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First Voyage Of Kerguelen
The first voyage of Kerguelen was an expedition of the French Navy to the southern Indian Ocean conducted by the fluyts ''Fortune'' and ''Gros Ventre'', under Lieutenant Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec. The aims of the expedition were to survey recently discovered sea routes between Isle de France (now Mauritius) and India, to seek the postulated ''Terra Australis Incognita'' (undiscovered Southern land), and to explore Australia. After successfully completing the first part of the mission, ''Fortune'' and ''Gros Ventre'' sailed South, and discovered the Kerguelen Islands. After the two ships got separated in the fog, ''Fortune'' aborted her mission and returned to Isle de France, where the news of the discovery led to vastly overenthusiastic descriptions of the new lands. Meanwhile, ''Gros Ventre'' continued on her mission, reaching Australia and surveying part of its Northern coast before returning to Isle de France. Conception In early 1770, Kerguelen had drafted a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexis-Marie De Rochon
Alexis-Marie de Rochon, known as Abbé Rochon, was born in Brest, France on 21 February 1741, and died in Paris on 5 April 1817. He was a French astronomer, physicist and traveller. He worked on lens design and crystal optics, inventing the Rochon prism polariser. Biography In 1769, Rochon was part of an expedition under Ensign Grenier to find new, quicker maritime routes between Isle de France and India. On 30 May 1769, the expedition departed, with the corvettes ''Heure du Berger'', under Grenier, and ''Vert-Galant'', under Commander La Fontaine. They were bound for Saint-Brandon, where they arrived on 2 June. They then sailed on the 5th Nazareth bank, then on Saya de Malha bank on 5 June, and continued North before sailing West to reach Seychelles, arriving at Mahé on 14 June. they then sailed to Praslin, spending the night of 14 there, and departed on 15. They sailed through the Maldives and arrived at Malabar coast on 29 July, and eventually at Pondichéry on 6 Augus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles De Mengaud De La Haye
Charles de Mengaud de La Haye was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence. Biography Mengaud was born to the family of a Council of the Parliament of Toulouse. He joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine on 1 July 1756. In 1768, Mengaud captained ''Écluse'' in Brest. In 1772, he commanded the 6-gun cutter ''Sauterelle'', cruising between Lorient and Groix. He sailed ''Sauterelle'' to Isle de France (Mauritius). He took part in the First voyage of Kerguelen. On 1 October 1773, he was promoted to Lieutenant. Between 1774 and 1776, he commanded the fluyt ''Gros Ventre'' at Isle de France (Mauritius). In early 1778, Mengaud commanded the 16-gun corvette ''Perle''. On 26 February 1778, Mengaud received orders to patrol between Ushant and The Lizard. On 28 May, he wrote a letter to the Navy Minister arguing for an invasion of Jersey and Gernesey, as to cut down the depredations of British privateers on French commerce. In 1779, Mengaud captained the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François Étienne De Rosily-Mesros
François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros (13 January 1748, Brest – 12 November 1832, Paris) was a French naval commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. He is notable as being chosen by Napoleon to succeed Villeneuve as commander of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Cádiz, arriving to take up his appointment just after its defeat at Trafalgar. His name is inscribed on the east side of the Arc de Triomphe. Life Early service His father the comte de Rosily was a chef d'escadre and was commanding the Brest fleet in 1762 when he admitted François as a garde de marine. From 1762 to 1769 François completed his apprenticeship at sea in several varied campaigns, visiting Rio de Janeiro, Newfoundland, Hispaniola and the Antilles. He became an enseigne de vaisseau in 1770, on a ship commanded by Kerguelen. Under Kerguelen he then went on a surveying trip along the French coast before setting out on a circumnavigation of the globe whose aim was to research the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Du Boisguehenneuc
Charles Marc du Boisguehenneuc (1740 — ''Robuste'', 1778) was a French Navy officer. He took part in the First voyage of Kerguelen and served in the War of American Independence. Boisguehenneuc Bay was named in his honour. Biography Du Boisguehenneuc was cousin to Saint Aloüarn. Du Boisguehenneuc served as first officer on ''Gros Ventre'', under Saint Aloüarn, and took part in the First voyage of Kerguelen. In 1771, Saint Aloüarn was sick, and Du Boisguehenneuc took command of ''Gros Ventre'' for the first part of the expedition, consisting in sailing to India along the new route proposed by Grenier. ''Gros Ventre'' and ''Fortune'' then sailed South and discovered the Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, a large ... on 13 February 1772, and Du Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Chronometer
A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern world its successor Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and the time at the current location found from observations of celestial bodies. When first developed in the 18th century, it was a major technical achievement, as accurate knowledge of the time over a long sea voyage was vital for effective navigation, lacking electronic or communications aids. The first true chronometer was the life work of one man, John Harrison, spanning 31 years of persistent experimentation and testing that revolutionized naval (and later aerial) navigation and enabling the Age of Discovery and Colonialism to accelerate. The term ''chronometer'' was coined from the Greek words '' χρόνος (chronos)'' (meaning time) and ''meter'' (meaning measure) in 1713 by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdinand Berthoud
Ferdinand Berthoud (born 18 March 1727, in Plancemont-sur-Couvet, Principality of Neuchâtel; died 20 June 1807, in Groslay, Val d'Oise), was a scientist and watchmaker. He became master watchmaker in Paris in 1753. Berthoud, who held the position of Horologist-Mechanic by appointment to the King and the Navy, left behind him an exceptionally broad body of work, in particular in the field of marine chronometers. History Ferdinand Berthoud was born on 18 March 1727, in Plancemont, Val-de-Travers, in the Principality of Neuchâtel, which then belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia, into a distinguished family of watch and clock makers. His father, Jean Berthoud, was a master carpenter and architect. He was a burgher of Couvet, burgher of Neuchâtel, and justice of the peace for Val-de-Travers from 1717 to 1732. His mother, Judith Berthoud (1682–1765) was born in Couvet. Ferdinand had four brothers: Abraham (1708-?); Jean-Henry (1710–1790), justice of the peace for Val-de-Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François Julien Du Dresnay
François-Julien du Dresnay des Roches (28 January 1719, Saint-Pol-de-Léon — Kerlaudy, 12 August 1786) was a French Navy officer and colonial administrator of the 18th century. Desroches Island was named in his honour. Biography Desroches was born third son to Marie Gabrielle Thérèse le Jar de Clesmear and to Joseph Marie du Dresnay des Roches, a Captain in the French Navy. His father died soon after he was born. Desroches joined the Navy in 1734. He was promoted to Ensign in 1741, and to aide-major in 1751..He was knighted in the Order of Saint Louis in 1747. In 1752, he was one of the founders of the Académie de marine, of which he became assistant director in 1756. He was promoted to Captain in 1757, and given command of ''Dragon'' in 1761, part of the squadron under Blénac. In 1768, Desroches was appointed governor of Isle de France and Isle Bourbon. He held the position until 1772, before returning to France. In 1776, he was promoted to Chef d'escadre. In 1780 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marc-Joseph Marion Du Fresne
Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne (22 May 1724 – 12 June 1772) was a French privateer, East India captain and explorer. The expedition he led to find the hypothetical ''Terra Australis'' in 1771 made important geographic discoveries in the south Indian Ocean and anthropological discoveries in Tasmania and New Zealand. In New Zealand they spent longer living on shore than any previous European expedition. Half way through the expedition's stay Marion was murdered by members of the Ngare Raumati tribe. He is commemorated with the toponym Marion Bay, Tasmania, as well in the name of two successive French oceanic research and supply vessel the ''Marion Dufresne'' (1972) and the ''Marion Dufresne II'', which service the French Southern Territories of Amsterdam Island, the Crozet Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, and Saint Paul Island. Early career Born in Saint Malo in 1724 into the non-noble, but wealthy, Marion family of shipowners and merchants, he eventually inherited a farm ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Poivre
Pierre Poivre (23 August 1719 – 6 January 1786) was an 18th-century horticulturist and botanist. He was born in Lyon, France. He was a missionary to East Asia, intendant of French colonial islands in the Indian Ocean, and wearer of the cordon of St. Michel. Career In his early 20s (ca. 1739), Poivre was a missionary in Far Eastern locations that included Cochinchina, Guangzhou, and Portuguese Macau. In 1745 as a member of the French East India Company, while on a journey to the East Indies, he was struck by a cannonball on the wrist while engaged in a naval battle with the British. The injury required the amputation of part of his right arm. ;Botanical garden In the 1760s, Poivre became administrator intendant of Isle de France (in present-day Mauritius) and Ile Bourbon (in present-day Réunion) in the West Indian Ocean. On northern Isle de France — Mauritius - he is renowned for the establishment of a new botanical garden, the present day Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port-Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and most populous city. It is administered by the Municipal City Council of Port Louis. According to the 2012 census conducted by Statistics Mauritius, the population was 147,066. History Port Louis was used as a harbour by the Dutch settlers from 1606, when they started to refer to the area as ''Harbour of Tortoises''. In 1736, under French government, it became the administrative centre of Mauritius and a major reprovisioning halt for French ships during their passage between Asia and Europe, around the Cape of Good Hope. The Port is named in honour of King Louis XV. During this period of French colonization, Mauritius was known as Ile de France. The French governor at that time, Bertrand-Françoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Ship Berryer (1770)
''Berryer'' was a 56-gun East Indiaman, and later ship of the line of the French Navy. Lieutenant Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec sailed her from France to Isle de France as a precursor to his first expedition to the southern Indian Ocean. Career ''Berryer'' was started as an East Indiaman and put in service by the French East India Company. She departed for her first voyage on 26 March 1760, and performed three commercial journeys to China and two to the Mascarene Islands for the Company before it went bankrupt. In April 1770, the French Navy purchased her and commissioned her as a 56-gun ship of the line. On 20 August 1771, ''Berryer'' arrived at the island, under Lieutenant Kerguelen The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, a large ..., tasked with a mission of exploration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
