Joseph Potier

Joseph Potier (5 May 1768, Saint-Malo — 10 November 1830 ) was a French privateer and slave trader. He was one of the lieutenants of Robert Surcouf.

Early life Joseph Potier was born to a family of low nobility of Saint-Malo. His mother was a descendant of Robert Surcouf de Maisonneuve, a Breton privateer. With this rank, he served as first officer on the Aimable-Rose, under Captain de La Coudraie. she captured a number of prizes

Exchanged, Potier returned to Brest, where he re-entered the Navy. On 23 September 1800, he was released from duty. The following year, he enlisted as first officer on the three-masted merchantman Courrier de l'Ile de France, under Captain Duval; when she arrived at Port Louis, Duval gave command of the ship to Potier for a cruise to Batavia, and return to Mauritius.

In February 1807, Surcouf enlisted Potier as first officer on his new privateer Revenant. Surcouf gave Potier command of the ship on 2 April.

In late April, as Revenant was completing her preparations and plotting her route, a prize taken by the privateer Adèle gave news of the new war between France and Portugal; she also brought intelligence about the Conceçáo-de-Santo-Antonio, a 64-gun ship of the line armed en flûte in Goa, bound for Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon. Potier put a prize crew under First Lieutenant Fonroc on Conceçáo, and returned to Mauritius one month later with his prize.

Potier left Revenant, which was sent back to Saint-Malo en aventurier with colonial goods. |group=note Diamant arrived off Bordeaux on the 23rd, where a storm forced Potier to have his masts cut down to save his ship; he finally arrived in Bordeaux harbour on the 25th.

Carrying slaves in the Bourbon Restoration During the Bourbon Restoration, Portier armed the slave ship Africain, on which he ferried slaves from Guinea to Martinique.