__NOTOC__ Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars (3 August 1793 – 16 March 1864) was a French naval officer important in France's annexation of

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

Early life

He was born at the castle of La Fessardière, near

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...

. His uncle Aristide Aubert du Petit-Thouars was one of the heroes of the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

. He joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in 1804, where he was a cabin boy in the Boulogne fleet.

Naval career

He was the captain of the ''Inconstant'' from 1823 to 1825. He sailed her to Brazil, and remained her captain on station in Brazil. He was promoted to Commander (''Capitaine de frégate'') in 1824. Du Petit-Thouars frequently travelled to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, and had a decisive role in the conquest of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, where he developed the attack plans. During the battle, he commanded the 20-gun ''Griffon''. He was later put in charge of the Southern Seas command, in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. In 1834 he played a key role in protecting French shipping interests against the Peruvians. Louis-Jules Masselot, Assemblée des Chefs des Iles Sandwich en conférence avec le Commandant de la Vénus

Louis-Jules Masselot, Assemblée des Chefs des Iles Sandwich en conférence avec le Commandant de la Vénus

He became "Capitaine de vaisseau" on 6 January 1834, and accomplished a circumnavigation between 1836 and 1839 on the frigate ''Vénus''. Also on board were the hydrographer Urbain Dortet of Tessan, the doctor-naturalist Adolphe Simon Neboux, and the surgeon Charles René Augustin Léclancher. During this voyage the

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...

were explored. He published an account in 1840 with the title ''Voyage around the world on the frigate Venus during the years 1836-1839'' (French: ''Voyage autour du monde sur la frégate "la Vénus" pendant les anné 1836-1839''); the book contained maps of the ports visited. He was made Rear-

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

(french: Contre-amiral) on 12 July 1841, in charge of the Pacific Naval Division. His mission was to take possession of the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

. In

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, he confronted Queen

Pōmare IV Pōmare IV (28 February 1813 – 17 September 1877), more properly ʻAimata Pōmare IV Vahine-o-Punuateraʻitua (otherwise known as ʻAimata – "eye-eater", after an old custom of the ruler to eat the eye of the defeated foe), was the Queen of ...

, and the English missionary and Consul George Pritchard (1796–1883). He managed to expel Pritchard and established a French protectorate over Tahiti, and the Marguesas Islands, which continues as of 2018.Patricia O'Brien “Think of Me as a Woman: Queen Pomare of Tahiti and Anglo-French Imperial Contest in the 1840s Pacific”, Gender and History, Vol. 18 No. 1 April 2006: 108-129 http://www.citeulike.org/article/957356 He was initially denounced for his actions by the French government, which feared a conflict with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. Relations between France and Great Britain soured considerably during the reign of

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate List of French monarchs#House of Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848), monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, h ...

, due to this so-called "Pritchard Affair". Du Petit-Thouars became a Vice-Admiral (french: Vice-amiral) in 1846.

Retirement and death

Du Petit-Thouars retired from the navy in 1858. He died in Paris in 1864.

Children

He had no children, but adopted the son of his sister, known as

Abel-Nicolas Bergasse du Petit-Thouars Abel-Nicolas Georges Henri Bergasse du Petit-Thouars (March 23, 1832 – March 14, 1890) was a French sailor and vice-admiral who took part in the Crimean War, the Boshin War, the Franco-Prussian War and the War of the Pacific. He is considered a ...

, who also became an Admiral, and played an important role during the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Botany

Admiral du Petit-Thouars was a significant enough botanist to have his name given an official abbreviation.

Family

His grand-uncles: *

Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars (5 November 1758, Bournois – 12 May 1831, Paris) was an eminent French botanist known for his work collecting and describing orchids from the three islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion. Introd ...

(1758–1831), French botanist. * Aristide Aubert du Petit-Thouars (1760–1798), French Navy officer, hero of the

. His nephew and adopted son: *

(1832–1890), French Navy admiral who participated to the

References

External links

Biography
Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars in Mazatlan.
Adorning the world: art of the Marquesas Islands
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars (nos. 8,37,46-48) {{DEFAULTSORT:du Petit-Thouars, Abel Aubert Botanists with author abbreviations 1793 births 1864 deaths French Navy admirals Members of the French Academy of Sciences Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Dupetit Thouars family