Flotte du Ponant
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The ''Flotte du Ponant'' was the designation under the
Ancien Regime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word fo ...
for the naval vessels of the Royal French Navy in the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
,
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and
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
, the latter principally in the
French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label= Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe ...
and
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
. The fleet carried out operations such as asserting naval supremacy and protecting convoys. Its counterpart was the Levant Fleet, based in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
.


Arsenals

The ''Flotte du Ponant'' was created by
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
(A former
Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
of the Kingdom in 1629). The fleet initially had three principal bases:
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
, Arsenal of Brest and
Hiers-Brouage Hiers-Brouage () is a former commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Marennes-Hiers-Brouage. History Brouage was founded in 1555 by Jacques de Pons on the Bay o ...
. Under
Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
, the arsenal of Brest was the principal base, supported by the arsenals of Rochefort and
Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...
. Under
Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
the military port of
Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...
was developed, with some elements only were recently completed on the outbreak of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
.


Flagships

The fleet flagship was the most powerful ship at Brest. A number of different ships served in this role during the fleet's existence: * '' Soleil Royal'', launched in 1669, flagship at the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690, burnt in 1692 following the
Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...
. * '' Soleil Royal'', launched in 1692, scuttled at the
siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-S ...
in 1707, broken up in 1714. * '' Foudroyant'', launched in 1724, broken up in 1743. * '' Soleil Royal'', launched in 1749, burned after the
Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...
in 1759. * ''Royal Louis'', launched in 1759, broken up in 1772. * '' Bretagne'', launched in 1776, flagship at the Battle of Ushant in 1778, renamed the ''Révolutionnaire'', broken up in 1796. * '' États de Bourgogne'', launched in 1790 as ''Montagne'', then renamed ''Peuple'', then ''Océan'', flagship at the
Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
, the
Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place near the island of Groix off the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 ( 5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the ...
, the
Saint-Domingue expedition The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to regain French control of the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domin ...
and the
Battle of the Basque Roads The Battle of the Basque Roads, also known as the Battle of Aix Roads (French: ''Bataille de l'île d'Aix'', also ''Affaire des brûlots'', rarely ''Bataille de la rade des Basques''), was a major naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars, fought in th ...
, broken up in 1859.


Vice-admirals

The first commander of what became the ''Flotte du Ponant'' was Aymar de Clermont-Chaste-Gessans, who was appointed Vice-admiral of ''Les Mers du Ponant''. The command of the Levant and ''du Ponant'' fleets were entrusted on 12 November 1669 to two vice-admirals. The vice-admirals of the ''du Ponant'' fleet were: {, border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:left; border-collapse:collapse;" , - bgcolor=#efefef , Name, , Portrait, , Tenure, , Note , - , Jean II d'Estrées
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
d'Estrées
(1624-1707), , , , 1669–1707, , Tenure at age 45 until his death in 1707 , - ,
Victor-Marie d'Estrées Victor-Marie d'Estrées, Duke of Estrées count then duke (1723) of Estrées (30 November 1660, Paris – 27 December 1737, Paris) was a Marshal of France and subsequently known as the ''"Maréchal d'Estrées''". Biography Son of Marshal Jea ...

(son of Jean II d'Estrées)
(1660-1737), , , , 1707-1737, ,
Tenure at age 46 until 1737 , - ,
Marquis d' Antin
(1709-1741), , -, , (1737-1741), ,
Tenure at age 28 until 1741 , - ,
Count de La Luzerne
(1665-1746), , -, , (1741-1746), , Tenure at age 79 until 1746 , - , Claude-Élisée de Court de La Bruyère
(1666-1752), , -, , 1750-1752, , Admiral aboard the ''Terrible'' in 1744, flying the flag of a Lieutenant-General of the naval forces
Vice-Admiral tenure at age 84 in 1750 until 1752 , - , François-Cornil Bart
(son of Jean Bart)
(1677-1755), , , , 1752-1755, ,
Tenure at age 75 , - ,
Count de Cresnay
(1693-1756), , -, , 1755-1756, , Tenure at the age of 62 until 1756 , - , Jean-Baptiste Mac Nemara
Irish descendant
(1687-1756), , -, , 1756-1756, , Tenure at age 66 and died the second day after his nomination , - ,
Hubert de Brienne Hubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans (1690, in Paris – 27 January 1777, in Paris) was a French naval commander. Early life The son of Henri Jacob marquis de Conflans and Marie du Bouchet, at 15 he was made a knight of the Order of Saint ...

Count de Brienne
(1690-1777), , -, , 1756-1777, ,

Tenure at age 66 until 1777 , - , Joseph de Bauffremont
(1714-1781), , , , 1777-1781, ,
Tenure at age 63 until 1781 , - , {{ill, Paul-Hippolyte de Beauvilliers, fr, Paul-Hippolyte de Beauvilliers (1712-1788)
Marquis de La Ferté-Saint-Aignan
(1712-1788), , -, , 1781-1788, ,
Tenure at age 69 until 1788 , - , Pierre-Antoine de Raymond, bailli d'Éoux, , -, , 1788-1792, , Tenure at age 82 until 1792 , - Although Jean II d'Estrées commanded the fleet during the battles of the reign of Louis XIV, his successors were too old to have likely served at sea. In practice, the squadrons at sea were under officers with the rank of
Lieutenant général des Armées navales Lieutenant général des Armées navales was a naval rank in the French Navy during the ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. History Cardinal Mazarin created the rank of Lieutenant général des Armées navales in 1652, as an immediate ...
.


Naval administration

Naval administration was under the authority of a Secretary of the State in 1626, the same year
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
was designated as grand master of navigation. The two fleets were combined in 1642, then split in 1661. The two fleets were administered by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the country ...
after 1662, during his tenure as intendant of finance and state minister, then secretary of State in 1669. A secretary of state held responsibility for the navy thereafter, until the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
. The state secretary of the navy was the administrator responsible for the French royal naval fleet and the civilian naval component, the commercial trade fleet. The secretary therefore administered both naval fleets and merchant fleets, the naval bases, the diplomatic consulates, the
colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
and the
French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...
. Other departments and bureaux were added to fleet administration over time. * archive department, 1669; * consulate bureau of Ponant, 1709; * colonies bureau, 1710; * class bureau, 1711; * department for maps and plans, 1720; * consulate bureau of the Levant, 1738, which merged in 1743 with the consulate bureau of Ponant under the designation of commerce and consulates bureau. These different bureaux and departments were regrouped in four grand directorates by Marshal
Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix de Castries, marquis de Castries, baron des États de Languedoc, comte de Charlus, baron de Castelnau et de Montjouvent, seigneur de Puylaurens et de Lézignan (25 February 1727, Paris – 11 January 1801, W ...
in 1786. During the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, the ''Flotte du Ponant'' was renamed the "Atlantic Squadron" (''Escadre de l'Atlantique''), and then the "Ocean Fleet" (''Flotte de l'Océan'').


External links


Hubert Granier, ''La Pensée Navale Française dans la Première Moitié du XVIIe Siecle (1600-1661)''
Navy of the Ancien Régime Naval fleets Military units and formations disestablished in 1792