Louis-Armand-Constantin de Rohan, ''Chevalier de Rohan'' and ''Prince de Montbazon'', (6 April 1732 – 27 July 1794) was a French naval officer of the eighteenth century.

Life

Louis-Armand-Constantin was the fifth of seven children of Hercule Mériadec, ''Duc de Montbazon'' and Louise Gabrielle Julie de Rohan-Soubise, daughter of Hercule Mériadec, Prince de Rohan, head of the

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...

of the House of Rohan. Louis-Armand-Constantin was a member of the senior branch of the

House of Rohan The House of Rohan ( br, Roc'han) is a Breton people, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan (commune), Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët ...

, a powerful French family which claimed descent from the sovereign

Dukes of Brittany This is a list of rulers of the Duchy of Brittany. In different epochs the sovereigns of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary r ...

, in right of which it held the rank of ''

prince étranger ''Prince étranger'' (English: "foreign prince") was a high, though somewhat ambiguous, rank at the French royal court of the ''Ancien Régime''. Terminology In medieval Europe, a nobleman bore the title of prince as an indication of sovereignty, ...

'' at the French court. Rohan joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

and was the captain of ''Raisonnable '' at the

action of 29 April 1758 The action of 29 April 1758 was a naval engagement fought in the Bay of Biscay near Brest between a British Royal Navy squadron and a single French Navy ship of the line during the Seven Years' War. In an attempt to support the garrison of Loui ...

, at which his ship was captured in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

by HMS ''Dorsetshire '' during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. In 1764, after the war, he was promoted to ''

Chef d'escadre ''Chef d'escadre'' (; literally "squadron commander") was a rank in the French Navy during the Ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. The rank was changed to '' contre-amiral'' by a law passed on 15 May 1791. History The first chefs ...

'' and in 1766 was appointed governor of

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

. In 1768 he was engaged in quelling a revolt by the French colonists in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

. In 1770 de Rohan was promoted to Navy

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 ...

and the following year married Louise Rosalie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, daughter of

François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil (17 April 1686 – 7 January 1743 in Issy) was a French nobleman. He was minister for war twice under Louis XV. He was also chancelier, garde des sceaux de la Maison de la reine and commander, provost ...

. He was an active

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. At the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Rohan was promoted to vice-admiral in the Levant Fleet, based at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, but his actions at Saint-Domingue in 1768 and 1769 had attracted controversy and he was repeatedly refused colonial and command postings. Following 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 considere ...

of 1789, towards which he was openly hostile, he left the Navy, and in 1794, after refusing to prove his allegiance to the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

he was condemned by a

Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal (french: Tribunal révolutionnaire; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. It eventually became one of the ...

and executed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

on 27 July. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohan, Louis-Armand Constantin de 1732 births 1794 deaths French Navy admirals French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution Louis-Armand Constantin Governors of Saint-Domingue