Albin Reine Roussin was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 and statesman.

Republic and Empire

His father was a lawyer who was arrested during the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 when Roussin was aged twelve. He left home in Dijon

Dijon

Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....

 and travelled to Dunkerque where he enlisted as a cadet in the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

 in December of 1793. He served from 1794 to 1797 on various frigates. In 1801 he sat and passed the midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

s exam following to lessons from the hydrographer Jean Petit-Genet.

His first posting as an officer was to command a gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 at Antwerp, part of the "National Flotilla" of coastal ships, collecting in various Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 ports for Napoleon's projected invasion of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. By 1803 he was promoted to ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 and embarked aboard the frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 Sémillante

French frigate Sémillante (1792)

The Sémillante was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was involved in a number of multi-vessel actions against the Royal Navy, particularly in the Indian Ocean. She captured a number of East Indiamen before the she became so damaged that the French disarmed her and...

under the command of Captain Léonard-Bernard Motard

Léonard-Bernard Motard

Léonard-Bernard Motard was a French naval officer and eventually contre-amiral.Motard enlisted in the French Navy in 1786. He was promoted to ensign in 1791, to lieutenant in 1793, and to capitaine de frégate in 1797...

. They would spend six years in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, based on Réunion

Réunion

Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

, preying on British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 shipping bound to and from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

The worn-out Sémillante was paid off at Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 in 1808 after sustaining damage in a fight with the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 frigate Terpsichore. Roussin was promoted to lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 and posted to the corvette Iéna

French corvette Revenant

Revenant was a 20-gun privateer corvette designed by Robert Surcouf for commerce raiding. She was later requisitioned for service in the French Navy, and was renamed Iéna, but was subsequently captured by and served in the Royal Navy as HMS Victor...

. A cruise in the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 and the Bay of Bengal

Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...

 ended when the Iéna encountered the 46-gun Royal Navy frigate Modeste off Calcutta and was captured after a two-hour engagement on 8 October 1808. Roussin and his captain, Lieutenant Maurice, were exchanged at the end of 1809 and returned to Réunion. Roussin was appointed second in command to Bouvet de Maisonneuve

Pierre François Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve

Pierre François Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve was a French admiral.Born in Saint-Benoît, Réunion, to a family of sailors, Bouvet started sailing at the age of 12 on the Nécessaire. He was midshipman at 17 on the frigate Aréthuse...

 aboard the frigate Minerve, a prize taken by Guy-Victor Duperré

Guy-Victor Duperré

Guy-Victor Duperré was a French admiral, Peer of France and thrice Naval Minister....

. Roussin received a mention in Bouvet's dispatches for his conduct during the battle of Grand Port

Battle of Grand Port

The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy. The battle was fought during 20–27 August 1810 over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France during the Napoleonic Wars...

 in August 1810. However, the French success at Grand Port was only a temporary setback to British plans to conquer Mauritius and Réunion, and Governor Comte Decaen

Comte Decaen

Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen , born in Caen, became a French general who served during the French Revolutionary Wars, as Governor General of Pondicherry and Mauritius and as commander of the Army of Catalonia during the Napoleonic Wars.-French Revolution:Before the French Revolution Decaen served...

 finally signed a capitulation in December.

Roussin was repatriated to France where he met the Emperor, who confirmed his promotion to Captain and presented him with the légion d'honneur

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

. Roussin was posted to command the frigate Gloire fitting out at Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

. After training, he cruised in the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 from December 1812 to April 1813, taking fifteen prizes, including two sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

s.

Bourbon rule

Under the restored monarchy

Bourbon Restoration

The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon  – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...

 of Louis XVIII, Roussin was promoted again and made a Chevalier de St Louis. When Napoleon returned to power during the Hundred Days

Hundred Days

The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...

, he was dismissed, but returned to service when Louis XVIII was again restored.

Following the infamous wreck of the Medusa

Medusa (ship)

The Méduse was a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1810. She took part in the Napoleonic wars, namely in the late stages of the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 and in raids in the Caribbean....

off the Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 coast in 1816, Roussin was given the task of surveying the African coast from Senegal to Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

 by Minster of Marine Count Molé. Following this, he surveyed the mouth of the River Amazon in 1819. He was made a Baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 in 1820. In 1821 he took a squadron to South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, ostensibly to protect French trade, but with secret instructions to seek a quarrel with the forces fighting for independence from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 led by Simón Bolívar

Simón Bolívar

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

, Bernardo O'Higgins

Bernardo O'Higgins

Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme was a Chilean independence leader who, together with José de San Martín, freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile , he is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder...

 and José de San Martín

José de San Martín

José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...

. Returning to France in 1822, he was promoted to Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

. From 1824 until 1827 he served in administrative posts ashore.

Roussin returned to sea in May 1828, flying his flag aboard the ship of the line Jean Bart. He led a squadron to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 to persuade, through gunboat diplomacy

Gunboat diplomacy

In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....

 if need be, the Brazilian Emperor Pedro I to pay compensation for French ships captured by the Brazilian Navy during the Argentina-Brazil War

Argentina-Brazil War

The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...

. He arrived off Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 on 5 July 1828 and simply sailed into the harbour, ignoring the guns at the entrance, anchoring off the city. After saluting the Brazilian flag, he requested and received an audience with Emperor Pedro where the damages to be paid to French shipowners were agreed. On his return to France, Roussin was congratulated for solving the problem by diplomacy, and was appointed by King Charles X

Charles X of France

Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...

 to the honorary post of Gentleman of the bedchamber

Gentleman of the Bedchamber

A Gentleman of the Bedchamber was the holder of an important office in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Description and functions:...

.

On 25 January 1830 he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences

French Academy of Sciences

The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...

 in recognition of his work on geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

 and navigation

Navigation

Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...

. He would later serve as member of the Bureau studying longitudes. Later in 1830 he turned the offer of commanding the naval force which supported Bourmont

Louis-Auguste-Victor, Count de Ghaisnes de Bourmont

Louis-Auguste-Victor, Count de Ghaisnes de Bourmont emigrated from France soon after the outbreak of the French Revolution. A lifelong royalist, he fought with the counter-revolutionary Army of Condé for two years, then joined the insurrection in France from three more years before going into exile...

's attack on Algiers

French rule in Algeria

French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...

.

Louis-Philippe

The July Revolution

July Revolution

The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...

 which brought Louis-Philippe to the throne, unlike the return of Napoleon in 1815, did not interrupt Roussin's career. he was given responsible for personnel at the Navy Ministry, in which post he oversaw the creation of the École Navale

École Navale

The École Navale is the French Naval Academy in charge of the education of the officers of the French Navy.The academy was founded in 1830 by the order of King Louis-Philippe...

 at Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

.

He served as Minister of Marine from 1 March 1840 to 29 October 1840 and again from 7 February 1843 to 24 July 1843 when he retired due to ill-health

Family

Roussin married in 1814 with Illumante Bihet Pontigny. They had two daughters and a son, Albert, who was later an admiral and also served as Minister of Marine.