Jean II d'Estrées

Jean, Comte d'Estrées, (3 November 1624 in Solothurn, Switzerland – May 19, 1707 in Paris), was a Marshal of France, and an important naval commander of Louis XIV. He was born to a noble family from Picardie. His aunt was Gabrielle d'Estrées, lover of King Henry IV of France.

Like his father François Annibal d'Estrées, also Marshal of France, Jean pursued a military career from a very young age. He became a colonel at 23, a maréchal de camp at 25 and a lieutenant general at 33.

He fought in the Battle of Lens (1648) under the grand Condé. After that he fought under Turenne in Lorraine in 1652 - 1653 and then in Flanders. He was made prisoner at Valenciennes in 1656.

He was loyal to the Royal family during the Fronde.

In 1668 he joined the new French Navy at the request of his friend Colbert. There his patron was the Duke de Beaufort. He rose through the ranks very fast, thanks to the influence of his family name, becoming a Vice-Admiral, and then Marshal of France in 1681.

His first campaign was in the Caribbean. He returned four times, becoming the French naval specialist in the region.

During the Franco-Dutch War, he was put in command of the French fleet which would fight alongside the English fleet against the Dutch. He participated on board the Saint Philippe in the Battle of Solebay in 1672 and the next year on the la Reine, in the Battle of Schooneveld and the Battle of Texel.

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