Hyacinthe Yves Philippe Potentien, baron de Bougainville (26 December 1781 – 18 October 1846) was a French naval officer. He was the son of

Louis-Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolut ...

.Randier, p.292 He became

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on 1 May 1838.

Career

As a young second-class midshipman of eighteen Hyacinthe de Bougainville participated in the 1800-02 Baudin expedition to Australia. Hyacinthe de Bougainville sailed around the world from 1824 to 1826 onboard ''Thétis'' and ''Espérance'', sent by the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies, the duc de Clermont-Tonnerre. La Thetis 1813 model

On 12 January 1825, Hyacinthe de Bougainville led an embassy to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

with Captain Courson de la Ville-Hélio, arriving in

Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...

, with the warships ''Thétis'' and ''Espérance''. Although they had numerous presents for the Emperor, and a 28 January 1824 letter from

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

, the ambassadors could not obtain an audience from

Minh Mạng Minh Mạng () or Minh Mệnh (, vi-hantu, 明命, lit. "the bright favour of Heaven"; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841; born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu) was the second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of V ...

. Hyacinthe de Bougainville infiltrated Father Regéreau from the ''Thétis'' when it was anchored in Da Nang, triggering edicts of persecution against Christianity by Minh Mạng. Bougainville visited

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , e ...

in 1825. That same year, he visited

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ( ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

where he set up a monument to La Pérouse and erected a grave for le Receveur in

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cooks Ri ...

. He became acquainted with the leading colonial Sydney figures of the day including John Piper,

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden was a pro ...

, John Macarthur, and John Blaxland. The daughter of the latter, Harriot Blaxland Ritchie, became romantically involved with Bougainville.

Works

''Journal de la Navigation Autour Du Globe de la Frégate Thétis et de la Corvette L'Espérance'' (Paris : Arthus Bertrand) 1837.

Notes

References

*Randier, Jean 2006 ''La Royale'' Editions Babouji {{DEFAULTSORT:Bougainville, Hyacinthe De French Navy admirals 1781 births 1846 deaths French Navy officers from Brest, France Circumnavigators of the globe