| FRENCH EXPLORERS - EXPLORATEURS FRANCAIS |
Text from http://www.france.net.au/site/presse_info/af/expl.html
The voyages of discovery of French explorers throughout the Pacific are well documented, but perhaps less well known is the French involvement in charting the coastline of Australia. The influence of French explorers in charting Australia's coastline is reflected in the many French place-names that are to be found, especially in Western Australia and Tasmania.
The earliest account of the discovery of land in the Southern Oceans was given by a Frenchman, Bigot Paulmier de Gonneville from Normandy. In 1504 Gonneville claimed that he was swept off course in the "Espoir", away from the Cape of Good Hope, and was forced to land in an unknown country, which he named "Terre Australe". He stayed for six months, after which he returned to France, with the son of a native king.
He apparently lost his journals during a pirate attack, but gave an account to French naval authorities. Without accurate navigational aids, the location of "Gonneville Land" remained subject to doubt.
In 1756, fourteen years before James Cook sighted Eastern Australia, a French philosopher, Charles de Brosses, published a two volume book, "Histoire des navigations aux terres australes", the most important work of its kind. It summarised all the information then obtainable about the region, as well as narrating the explorations of Tasman and Dampier. The voyage of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville to the South Seas was undertaken under the influence of the work of de Brosses.
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville was the commander of the first French expedition to the Pacific, leaving Nantes on November 15, 1766. He had previously fought in the war against England in Canada. With the loss of many of France's possessions, Bougainville decided to finance and lead an expedition to colonise the Falklands. He founded the settlement of St Louis, only to have Spain claim the Falklands as they were geographically part of South America. To make matters worse, the French government asked him to return there to effect the transfer of sovereignty. However, he was also asked to continue on to the Pacific and around the world. The French government ensured that the expedition was well equipped as it was not only to be a voyage of exploration, but also a scientific one. Bougainville was placed in command of the frigate "Boudeuse" and the store ship "Etoile" . After sailing through the Strait of Magellan, they entered the Pacific on January 26, 1768. On the night of June 4, 1768, the ships narrowly escaped being wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef. Bougainville has the honour of being the first European to arrive off the east coast of Australia. He was also the first French naval captain to circumnavigate the world.
In 1769, after Bougainville's triumphant return to France, another French expedition set out for the Pacific. After hearing a rumour that an Englishman had found Terra Australis, the fifth continent and a land of wealth, Jean-François-Marie de Surville left Pondicherry, a French settlement in India, in the "S. Jean-Baptiste", but failed to make any significant discoveries.
Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne sailed from Port Louis in what is now Mauritius with the intention of returning Ahu-toru, the Tahitian whom Bougainville had taken to France. However during Ahu-toru's stay on the island he contracted smallpox and died three weeks out to sea. Marion du Fresne decided to return to the Cape of Good Hope for provisions and then search for the Great Southern Land with his ship the "Mascurin" and the warship "Marquis de Castries". On January 22, 1772 he discovered the Arid Islands, later to be renamed the Crozet Islands, after du Fresne's second-in-command, Julien Crozet, and on March 3 he sighted Van Diemen's Land. They followed Tasman's route and anchored in what they believed to be Fredrick Henry Bay. However, the coastline at the time had not been fully explored and it is now believed to be Blackman's Bay where they anchored. Marion du Fresne's party was the first French contact with the Tasmanian Aborigines. However, there was some disappointment with the two expeditions as little was gained from them.
In 1772, an expedition led by Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Tremarec left Ile de France (Mauritius) in search of the elusive continent. The expedition comprised the "Fortune", captained by Kerguelen, and the "Gros Ventre", under the command of François-Alesno de St Allouarn. Kerguelen thought that he had discovered Australia when they sighted what is now called Kerguelen Island, thousands of kilometres from Australia. Before they could land, the ships were separated by a storm, with Kerguelen heading back for Ile de France, thinking that he had discovered the continent. St Allouarn continued north-westwards and reached Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia in March 1772. He then sailed north to Shark Bay, where he buried an Act of Possession, claiming possession of the west coast of New Holland for the King of France. The expedition's results were not followed up in France, as Kerguelen died in Mauritius on the return journey.
The next French expedition was led by Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de la Pérouse. This was organised due to the interest of King Louis XVI in the voyages of Captain Cook. He decided to send a voyage that would rival Cook's achievements. On August 1, 1785, La Pérouse left the port of Brest in Brittany.
After more than two years at sea La Pérouse surveyed Norfolk Island on January 13-14, 1788. He then had his first sighting of Australia on January 23. He and his party arrived at Botany Bay on January 26, where they encountered the First Fleet and received a friendly welcome.
Having already decided that Botany Bay was unsuitable for settlement, the British fleet sailed on to Port Jackson, leaving Botany Bay to the French. They set up a camp on the northern shore, which is now known as the suburb of La Perouse in Sydney. They stayed six weeks and left Botany Bay on March 10, 1788, never to be seen again.
Concern over the fate of La Pérouse led to Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux being sent to investigate. The other aim of d'Entrecasteaux's voyage was to explore the southern coast of New Holland as well as Van Diemen's Land. On April 21, 1792 d'Entrecasteaux and his party aboard "La Recherche" and "L'Espérance" arrived in Van Diemen's Land, anchoring in a harbour he called Recherche Bay. He charted part of Tasmania and the western Australian coast from just south of Cape Leeuwin to Termination Island. He failed, however, to find any trace of La Pérouse.
The most important French voyage commenced when, in 1798, Napoleon ordered an exploratory expedition to the South Seas, to be led by Nicolas Baudin, commanding the "Géographe", and Jacques-Félix-Emmanuel Hamelin taking command of the slower "Naturaliste". The expedition left Le Havre on October 19, 1800.
The French government spared no expense on the expedition. Baudin received 20 copies of the chart of Bass Strait prepared by Matthew Flinders, proving that Tasmania was separated from the mainland, 20 copies of the chart prepared for d'Entrecastreaux, other charts and manuscripts, as well as books covering the voyages of La Pérouse, Vancouver and others. The organisers of the expedition appointed 22 scientists, the largest scientific team yet to leave Europe for the Pacific. The ships sighted Cape Leeuwin on May 27, 1801. The two ships continued north along the western Australian coast. However, they became separated and did not meet up again until they arrived in Kupang in Timor. Baudin then headed for Van Diemen's Land where he charted the east coast which, at the time, had not been completely surveyed. This also included a study of Tasmanian Aborigines: the Nuenonne of Bruny Island, the Lylequonny of Recherche Bay, the Tyreddene of Maria Island and the Pydairrerme of the Tasman Peninsula. With much of the crew of both vessels ill, Baudin decided to send the "Naturaliste" home with some of those in bad health. He then purchased a schooner, the "Casuarina", in Port Jackson to replace the "Naturaliste" . With Louis de Freycinet in command of the "Casuarina", the expedition headed south to King Island in Bass Strait. The expedition spent several weeks around King Island, the Hunter Islands, and Kangaroo Island, where scientists gathered a great quantity of specimens. The two ships were separated for much of the time, with Louis de Freycinet taking his schooner across to the mainland to confirm that neither the Spencer Gulf nor St Vincent's Gulf offered seaways through to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Baudin returned to Ile de France on August 7, 1803, but died on September 16 the same year from illness contracted during the voyage. Baudin charted over 600 kilometres of Australia's coastline that had previously remained undiscovered by Europeans.
The work of Baudin's scientists in observing Australian Aborigines and detailing indigenous flora and fauna contributed greatly to the knowledge of Australia. Originally 400 names were given to ports and bays, particularly along the route he followed in Western Australia.
On September 17, 1817 Louis de Freycinet left the port of Toulon in command of the . Uranie. on a scientific mission with the objectives of measuring the globe's southern hemisphere, observing magnetic and meteorological phenomena, as well as reporting on natural history and the customs, products and languages of native peoples.
The expedition stopped at Rio and Mauritius before leaving for Australia and arriving at Shark Bay on September 12, 1818. They carried out botanic and scientific observations as well as sending a party to Dirk Hartog Island until September 26. During this time they encountered a group of Aborigines to whom they presented gifts. The expedition then headed for Timor, continuing northwards to the Marianas and Hawaii. The expedition then turned to head back towards Australia, passing east as well as south of Tonga. On the evening of November 18, the . Uranie. dropped anchor in Neutral Bay, in New South Wales. While there, Freycinet's botanists set out on various expeditions, including a journey to the Blue Mountains and the newly discovered Bathurst Plains, whereas, for Freycinet himself, the visit became a long series of social events. The "Uranie" sailed through the Sydney heads on Christmas Day 1819.
In 1822, Louis-Isidore Duperrey, who had been Freycinet's second lieutenant, was despatched with the "Coquille", to make a thorough investigation of the Pacific. The intention was to explore the Marianas, New Guinea and the Society Islands, as well as filling in the missing gaps on the various maps of these areas.
Hyacinthe de Bougainville, the eldest son of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, was given command of the "Thétis", and, accompanied by the "Espérance", set out on a mission to attempt to establish diplomatic relations in Indo-China and to improve trade as well as increase knowledge of the region. Bougainville was given a letter signed by Louis XVIII and countersigned by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Leaving the port of Brest on March 2, 1824, he arrived in Indo-China in January 1825. When he met with the Indo-Chinese authorities, he was politely avoided, but told that the Emperor wanted friendly commercial relations to continue. Bougainville had been given the choice of returning directly or via Cape Horn. He chose to pass through the Pacific in order to see some of the places his father had visited. He then sailed for Port Jackson via the west coast of Australia and Tasmania, anchoring at Port Jackson on July 1, 1825, where he stayed for almost three months, before returning to France via Rio.
Just before the return of Bougainville, Jules Dumont d'Urville, one of Duperrey's lieutenants, set out on an expedition to the Pacific in the "Coquille", which he renamed the "Astrolabe" in memory of La Pérouse, leaving Toulon on April 25, 1826. On October 5, 1826, Cape Leeuwin was sighted and two days later the . Astrolabe. dropped anchor in King George Sound, where botanic research was conducted. D'Urville then headed to Western Port, which at the time was uninhabited except for a few sealers and on to Jervis Bay from November 26 to 29, where they encountered some Aborigines and shared a fishing catch. They arrived at Port Jackson on December 2, 1826, staying until the 19th when they left for New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji. The "Astrolabe" finally returned to Marseilles on March 25, 1829 after a long and arduous voyage. Shortly after d'Urville's voyage to Australia, settlements were established by the British at Western Port and Albany, Western Australia, possibly influenced by fear of the establishment of a French colony in Australia, and by 1830 the British had completed their occupation of Australia.
The next French expedition to reach Australia was that of Cyrille-Pierre-Théodore Laplace on "La Favorite", calling in to Hobart in August 1831 and Sydney in September of the same year as part of a voyage around the world.
In the period from the end of 1836 to mid-1837, three more expeditions left for the Pacific. The first, that of Abel Aubert Dupetit-Thouars, called into Sydney in late November 1838 after having left France in December 1836. The other two, that of Laplace (on his second voyage) and J.B. Thomas Médée Cécille, were more of a commercial nature. Laplace anchored in Hobart in the "Artémise" on January 26, 1839 as well as calling in to Port Jackson on March 2. Cécille, having left France in July 1837, passed by way of King George Sound, Hobart and Port Jackson on a 25 month circumnavigation in the "Héroine".
Areas for exploration in the Pacific still existed, so on September 7, 1837, Dumont d'Urville once again left the port of Toulon in the "Astrolabe" accompanied by the "Zélée", commanded by Charles Hector Jacquinot, on a voyage of extensive exploration of the Pacific and Southern waters. After an attempt to reach the South Pole from the Horn of South America had failed, d'Urville decided to make a second attempt from Australia. He called in to Tahiti on September 9, 1838, continuing on to the Solomon Islands, the Caroline Islands, and Guam. On March 27, 1839 the party anchored off the north coast of Australia, in Raffles Bay, then at Port Essington, where they were welcomed by the English. They then continued onto Borneo and the Philippines before heading south along the west Australian coast. Dumont d'Urville called into Hobart on December 12, 1839, leaving behind the sick and the infirm, before leaving Tasmania on January 2, 1840 for Antarctica, where he discovered Terre Adélie, landing on January 21, 1840. He returned to Hobart after his successful mission on February 17, leaving on the 25th to continue his voyage around the world.
By about 1840 expeditions of an exploratory nature had become less frequent as commerce began to play an important role in the Pacific.
La Pérouse (known as Jean-François de Galaup de Lapérouse) 1741-1788
La Perouse Site from New Caledonia
Town Hall of the city of Albi where La Pérouse was born
Canadian Site about Comte de Lapérouse
Another Site on Lapérouse
La Pérouse - English site
La Pérouse 1785-1788Durant les voyages de Cook, la France ne demeure pas en reste. Si avec les expéditions de de Surville (1769-1770), de Marion du Fresne (1772) et de Kerguelen (1772-1774) le pays accroît ses connaissances du Pacifique, c'est sur l'expédition de La Pérouse que repose les espoirs nationaux d'achever avant les Anglais la connaissance du Grand Océan. Afin de concurrencer les succès de Cook, la France met sur pied en 1785 une expédition de grande envergure et Louis XVI, qui accède au trône en 1774, s'intéresse personnellement à parfaire les connaissances géographiques capables de servir l'intérêt national [48].
Alors qu'avec Bougainville le personnel savant reste encore limité, La Pérouse part avec une véritable académie flottante pourvoyée d'instruments perfectionnés et d'abondants mémoires de sociétés savantes pour orienter les recherches [49]. Sillonnant le Pacifique, l'expédition effectue une véritable moisson de renseignements scientifiques. Or, après un premier envoi en France depuis Botany Bay des collections récoltées, le contact est perdu avec l'expédition. Au grand désarroi de Louis XVI parrain du voyage, une nuit de tempête jette les frégates de La Pérouse sur la ceinture de corail d'une île, frustrant ainsi le pays des résultats de l'expédition.
Binnot Paulmier de Gonneville
Louis Antoine de Bougainville 1729-1811
Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne 1724 -1772
An Officer of the Blue
Marc-Joseph Marion Dufresne, South Sea Explorer
1724-1772
Edward Duyker
Melbourne University Press 1994
First published 1994FOREWARD
Thirty-two years separated the major exploring voyages of Cook and Flinders on the coasts of Australia. During that time five French expeditions visited these shores. In March 1772, two years after Cook had examined the east coast, two Frenchmen were ashore at opposite ends of the island continent, on territory not seen by Cook. Their voyages, both begun at the French colony of Mauritius, had been planned without knowledge of Cook's discovery. Saint-Albuarn, at Shark Bay, had buried a parchment claiming possession of Australia's western coast. On the east coast of Tasmania, Marion Dufresne was making the first European contact with the Aborigines of that island, at Marion Bay. The countrymen who were to succeed these explorers were La Perouse (1788), d'Entrecasteaux (1792 and 1793), and Baudin (1801-1803).
Marion's ten-week sojourn in New Zealand occurred only two-and-a-half years after the visits of Cook and Marion's countryman de Surville. The expedition's records are a rich source of information on Maori lore prior to European settlement, and of clues about a historical tragedy that has led to continuing speculation.
To Australian readers, and no doubt to New Zealand readers too, Edward Duyker's biography of Marion Dufresne will be a reminder, or a revelation, of the international context in which the English explorations of their homelands took place. In this it builds on the foundation laid by John Dunmore's French Explorers in the Pacific and Oscar Spate's trilogy The Pacific Since Magellan. To all readers it will, like every good historical biography, illuminate the times through which its subject lived-in this case the maritime world of eighteenth~century France.
Marion's seagoing career began when he was eleven and continued for thirty-seven years, spanning two major wars and equipping him with the skills, experience and interests that fitted him for his last great maritime enterprise. At various times in command of corsairs, naval vessels and merchant ships, he took part not only in convoys, naval engagements, trading voyages and raids on enemy merchantmen but also in a number of special assignments and personal enterprises well out of the usual line of duty. One of the most remarkable was his command, at twenty-two, of the ship that rescued the Young Pretender from Scotland in 1746. The reputation he acquired, during his long career, as a most reliable and resourceful mariner no doubt made him one of the examples that were to encourage the gradual relaxation of the frustrating class barriers faced by 'officers of the blue' in the navy of eighteenth-century France.
One wonders, had he survived his voyage to Australia and the Pacific, what he might have achieved in the great age of French maritime exploration that lay ahead, planned and overseen by Fleurieu, de Castries and Louis XVI, and opening up when the next war, the War of American Independence, was over.
The achievement of Edward Duyker goes well beyond writing an absorbing narrative, though his success in that respect is obvious. He has had to assemble a mass of information, both primary and secondary, from many countries and very diverse sources. Unlike most French exploring captains, Marion served only intermittently in the navy, whose archives therefore record only part of his career; and no personal account of his final voyage has been found. In filling the gaps Dr Duyker has brought to light a remarkable amount of fascinating detail, and little of the subject's career seems left to be surmised. This biography is a notable addition to the maritime history of France, New Zealand and Australia.
Discover Marion-Dufresne
All details on Marion-Dufresne
Julien Crozet 1728-1782
All details on CrozetAntoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux 1737-1793
A voir : Un site intéressant réalisé par un descendant d'un des compagnons de l'Amiral D'Entrecasteaux
http://www-perso.infini.fr/marine/bat/divers/entrecas/celebre.htm
Biographie
D'Entrecasteaux 1791-1792En juillet 1789, la France connaît les troubles de la révolution. Toutefois, les événements ne diminuent point l'inquiétude concernant le sort de La Pérouse. Parmi les membres de l'expédition se trouvent des scientifiques qui, comme leurs collègues restés en France, avaient combattu l'ancien ordre des choses et contribué ainsi, pour une large part, à la naissance du nouvel ordre égalitaire. Le moins que la République reconnaissante pouvait faire, était d'organiser une opération de recherche pour tenter de sauver ces hommes intrépides perdus dans l'immensité du Pacifique. L'Assemblée Nationale vote les crédits et le commandement est confié à l'homme de la Marine dont l'expérience de l'océan Indien est la plus grande : Antoine de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux.
Prenant la mer en 1791, d'Entrecasteaux emporte au sein de ses deux navires, les germes de discordes qui secouent la nation. La Révolution, ébranlant la pyramide sociale, fait de la discipline maritime une des premières victimes et l'administration de la Marine est obligée d'appliquer les principes démocratiques.[50] Bien qu'un semblant d'ordre soit restauré lors du départ, celui-ci reste fragile et sujet à tension. Aux pièges qu'une remise en question de la société apporte, s'additionnent les habituels dangers d'une longue navigation et comme ses prédécesseurs, Bougainville excepté, d'Entrecasteaux meurt en route. Si l'expédition est scientifiquement un demi-échec, les cartes précises de Beautemps-Beaupré, hydrographe du voyage, témoignent des efforts entrepris. Cependant, la recherche de La Pérouse se révèle infructueuse et le contraire eut été extraordinaire étant donné le nombre incalculables d'îles et d'atolls non encore cartographiés qu'il fallait explorer. Bien que l'entreprise survive au décès par scorbut du chef de l'expédition, elle se disloque complètement à son arrivée à Sourabaya dans l'île de Java sous les coups conjugués de la maladie et des nouvelles de la Révolution. Personne ne se doutait que sur l'île de la Recherche, nommée ainsi par d'Entrecasteaux lors de sa brève entrevue au nord des Nouvelles-Hébrides, se trouvaient les débris de l'expédition malheureuse de Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse.
Louis de Freycinet
Freycinet 1817-1820Louis de Freycinet, officier lors de l'expédition précédente, achève d'écrire en 1816 le récit du voyage de Baudin. La fin des guerres européennes lui permettant d'organiser une expédition dont il espère obtenir le commandement, il propose au ministre de l'Intérieur un programme ambitieux de recherches scientifiques [54].
Quittant la France en 1817, Freycinet embarque illégalement une femme à bord de son vaisseau l'Uranie : son épouse Rose de Freycinet ! Déguisée en matelot, celle-ci décide d'accompagner son mari de santé fragile. Cette présence féminine n'ayant en rien compromi la bonne marche de l'expédition, la Marine ferme les yeux lors du retour du navigateur [55].
Marqué par les "habituelles" attaques de scorbut et de dysenterie, ce voyage n'apporte aucune découverte géographique supplémentaire, si ce n'est un îlot insignifiant à l'Est des Samoa, baptisé par le chef de l'expédition île Rose "du nom d'une personne qui m'est extrêmement chère" (!). De plus, au retour de l'expédition le capitaine s'échoue aux îles Falkland sur un récif en forme de clocher d'église que ni la sonde babord ni celle de tribord n'ont pû prévoir. Obligé d'abandonner le navire qui prend l'eau de toutes parts, le commandant réussit à sauver la plupart des collections récoltées et les documents complétés. Après un séjour à terre, Freycinet achète un baleinier américain dans lequel s'entasse l'équipage pour effectuer le trajet de retour jusqu'en France.
Honorablement acquitté par le Conseil de guerre réuni pour statuer sur le naufrage de l'Uranie, Louis XVIII décerne personnellement à Freycinet le grade capitaine de vaisseau au même moment où ses travaux reçoivent l'éloge du monde savant.
A la suite de cette exploration, la "marine-savante" ne connaîtra plus qu'un seul nom : celui de Dumont d'Urville. Reprenant le flambeau de ses prédécesseurs, l'illustre marin portera au pinacle les activités scientifiques de la Marine nationale avant que cette dernière ne se consacre presque exclusivement aux missions d'expansion coloniale dans le Grand Océan.
Louis-Isidore Duperrey 1786-1865
Voyages autour du monde de Duperrey et La CoquilleHyacinte de Bougainville 1729-1811
Book on Bougainville
Bibliographic Record
Jacques Dumont-Durville 1790-1842
Un rapide portrait de Dumont D'UrvilleDumont-D'Urville - Site in English language
Dumont-D'Urville : All you need to know in French
Cyrille-Pierre-Théodore Laplace
Abel Aubert Dupetit-Thouars
J.B. Thomas Médée Cécille
Islands and Books - Links and Addresses
Chart of Bora Bora, French Polynesia, 1823, from Louis Isidore Duperrey's Voyage autour du Monde . . . Hydrographie, Atlas (Paris, 1827). Duperrey led a scientific expedition around the world from 1822 to 1825. French scientific expeditions by Baudin, Freycinet, Duperrey, and Dumont d'Urville pioneered the concept of publishing the results of exploratory voyages in a series of volumes oriented to different disciplines. (Atlas Collection)
Le Rôle de la France dans l'établissement de cartes de la côte Australienne
(Traduction d'un texte en Anglais de Myles Tyron)
Les voyages de decouvertes par les explorateurs Francais dans le Pacifique sont bien documentes, mais peut-etre le role de la France est moins connu dans le trace de la cote Australienne. L'influence des explorateurs Francais dans la topographie de la cote Australienne est refletee de par les nombreux noms Francais que l'on peut trouver , specialement en Australie Occidentale (Western Australia) et en Tasmanie (Tasmania).
Le recit le plus ancient de la decouverte de terres dans les Oceans australes est par un Francais, Binot Paulmier de Gonneville de Normandie. En 1504 Gonneville declarait qu'il avait fait fausse route dans son bateau "L'Espoir", en partant du Cap de Bonne Esperance, et qu'il avait ete force de debarquer dans une contree inconnue, dont il avait donne le nom de "Terre Australe". Il y resta 6 mois, apres lequel il retourna en France, avec le fils d'un roi autochtone.
Apparemment il perdit ses journaux de bord lors d'une attaque de pirates, mais donna son recit aux Autorites Navales Francaises. Sans l'aide d'outils de navigation precis, la localisation de la "Terre de Gonneville" resta assujettie au doute.
En 1756, quatorze annees avant que James Cook repera la cote Est de l"Austraalie, un philosophe Francais du nom de Charles de Brosses, publia un livre en 2 tomes, "Histoire des naviagtions aux terres australes", le recit le plus important de son genre. Ce recit recapitulait toutes les informations alors disponibles sur la Region, et on y trouvait une narration des explorations de Tasman et de Dampier. Le Voyage de Louis-Antoine de Bougainville fut entrepris sous l'influence de l'oeuvre de De Brosses.
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville etait le Commandant de la Premiere Expedition Francaise dans le Pacifique, et quitta Nantes le 15 Novembre 1766, Auparavant il avait combattu dans la guerre contre l'Angleterre au Canada. Avec la perte de nombreuses possessions Francaises, Bougainville decida de financer et de mener une expedition pour coloniser les Iles Malouines (Falkland Islands) dans la mesure ou elles faisaient patie de l'Amerique du Sud geographiquement. Pour rendre les choses encore pires, le Gouvernement Francais lui demanda de retourner la-bas afin d'effectuer le transfert de souverainete. Cependant, on lui demanda egalement de continuer son voyage dans le Pacifique et autour du monde. Le Gouvernement Francais s'assura que l'expedition fut bien equippee et qu'il en s'agissait pas seulement d'un voyage d'exploration, mais aussi d'un voyage scientifique.Le commandement de la Fregate "Boudeuse" fur confie a Bougainville ainsi que celui du bateau d'approvisionnmeents "Etoile". Apres avoir navigue au large du Detroit de Magellan, ils franchirent le Pacifique le 26 Janvier 1768. Durant la nuit du 4 Juin 1768, les navires ont manque de peu de faire naufrage sur la Grande Barriere de Corail (Great Barrier Reef). Bougainville a l'honneur d'avoir ete le premier occidental a arrive sur la Cote Orientale de L'Australie. Il fut egalement le premier capitaine de la Marine Francaise a naviguer autour du monde. To be continued.......A suivre.....weiter demnächst....
Grands voyages dans le Pacifique - Great Voyages in the Pacific - Abendteuerliche Reise in die PazifikXVIIIème siècle - 18th Century - 18. Jahrhundert
Date Navigator's name Vessels' Names (Country)
1766 - 1769: Louis-Antoine de BOUGAINVILLE. La Boudeuse, l'Etoile (France)
1766 - 1769: Samuel WALLI et Philip CARTERET. Le Dolphin, Le Swallow (Grande Bretagne)
1768 - 1771: James COOK. L'Endeavour (Grande-Bretagne)
1772 - 1775: James COOK. Le Resolution, L'Adventure (Grande-Bretagne)
1776 - 1780: James COOK. Le Resolution, Le Discovery (Grande-Bretagne)
1785 - 1788: Jean-François de GALAUP de LA PEROUSE. L'Astrolabe, La Boussole (France)
1791 - 1793: Joseph-Antoine d'ENTRECASTEAUX. La Recherche, L'Espérance (France)
1800 - 1804: Nicolas BAUDIN. Le Naturaliste, Le Géographe (France)15 - 1818: Otto von KOTZEBUE. Le Rurick (Russie)
1817 - 1820: Louis-Claude de FREYCINET. L'Uranie, La Physicienne (France)
1822 - 1825: Louis DUPERREY. La Coquille (France)
1824 - 1826: Hyacinthe de BOUGAINVILLE. La Thétis, L'Espérance (France)
1825 - 1828: Frédéric-William BEECHEY. Le Blossom (Grande-Bretagne)
1826 - 1829: Fedor Petrovitch LUTKE. Le Seniavine (Russie)
1826 - 1829: Jules-Sébastien DUMONT D'URVILLE. L'Astrolabe (France)
1830 - 1832: Pierre-Théodore LAPLACE. La Favorite (France)
1831 - 1836: Robert FITZROY. Le Beagle (Grande-Bretagne)
1836 - 1837: Auguste-Nicolas VAILLANT. La Bonite (France)
1836 - 1839: Abel Aubert DUPETIT-THOUARS. La Vénus (France)
1836 - 1842: Edouard BELCHER. Le Sulphur (Grande Bretagne)
1837 - 1840: Pierre-Théodore LAPLACE. L'Artémise (France)
1837 - 1840: Jules-Sébastien DUMONT d'URVILLE. L'Astrolabe, La Zélée (France)
1838 - 1842: Charles WILKES. Le Porpoise, Le Vincennes, Le Peacock, Le Flying Fish, Le Relief, Le Sea Gull (Etats-Unis)
1839 - 1843: James Clarck ROSS. L'Erebus, Le Terror (Grande Bretagne)
1842 - 1846: Auguste BERARD. Le Rhin (France)
Copyright © 2001 [Laurent Deprost]. All rights reserved.
Updated: June 17, 2001.
