Jean Armand de Maillé, 2nd Marquis of Brézé

Jean was born in Milly-le-Meugon, in one of the most powerful French families of the time; his father was Urbain de Maillé, Marquis of Brézé, Marshal of France, and Nicole du Plessis.^[1] His uncle was Cardinal Richelieu, King Louis XIII's renowned minister, and his brother-in-law, Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, (better known as the le Grand Condé), was the First Prince of the Blood.

Thanks to his uncle, at the age of seventeen, Jean received the title of grand-maître de la navigation (Grand-master of Navigation),^[2] a new title created by King Louis XIII for Cardinal Richelieu and equivalent to Grand Admiral of France.

One of the leading figures in the Eighty Years' War, Jean won a victory at the battle of Cádiz near Cádiz (20 July 1640),^[3] and then seized Villafranca. In 1641, he arrived in Portugal to help in the Portuguese Restoration War against Spain. In 1642, Jean fought at the Battle of Barcelona against the Spanish forces near Barcelona, and Battle of Cartagena on 3 July 1643. He was killed on 16 June 1646, during the Battle of Orbetello.^[3]

His remains were buried in the church of Milly le Meugon, abutted to the castle walls.

Three ships were named in his honour: see French ship Maillé Brézé

• 46-gun ship of the line Brézé (1646-1665) [1]
• Maillé-Brézé (named Brézé until January 1931), a Vauquelin class destroyer destroyed in the accidental explosion of one of her torpedoes on 30 April 1940 in Greenock, Scotland
• Maillé-Brézé (D627), T 47 class destroyer, presently a museum