Louis Lazare Hoche

Louis Lazare Hoche , 1768-97, French general in the French Revolutionary Wars. He entered the army at the age of 16 and rose rapidly to lieutenant in the national guard by 1792. In 1793, after his successful defense of Dunkirk, he became a brigadier general and was given command of the army of the Moselle. In 1793, he drove the Austrians across the Rhine and was appointed division general. Accused of treason by his rival, General Pichegru, Hoche was imprisoned in 1794. After his release, he was given the command in the Vendée . He pacified (1795) that province, but his attempted invasion of Ireland (1796) was thwarted by bad weather. In 1797 he defeated the Austrians at Neuwied.

Seychelles. These islands in the Indian Ocean were first marked on Portuguese charts in 1502 but not settled by whites until 1742 when Lazare Picault took possession of them for the French East India Company. They were named in 1756 after Louis XV's finance minister Moreau de Sechelles. The French developed ‘secret’ spice plantations on them to undercut Dutch monopolies. In 1810 they were captured by the British and retained at the peace of Paris. They were administered along with Mauritius until 1872 when they became separate under their own governor and council. The Republic of the Seychelles came into existence on 27 June 1976.

David Anthony Washbrook