Joseph Romain-Desfossés (8 December 1798 – 25 October 1864) was a French naval officer and politician. He was appointed Minister of the Navy and Colonies on 31 October 1849.

Life

Family and Childhood

Joseph Romain-Desfossés was born in

Gouesnou Gouesnou (; br, Gouenoù) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. International relations Gouesnou is a satellite town of Brest. Gouesnou is twinned with the town of Brecon in Powys, south Wales enablin ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

, on 8 December 1798. His grandfather was a French naval officer and his father started his career as a midshipman and ended it in the XIXe century as a

Capitaine de Frégate The rank insignia of the French Navy (french: Marine Nationale) are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Until 2005, only commissioned officers had an anchor on their insignia, but enl ...

. Romain Desfossés married Hortense Desfossés, born as Hortense Guillou, a daughter of a merchant from

Landerneau Landerneau (; br, Landerne, ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the mouth of the Elorn River which divides the Breton provinces of Cornouaille and Léon, east of Brest. The name is from ...

. They lived in Landerneau and later at Kérérault Manor in

Plougastel-Daoulas Plougastel-Daoulas (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department, located in the administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Plougastel-Daoulas are called ''plougastels'' in French. Breton language The ...

Career in the French Navy

He joined the ''Cassard'' at the age of nine, becoming a midshipman second class. At twelve years of age he joined the gunboat commanded by his father, a naval lieutenant, serving for several years. He became a sub-lieutenant in September 1819 and lieutenant in December 1828. He was attached to the staff of Admiral Jean-Baptiste Grivel, maritime prefect at Brest. Romain-Desfossés was made captain of the corvette ''la Loire'' on 10 April 1837. He made a cruise in the Levant, as second captain of ''L'Iéna'', and accompanied the

Prince of Joinville The first known lord of Joinville (French ''sire'' or ''seigneur de Joinville'') in the county of Champagne appears in the middle of the eleventh century. The former lordship was raised into the Principality of Joinville under the House of Guise ...

in 1838 in the Bombardment of San Juan de Ulúa. Him and the Prince developed a friendship and the two stayed friends until their deaths. Confirmed as captain on 31 July 1841 he was commander-in-chief of the Madagascar station from 1844 to 1847. He concluded an advantageous treaty with the Imam of

Muscat and Oman The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman ( ar, سلطنة مسقط وعمان, Salṭanat Masqaṭ wa-‘Umān), also known briefly as the State of Muscat and Oman () during the rule of Taimur bin Feisal, was a sovereign state that encompassed the prese ...

, and made a naval demonstration against Madagascar. On his return to France, on 27 September 1847 he was appointed Commodore. Romain-Desfossés was a Major General of the Navy in Brest when he was elected on 13 May 1849 to represent Finistère in the Legislative Assembly. He was among the majority. On 31 October 1849 he was appointed Minister of the Navy and Colonies by the President

Louis Napoleon Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. When in post he voted an indemnification for slaves owners who were dispossessed. He voted for the island of

Nuku Hiva Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as ''Île Marchand'' and ''Madison Island''. Herman ...

as a place of deportation. On 9 August 1850 he was made a Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. He left the ministry in January 1851 when Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte relieved

General Changarnier Nicolas Anne Theodule Changarnier (26 April 1793 – 14 February 1877), French general, was born at Autun, Saône-et-Loire. Educated at Saint-Cyr, he served for a short time in the bodyguard of Louis XVIII, and entered the line as a lieut ...

of his functions of Commander of the National Guard. Desfosses then became commander of the Levant squadron. He became vice-admiral on 11 June 1853, a member of the admiralty board and chairman of the naval works committee. On 20 March 1855 he was appointed senator. In February 1858 Romain-Desfossés received

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and Napoléon III at Cherbourg. During the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

in 1859 he commanded the squadron of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic. After this campaign he bombarded

Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...

in Morocco to avenge an insult to the flag. He was promoted to admiral on 9 July 1860. Joseph Romain-Desfossés died in Paris on 25 October 1864. He is buried in

. https://www.ouest-france.fr/bretagne/landerneau-29800/landerneau-sous-les-tombes-du-cimetiere-les-gloires-du-passe-se-cachent-6591475

References

Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Romain-Desfosses, Joseph 1798 births 1864 deaths Admirals of France French politicians