''Roland'' was an 64-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

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 ...

, launched in 1771.

Career

From 1773 to 1775, ''Roland'' was the flagship of the Second voyage of Kerguelen. After it returned, its leader,

Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec Rear-Admiral Yves Joseph Marie de Kerguelen-Trémarec (13 February 1734 – 3 March 1797) was a French Navy officer. He discovered the Kerguelen Islands in 1772 during his first expedition to the southern Indian Ocean. Welcomed as a hero after h ...

, was

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

led in Brest on 15 May 1775 by a

council of war A council of war Anne Antoine, Comte d'Aché Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

for transporting 200 slaves on ''Roland'' from

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

to sell in French colonies in defiance of Louis XV, who had issued regulations ordering French Navy officers not to trade in slaves. At the court-martial, his defence lawyer minimised Kerguelen's slave-trading activities by stating that it was only "Eight or nine negroes that the pilot’s assistant bought on Kerguelen’s behalf". Although several other naval officers, many of whom were stationed at

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

, had traded in slaves, he was found guilty on 25 May 1776 and sentenced to six years imprisonment. Juges, Esclaves et Négriers en Basse-Bretagne ''Roland'' took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778 under Gilart de Larchantel.

Fate

''Roland'' was destroyed in an accidental fire in Brest on 22 February 1779, along with the nearby frigate ''Zéphyr''.

Citations

References

* * * * (1671-1870) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roland (1771) Ships of the line of the French Navy 1771 ships Artésien-class ships of the line Maritime incidents in 1779 French slave trade