History in Brest: The corsair of Kervallon, a character shrouded in mystery

Born in Brest on December 29, 1746, Jean-François Riou was the ninth of thirteen children of a wine merchant, a lucrative business if ever there was one. Having become Riou-Kerhallet to avoid being homonymous with another notable, he bought from the Marquis du Fayet, on December 2, 1788, the estate of Kervallon on the right bank of the Penfeld for the considerable sum of 15,000 pounds.

On this land located on the edge of the town and the military port, he established, in addition to his home, a complete port with stores, mills, tannery and a slipway at each end. It has a fleet of forty shipswhich he sends to all the seas of the world to stock up on raw materials, and supplies the navy with various goods, notably boots for sailors.

During the Revolution and under the Empire, he distinguished himself as a privateer owner, one of whom captured four million francs worth of goods!

His merits are recognized in high places, to the point that he obtains the rare privilege of going down the Penfeld to reach the harbor or return to his home in town.

A character shrouded in mystery

After his death on January 7, 1827, the army tried to recover the port of Kervallon without compensation: his widow and his son sued the navy and won in 1835. Many mysteries remain concerning the life of Jean-François Riou-Kerhallet, but it’s also what we don’t know that makes him an unusual character. As for the Kervallon estate, only a few ruins today bear witness to the intense activity that reigned there.

Benoit Quinquis

Sources :- Bruno Calvès, Brest secret and unusualLes Beaux Jours, 2019;- Conference organized by the Mémoire de Saint-Pierre association delivered on April 13, 2024;- Dominique Derrien, The happy races of Jean-François Riou-Kerhallet, The Iroise Notebooks n° 242, 2024.

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