François de Casembroot [SEP] place of death
François de Casembroot
François de Casembroot (Liège, 26 July 1817 – The Hague, 14 April 1895) was an officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Casembroot was named Commander of the 16-gun warship "Medusa", which patrolled the Japanese coast from 1862 to 1864. On July 11, 1863, the ship was attacked in the Strait of Shimonoseki by the ships and the batteries of the "daimyō" of Chōshū, Mōri Takachika, who was following an Imperial "Order to expel barbarians" (攘夷実行の勅命 – "
, despite warnings from the crew of the "Kienchang", with whom they had rendezvoused earlier, the 16-gun Dutch warship "Medusa" cruised into Shimonoseki Strait. Her skipper, Captain François de Casembroot was convinced that Lord Mori would not fire on his vessel due to the strength of his ship and longstanding relations between the Netherlands and Japan. But Mori opened fire, pounding "Medusa" with more than thirty shells and killing or wounding nine seamen. De Casembroot returned fire and ran the rebel gauntlet at full speed, fearful