Eugène Duflot de Mofras (born 5 July 1810,

Toulouse, France Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

—30 January 1884,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a 19th-century French

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, and explorer. He was the 7th son of Vost Cosme Nicolas Duflot and Anne Julie Mofras. In the latter 1830s he became an attaché of the French legation to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Pacific Coast

In 1839 Duflot de Mofras was dispatched from his French legation post in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

to explore the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

of North America from 1840 to 1842, to access the Mexican

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

and American

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

regions for French business interests. He travelled along and documented the western coast of mainland

, the Colorado River mouth, the Baja California Peninsula coasts, and the present day

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

.; Google Books. While stationed at

Yerba Buena Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to reg ...

(present day San Francisco), he traveled inland to see the

Rancho New Helvetia New Helvetia (Spanish: Nueva Helvetia), meaning "New Switzerland", was a 19th-century Alta California settlement and rancho, centered in present-day Sacramento, California. Colony of Nueva Helvetia The Swiss pioneer John Sutter (1803–1880) ...

agricultural colony of

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Switzerland, Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter ...

. The 1848 discovery of gold on the rancho set off the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

. Duflot de Mofras completed his journey in 1842.

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The report of Duflot de Mofras was significant at the time, and remains a detailed description of aspects of the northern Pacific Coast before American dominance.Jstor.org: Review of "Duflot de Mofras' Travels on the Pacific Coast, by Eugène Duflot de Mofras", translated, annotated, and edited by Margaret Eyer Wilbur
published by The Fine Arts Press, Santa Ana, California, 1937; reviewed by George Verne Blue, Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 39, No. 3; September 1938. ::He wrote in 1840 "...''it is evident that California will belong to whatever nation chooses to send there a man-of-war and two hundred men''." His account was published in 1844 as the 2-volume work ''Exploration du territoire de l'Orégon, des Californies et de la mer Vermeille, exécutée pendant les années 1840, 1841 et 1842'' (Exploring the Oregon Territory, California and the Pacific Coast), by the Arthus Bertrand press in Paris.Biodiversitylibrary.org: ''Exploration du territoire de l'Orégon, des Californies, et de la mer Vermeille'' summary
/ref> It recorded the commercial, political, and military significance of the regions, and activities of the Spanish, English, and Americans there. It includes descriptions of life at some of the

Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California () formed a List of Spanish missions in California, series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by ...

, including the

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo (English language, English: The Mission of Saint Charles Borromeo of the Carmel River), first built in 1797, is one of the Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property, most authentica ...

and Mission Santa Cruz.

References

External links

*
Google Books: ''Exploration du territoire de l'Orégon, des Californies, et de la mer Vermeille''
— ''complete scan of book, from the collection of New York Public Library''.
Biodiversitylibrary.org: ''Exploration du territoire de l'Orégon, des Californies, et de la mer Vermeille''
— ''title pages and high resolution period maps''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mofras, Eugene Duflot De French botanical writers French naturalists 1810 births 1884 deaths Botanists active in California French explorers of North America Explorers of California Explorers of Oregon 19th-century French diarists French emigrants to Mexico Foreign residents of Mexican California History of the West Coast of the United States Scientists from Toulouse People from Oregon Territory 1840 in Alta California 1841 in Alta California 1842 in Alta California 1844 books 18th-century French botanists 19th-century French botanists 19th-century French diplomats 19th-century French writers

Pacific Coast

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See also

References

External links