Olivier Aranda

Olivier Aranda serves as a Lecturer in modern history at the University of Brest, affiliated with the Breton and Celtic Research Center (CRBC, EA 4451). His academic focus centers on naval and maritime history during the French Revolutionary era, with specialized attention to mutinies, the French Navy, and Atlantic colonial dynamics.

Aranda completed his doctoral thesis in 2023 titled La marine de la République à Brest et dans l'Atlantique : direction politique, stratégie, opérations 1792-1799 under the supervision of Pierre Serna and Pierrick Pourchasse. His research examines the intersection of naval operations, political decision-making, and social upheaval during revolutionary conflicts, particularly within Brittany's strategic port of Brest.

His scholarly work reveals consistent emphasis on naval mutinies as political phenomena, the operational challenges of the French Atlantic fleet, and the ideological framing of maritime combat. Publications demonstrate methodological breadth spanning institutional analysis, historiographical critique, and micro-historical case studies of specific engagements like the Battle of Prairial Year II (1794).

• Prix d'histoire militaire 2024 (awarded by DMCA/Ministry of Armed Forces) for doctoral thesis

While no formal advising or grant activities are documented, Aranda actively disseminates research through academic channels and public engagement, including a 2024 podcast appearance on The Napoleonic Quarterly discussing the Battles of Algeciras. Within CRBC, he contributes to research axes 1 (Instruments et figures de l'identité) and 3 (Conscience(s) du maritime), focusing on maritime identity formation and historical consciousness in naval contexts.