Captain, later Admiral, Abraham de Bellebat (Belébat?) de Duquesne-Guitton, also spelled Duquesne-Guiton (1648-d. 1724), was a French naval commander.
In 1687 he sailed from the
Cape of Good Hope in ''L'Oiseau'', with a French Ambassador,
Claude Céberet du Boullay
Claude Céberet du Boullay (1647–1702) was a 17th-century French diplomat who participated in the La Loubère-Céberet embassy as "envoy extraordinary" to the kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand) in 1687. He was co-representative of the mission wi ...
, on board, to establish a French Embassy in the
Kingdom of Siam Kingdom of Siam may refer to:
* Sukhothai Kingdom (1238–1351)
* Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351–1767)
* Thonburi Kingdom (1768–1782)
* Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)
* Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and official ...
.
He sighted
Eendracht Land on the
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n coast and sailed in close to shore near the
Swan River on 4 August - this was France's first recorded contact with Australia. He wrote that it looked very attractive, and fully covered with green despite "the fact that we were in the middle of winter in this country".
His nephew Nicolas Gedeon de Voutron also sighted the western coast of Australia that year on another ship at the same latitude.
[
He was appointed Governor General of the ]Windward Islands
french: Îles du Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean Sea No ...
("Gouverneur général des Isles du Vent") in reward for renouncing Protestantism and becoming a Catholic, and held that office from 1714 to 1717.[ p245]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duquesne-Guitton, Abraham
History of the French Navy
French explorers
French Navy admirals
European exploration of Australia
1648 births
1724 deaths
Governors general of the French Antilles