A royalist insurgent or guerrilla fighter during the French Revolution, particularly from the Vendée region of western France.
From French chouan, possibly derived from a nickname or the call of an owl (chouette), used as a code signal by Vendée royalists during the 1790s revolts against Republican forces.
These were French peasants fighting against the Revolution—they apparently used owl calls (chouette) to signal each other, so the name 'chouan' might literally mean 'owler,' which is delightfully sneaky!
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