''Dauphine'' was a small 4-gun corvette of the French Navy. She is notable for the rescue operation to Tromelin Island that gave it its present name, and for taking part in the Second voyage of Kerguelen. The

Baie de la Dauphine Baie de la Dauphine is a natural harbour located on the Loranchet Peninsula, at the north-west of the island of Grande Terre in the Kerguelen Islands. Geography The bay is located North of the Kerguelen, and opens towards the East, between the ...

, in the Kerguelen Archipelago, is named in her honour.

Career

''Dauphine'' was launched in June 1773 at Ile Bourbon and commissioned under Ferron du Quengo. She was part of a squadron under Kerguelen-Trémarec, also comprising the 64-gun ''Roland'' and the 32-gun frigate ''Oiseau'', under Captain de Saulx de Rosnevet. The squadron left Ile Bourbon on 19 October 1773 for Kerguelen's second expedition in search of the fabled Terra Australis. On 16 December, ''Dauphine'' discovered

Îles Nuageuses The Îles Nuageuses (Cloudy Islands in English, named so because of their climate) comprise a group of small islands that are part of the Kerguelen archipelago, a French territory in the southern Indian Ocean. They are an important breeding spot ...

. On 6 January, the squadron arrived at

Baie de l'Oiseau Baie de l'Oiseau is a natural harbour in the Loranchet Peninsula, in the North-Western part of the island Grande Terre, part of the Kerguelen Islands. It was the landing site of the expedition under Yves de Kerguelen in 1772, and later of the ...

and Ensign Rochegude left a message claiming 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 ...

for France. The

is named for her. ''Dauphine'', ''Gros Ventre'' and ''Oiseau'' returned to Madagascar, calling

Antongil Bay ''Helodranon' Antongila'' (Bay of Antongila), more commonly called Antongil Bay in English, is the largest bay in Madagascar. This bay is on the island's east coast, toward the northern end of the eastern coastline of the island. It is within Anal ...

. On 9 March 1774, Kerguelen ordered ''Dauphine'' to return to Mahavelona to trade slaves. ''Dauphine'' returned on 24 March. Ensign Tromelin-Lanuguy took command of ''Dauphine'' on 14 June 1774. In late 1774 and December 1775, ''Dauphine'' sailed to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

resupply

Maurice Benyovszky Count Maurice Benyovszky de Benyó et Urbanó ( hu, Benyovszky Máté Móric Mihály Ferenc Szerafin Ágost; pl, Maurycy Beniowski; sk, Móric Beňovský; 20 September 1746 – 24 May 1786) was a renowned military officer, adventurer, and writ ...

. On 29 November 1776, ''Dauphine'' rescued 7 women and an 8-month child, sole survivors of 160 slaves abandoned by the crew of a

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

wrecked on "Isle aux Sables" (now Tromelin Island) on 27 September 1761, some 15 years earlier. In 1778, ''Dauphine'' was reconfigured with a brig rigging. In June 1780, she was captured by three British privateers.

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