the Constantia.
Most of Martin's buildings were unique and were copied extensively by other designers keeping in mind their defence against military attack.
Martin's love of art can be seen not only in his acquisition of art, but also in the design of his houses, his friendship with noted artists like Renaldi, William HodgesRosie Llewellyn-Jones A Man of the Enlightenment in Eighteenth-century India: The Letters of Claude Martin, 1766–1800 p. 96 accessed July 2007 and Johann Zoffany (who included him in at least two paintings). In a number of cases he used local artists to create work in the style of European artists. His walls were decorated with neo-Greek Wedgwood style decorations, his paintings were by Mughal-trained artists and the statues above his palace were mostly clever reproductions in the style of two European statues.
Later, Martin's life was mired in controversy as he had kept two wives of Colonel Polier's, after Polier had departed from India. It is obvious however that he cared for his favourite mistress Boulone, and she is the subject of a painting by Johan Zoffany in 1795 which is still at La Martiniere Boys' School in Lucknow today.William Dalrymple [4] accessed August 2024
Renaldi is possibly the sculptor for a copper and silver medal (30 mm in diameter) issued by Nawab Asaf-uddula, which bears Martin's image and his motto. On the reverse side it says in Persian:
All the furnishings and treasures of Constantia, as well as those from Martin's first Lucknow house, the Farhat Baksh, were auctioned on his death, as he had requested. The great chandeliers were bought for the Government House (now Raj Bhavan) in Calcutta, where they still hang, but the majority of his collection was dispersed to private buyers.
This favourable set of circumstances catapulted Martin into the upper crust of Lucknow and he had to conform to the social mores of a contemporary society. Given his unconventional views (as revealed in his ) this transition must have been not too difficult. He most probably enjoyed his role as a nawab.
He gave regular parties for the British as well as the nawabi aristocracy and participated with gusto in the social and cultural activities of Lucknow.
He had a city residence (the Farhat Baksh) and a country palace, the Constantia. He had other properties in Lucknow, Kanpur, Bhazipur and Benaras as well, from which he derived a substantial income.
Keeping his last will and testament in view he was a kind master, concerned about the welfare of his staff and servants.
Martin was quick to realize the importance of indigo farming and invested in this profitable enterprise in several parts of North India. He exported indigo and cloth to Europe in exchange for Spanish dollars. Martin also started a cannon foundry, introduced a Dutch method of cutting diamonds, made gunpowder, and coined rupees.
Allan Sealy in his historic novel Trotter-nama The Trotter-Nama: A Chronicle, (New York: Knopf, 1988; London: Penguin Books, 1990; New York: Viking Penguin, 1990) features this aspect of Claude Martin.
"I give and bequeath the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand rupees for to be placed at Interest in the most secure manner possible in the East India Company or Government papers bearing interest and that interest to be employed for the poor first having divided this Interest in three portions or parts one – for the relief of the poor of Lucknow of any religion – for the poor of Calcutta – for the relief of the Poor of Chandernaggur".
Claude Martin's ideas on education are reflected in the following extract from his writings:
Though his will had not mentioned any ethnic or religious restrictions on those who would be allowed to apply to the institutions of learning, the La Martinier College in Calcutta (after thirty years of litigation) only permitted European and Armenian Christians to apply. Coming about due to changing attitudes towards race among the Company administration in India, the school only permitted Indian students (of any religious denomination) to apply in 1935.
Chandan Mitra in his book Constant Glory has this self-introspective analysis from Martin:
As Nawab
During Martin's stay in Lucknow, he acquired significant wealth as part of the ruling ; he was in charge of the state arsenal, designed and constructed many buildings, and acquired vast tracts of land.
As banker and businessman
Claude Martin was an astute businessman with a diversity of interests. He was well known for his financial skills, and it was said that he never ran after money, but made it come to him. Part of his immense fortune came from the bank he started at Lucknow.Mesrovb Jacob Seth Armenians in India: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day : Work of Original Research p. 562 Published 1992 Asian Educational Services He loaned money to the Nawab of Awadh, the largest loan being for the sum of £250,000 in 1794, which he apparently retrieved with difficulty.
As self-surgeon
Apart from being a self-made man, Martin was an amateur scientist and a doctor of sorts. He seems to have suffered from in his urinary tract and in 1782, despite excruciating suffering, he successfully attempted a primitive and unorthodox form of lithotripsy (breaking the stones via a waxed-wire insertion up the urethra). Martin sent details of the operation to the Company of Surgeons in London and, notwithstanding initial scepticism among bladder surgeons, it appears to have been accepted as the first recorded operation of its kind.
As hot air balloonist
Claude Martin's wide interests included hot air balloons, and he was instrumental in introducing a Montgolfier to the Nawab and aristocracy of Lucknow in 1785, less than two years after its flight in France.
As philanthropist
Martin was a charitable person and philanthropist by heart as is reflected in the following excerpt from his :
As educationist
Of all the European adventurers in India, Claude Martin is singular in that he left the greater part of his wealth to a variety of charities. Being almost entirely self-educated, he realised the value of formalised education and willed a major part of his fortune to the creation of three institutions of learning in Kolkata, Lucknow and in his birth town of Lyon in France which are all named La Martiniere College. All three schools all celebrate Founder's Day on 13 September, the anniversary of Martin's death.
Personal life
Martin never married but, as a nawab, he had close and long relationships with several mistresses, which was the normal practice in that era. His favourite mistress was a girl called Boulone (c.1766–1844), who was some thirty years younger than Martin. He had bought her as a young girl aged nine. Martin always claimed that they lived happily together, but Boulone must inevitably have harboured feelings of jealousy when Martin introduced younger mistresses into the household. Boulone is commemorated in a small gilt-framed painting in the Blue Room of La Martinière. She is pictured next to a young boy named James Zulphikar, who was said to have been adopted by Martin. Both figures are dressed in 18th-century Indian costume, and Boulone is holding a fishing rod. Boulone is buried in a purpose-built Muslim tomb in the grounds of the college. It is here that a few rupees are given out once a month to the poor people of Lucknow, in accordance with the instructions in Martin's will. An article by the Lucknow historian Ms. Rosie Llewellyn-Jones in Taj magazine" accessed June 2007
Martin on himself
Claude Martin has had his admirers and detractors. He was indeed a complex person. Part adventurer, part polymath, part colonial agent, part lover of Oriental life, but how did Claude Martin view himself?
Epitaph
Claude Martin died on 13 September 1800 at the Town House, Lucknow. According to his last wishes, he was buried in the vault specially prepared for his remains in the basement of Constantia in Lucknow. The inscription on his tombstone reads:
Further reading
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Categories: 1735 Births, 1800 Deaths, Military Personnel From Lyon, Articles Containing Image Maps, British East India Company Army Generals, La Martinière College, 18th-century French Explorers, 18th-century French Businesspeople, Founders Of Indian Schools And Colleges, Mercenaries In India, French Emigrants To India, French Emigrants To The British Empire, Immigrants To British India
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