Robert le Frichot des Friches, sieur de Clodoré was a French governor of Martinique from 1665 to 1667. He was an energetic and effective leader during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, in which France was an ally of the Dutch from the start of 1666. He used Caribs as auxiliaries, and helped take several islands in the Antilles from the English.
Early years
Robert le Frichot des Friches, sieur de Clodoré, served for many years in the king's armed forces. He became a captain in the marine regiment, then major of Calais and governor of Cardonne (Cardona?) in Catalonia. At the time of his appointment as governor of Martinique he had spent 25 or 26 years in the service and more than 18 as captain, then major and governor.
Peacetime governor of Martinique (1665–66)
Clodoré was named governor of Martinique on 11 October 1664. He was appointed by the newly formed French West India Company (Compagnie des Indes Occidentales). He left La Rochelle on 14 December 1664 with a fleet of four vessels: the 24-gun flagship Harmonie, the Saint-Sébastien, Mercier and the 16-gun frigate Suzanne. The fleet also carried two commissioners-general of the company, a lieutenant of the king and the company's general agent de Chambré. It stopped at the Portuguese islands of Cape Verde, where de Chambré landed to greet the governor. The Mercier separated from the fleet and was the first to arrive in Martinique. When he heard of its arrival the governor general Tracy at once left Guadeloupe and came to Martinique to confer with his officers.
Clodoré arrived on 20 January 1665. He was accompanied by his wife, their servants and several Jesuit priests. He succeeded Jean Dyel du Parquet, sieur de Clermont. On 19 February 1665 Clodoré and Chambré, in the presence of Tracy, formally took possession of Martinique in the name of the West Indies Company. The next day Tracy and Chambré left for Guadeloupe, where they performed the same ceremony. Clodoré had to deal with discontent or even revolt by the settlers, who demanded lower taxes and customs duties, lower prices for imports and lower transport fees. They also protested against the exclusive principle under which that they could trade only with France.
The nearby island of Dominica, still under the control of the original Carib inhabitants, was disputed between the French and the English. A document from late 1665 or early 1666 was signed by the English governor Francis Willoughby, Robert de Clodoré and included the statement, "That the [1660] treaty ... concerning the Caribs will continue in force in Dominica so as not to take it over without the other's consent." The subsequent war had the effect of making most Caribs side with the French. The French missionaries, traders and administrators had generally avoided mistreating them, and the French militia had earned their respect, while Willoughby's aggressive action against the Caribs in Saint Lucia had turned them against the English.
Second Anglo-Dutch War (1666–67)
Early operations
On 26 January 1666 Louis XIV of France declared war on England as an ally of the Dutch in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Word of the start of hostilities reached Clodoré in Martinique on 19 March 1666. He started to improve the island's defenses, and recruited a company of black rebels as extra militiamen. The French administrators of the Antilles islands were told to act defensively, while Willoughby got ready to attack. The French proved much better prepared for war, and with the energetic leadership of Clodoré and others such as Charles de Sales of St. Christophe they achieved a string of victories. Willoughby left Barbados on 18 June 1666 intending to join forces with his brother William, governor of Barbados. His fleet was caught in a hurricane and Willoughby was lost. In August 1666 French planters from Grenada captured Tobago.