Suffren de Saint-Tropez, Pierre André de

Suffren de Saint-Tropez, Pierre André de (pyĕr äNdrā` də süfrĕn` də săN-trôpā`), 1726–88, French admiral. He participated in naval warfare in the War of the Austrian Succession and in the Seven Years War. In 1779 he was sent with the comte d'Estaing to aid the American Revolutionaries, and two years later he began his famous cruise to the East Indies. He attacked the English at the Cape Verde Islands, saved the Dutch colony at Capetown from English capture, and then began his campaign against the British navy in India under Sir Edward Hughes. Suffren seriously impeded British operations, fighting five major battles in 1782–83. Each ended in a virtual draw, which was a considerable achievement for the French against the British fleet of that day.