Jean-Baptiste de Gennes

Jean-Baptiste de Gennes, comte d'Oyac
Governor of Saint Christophe
In office
1698–1702
Preceded byCharles de Pechpeyrou-Comminges de Guitaut
to 1690, then British rule
Succeeded byBritish rule
Personal details
Bornc. 1656
Guérande, Loire-Atlantique, France
Died15 February 1705
Plymouth, England
OccupationNaval officer

Jean-Baptiste de Gennes, comte d'Oyac (c. 1656 – 15 February 1705) was a French naval officer who is known as an early French explorer of the Straits of Magellan. He was the last governor of the French colony of Saint-Christophe on the West Indian island now called Saint Kitts. After he surrendered the island to the English during the War of the Spanish Succession he was tried and found guilty of cowardice. He died before his appeal to this verdict could be heard. He was also an inventor, and among other devices invented a power loom driven by a mill wheel.