Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

François-Louis Rousselet, marquis de Châteaurenault (1637 – 15 November 1716) was a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. In his youth, he fought in the

Battle of the Dunes (1658) The Battle of the Dunes (, ), also known as the Battle of Dunkirk, took place on 14 June 1658, near the strategic port of Dunkirk in what was then the Spanish Netherlands. Part of the Franco-Spanish War and concurrent Anglo-Spanish War, a Fre ...

against the Spanish. In 1661 he joined the French navy and distinguished himself in the conquest of

Jijel Jijel (), the classical Igilgili, is the capital of Jijel Province in north-eastern Algeria. It is flanked by the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Corniche Jijelienne and had a population of 131,513 in 2008. Jijel is the administrative and trad ...

under

François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort (16 January 1616 – 25 June 1669) was the son of César, Duke of Vendôme, and Françoise de Lorraine. He was a prominent figure in the Fronde, and later went on to fight in the Mediterranean. He is sometim ...

(23 July 1664). In 1672 he became captain of his own ship and fought in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

against the pirates from

Salé Salé (, ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Along with some smaller nearby towns, Rabat and Salé form together a single m ...

. In 1673 he led a squadron in the North Sea and fought

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...

in 1675. In 1677, along the Spanish coast and with only six ships, he withstood an attack by a fleet of 25 Dutch ships under Cornelis Evertsen the younger. During the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

(War of the League of Augsburg), he landed a French army in Ireland after beating Admiral Herbert in the

Battle of Bantry Bay The Battle of Bantry Bay was a naval engagement fought on 11 May 1689, a week before the declaration of the Nine Years' War. The English fleet was commanded by Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, Admiral Arthur Herbert, created Earl of Tor ...

. One year later, after the failure of this expedition, he evacuated the French army as well as 18.000 Irish. He then fought in the naval

Battle of Beachy Head (1690) The Battle of Beachy Head, also known as the Battle of Bévéziers, was a fleet action fought on 10 July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. The battle was the most significant French naval victory over their English and Dutch opponents during the ...

and the Battle of Lagos (1693). He was made vice-admiral in 1701, and commanded the French fleet during the

Battle of Vigo Bay The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande (; ), was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish ...

(1702). His

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

was ''La Forte'', which was burnt during the battle. He became

governor of Brittany This page is a list of royal governors of Brittany during the Ancien Régime. *Nominoe (841-851) *Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy (1380–1397) *Jean de Laval, Mayenne, Laval, husband of Françoise de Foix (1528-1554) *Jean IV de Brosse (1554-1565) * ...

in 1704. He was made a member of the

Order of the Holy Spirit The Order of the Holy Spirit (; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost) is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France. It should not be c ...

on 2 February 1705. On 7 September 1684 he had married Marie Anne de La Porte, vicomtesse d'Artois and dame de Crozon (1661–1696). His only son, Louis Emmanuel, also pursued a career in the French Navy. A number of ships of the

French navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

have been named ''Châteaurenault'' in his honour. Further, a street in Rennes has been named after him.

References

External links

Documents maritimes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rousselet, Francois Louis De, Marquis De Chateaurenault 1637 births 1716 deaths French Navy admirals French marquesses Chateaurenault Marshals of France French military personnel of the Nine Years' War French military personnel of the Franco-Dutch War