Rolande, Grand Bélesta

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Rolande de Telois-Montgiscard
Le Grand Bélesta
Delfim da Câmara - D. Pedro II. 1875.jpg
Duke of Bélesta
Reign27 April 1841 - 16 May 1905
PredecessorRolande IV, Duke of Bélesta
SuccessorRolande VI, Duke of Bélesta
Born10 March 1823
Died16 May 1905(1905-05-16) (aged 82)
Burial
HouseTelois-Montgiscard
FatherRolande IV, Duke of Bélesta
MotherPrincess Marie-Thérèse
ReligionSolarian Catholicism

Rolande de Telois-Montgiscard, Duke of Bélesta (10 March 1823 – 16 May 1905), known as the Great Bélesta (Gaullican Le Grand Bélesta), and the Old Viceroy (Gaullican: l'ancien vice-roi) was a Gaullican noble notable for serving as Viceroy of Astérie Inférieure for nearly six decades. He was born in Leonior in 1823, to Rolande IV, Duke of Bélesta and Princess Marie-Thérèse, sister of Louis VII, making him a first cousin of the future emperor Albert III. Upon his father's sudden death in 1841 he inherited his titles and the position of Viceroy of Gaullican Asteria Inferior, which had been de facto hereditary for the House of Telois-Montgiscard since 1651.

Unlike his predecessors Rolande took an active interest in his position as Viceroy, which had previously been a largely ceremonial rank. Under Louis VII the Gaullican colonies Asterias underwent serious reforms, with Louis and his ministers aiming to renovate the archaic governance largely unchanged since the early 17th century, and serious conflict had arisen, such as in Satucin with the Amicable War. He took part in the 1845 negotiations which ended the conflict, abolished slavery in Satucin, and established the Dominion of the Satucins. He served three consecutive terms as Governor-General from 1845 to 1871, and two more non-consecutive terms, from 1875 to 1877, and 1891 to 1895.

Rolande is credited with taking a colony on the verge of collapse, and establishing the foundations for it to become Gaullica's most populous, industrialised, and economically prosperous dominion. He was an avid supporter of the idea of a Third Solaria in Satucin; that through Consortium imperii Gatôn would become the capital of a Gaullican-Solarian empire in the east to compliment Verlois and the empire in the west.