Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais (11 February 169910 November 1753) was a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and colonial administrator who was employed by the

French East India Company Compagnie des Indes () may refer to several French chartered companies involved in long-distance trading: * First French East Indies Company, in existence from 1604 to 1614 * French West India Company, active in the Western Hemisphere from 1664 t ...

Biography

La Bourdonnais entered the service of the

as a lieutenant. In 1724, he was promoted to captain, and he displayed such bravery in the capture of Mahé on the Malabar Coast that the name of the town was supposedly added to his own as a result of this; however, an alternative account suggests that the town adopted his name, rather than the other way around. For two years, he was in the service of the Portuguese Viceroy, but in 1735 he returned to French service as governor of the Isle de France (present-day

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

) and the Île de Bourbon (present-day

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

). His first five years' administration of the islands was vigorous and successful. He significantly increased the enslaved African population in

Isle de France (Mauritius) Isle de France (, ) was a French colony in the Indian Ocean from 1715 to 1810, comprising the island now known as Mauritius and its dependent territories. It was governed by the French East India Company and formed part of the French colonial e ...

, which grew from only 638 in 1735 by around 1,300 annually. Labourdonnais also brought 70 slaves for his own estate. A visit to France in 1740 was interrupted by the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain, and La Bourdonnais was put at the head of a fleet in Indian waters. In 1744, he assembled a squadron of 3,342 men, including 720 slaves, and led a military expedition from Isle de France to Madras in India. His victory increased the rivalry with Governor of Pondicherry,

Joseph François Dupleix Joseph Marquis Dupleix (; Unknown – 10 November 1763) was Governor-General of French India and rival of Robert Clive. Biography Dupleix was born in Landrecies, on January 23, 1697. His father, François Dupleix, a wealthy '' fermier gén� ...

. Soon Labourdonnais was accused of receiving money from the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and in 1746 he was forced to return to France to face trial and was jailed at the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

for 3 years. He was replaced by Pierre Félix Barthelemy David, the son of a director of the

. He was tried in 1751 and acquitted, but his health was broken by the imprisonment and by chagrin at the loss of his property. To the last he made accusations against Dupleix.

Recognition and legacy

In 1742, his name was given to the main island (

Mahé Island Mahe, Mahé, Mähe, or MAHE may refer to: Places China * Mahe Township (, lit. "Horse Creek Village") in Li County in Gansu Estonia * Mähe, a subdistrict of Tallinn, Estonia India * Mahe, India, a municipality in Mahe distri ...

) of the Seychelles archipelago by French explorer Lazare Picault. In 1806 the French General Decaen founded and named the historic port village of Mahébourg in homage to Mahé de La Bourdonnais. Close to the village of Mapou, in Rivière du Rempart District, there is an estate named Domaine de Labourdonnais with its manor house known as Le Château de Labourdonnais, built in 1856, and now converted into a museum. A statue of La Bourdonnais was erected at Place D'Armes in Port Louis on 30 August 1859 during a ceremony. In

Curepipe Curepipe (), also known as ''La Ville-Lumière'' (The City of Light), is a town in Mauritius, located mainly in the Plaines Wilhems District. Its eastern part lies in the Moka District. The town is administered by the Municipal Council of Cure ...

a school called '' Lycée La Bourdonnais'' was founded in 1953, where the curriculum is modelled on practices in France. There is another statue of La Bourdonnais in the port of

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

, France. In

Saint-Denis, Réunion Saint-Denis (, ; ), unofficially Saint-Denis de La Réunion () for disambiguation, is the prefectures in France, prefecture (administrative capital) of the France, French overseas department and region of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. It is lo ...

a statue of La Bourdonnais was also erected, and a suburb is named ''Cité Labourdonnais''. However the statue and suburb in Reunion island have been the target of anti-slavery protesters since 2020.

Family

In March and April 1738, two of Labourdonnais' children died, and in May 1738 his wife also died on

. His daughter Montlezun Pardiac continued to live on

and received an annual pension of 3,000 Louis following a vote in the National Assembly in August 1798. His grandson was the strong chess player

Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795 – December 1840) was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century. Early life La Bourdonnais was born on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean in 1795. He w ...

. In December 1827, a lead-lined coffin containing the remains of Labourdonnais' wife and child was discovered during repairs of a government building near the ''Jardin de la Compagnie''.

References

*''Histoire, ou éloge historique de M. Mahé de La Bourdonnais''. . p.: n. d.*''Île Maurice: Mahé de La Bourdonnais: documents réunis par le comité du bi-centenaire de La Bourdonnais, 11 février 1899, avec des annotations par le comité des souvenirs historiques. (2 août 1899)''. Port-Louis : E. Pezzani, 1899 *Étienne Buisson: ''Le mirage de l'Inde: la dramatique existence d'un grand Français au XVIIIe siècle : Bertrand Mahé de La Bourdonnais''. Paris : Hachette, 1937. *Pierre Crépin: ''Mahé de La Bourdonnais, gouverneur général des îles de France et de Bourbon (1699–1753) ... ''. Paris : Leroux, n. d. *Louis Ducrocq: ''Une ingratitude nationale: La Bourdonnais, gouverneur des îles de France et de Bourbon, 1735–1746''. Arras : Sueur-Charruey, 1902 (Reprinted from the ''Revue de Lille'' of August 1902) *Philippe Haudrère: ''La Bourdonnais: marin et aventurier''. Paris : Desjonquères, 1992 *E. Herpin: ''Mahé de La Bourdonnais et la Compagnie des Indes''. Saint-Brieuc : R. Prud'homme, 1905 *Alfred de Longpérier-Grimoard: ''Notice historique sur La Bourdonnais''. Paris, 1856 *Huguette Ly Tio Fane-Pineo: ''Île de France, 1715–1746''. Tome I. ''L'émergence de Port Louis'' . Moka (Île Maurice) : Mahatma Gandhi Institute, 1993 *Michel Missoffe: ''Dupleix et La Bourdonnais: essai critique''. Paris : Ligue maritime et coloniale, 1943 *Dureau Reydellet: ''Mahé de La Bourdonnais, gouverneur des Mascareignes''. Saint-Denis: Éd. CNH, 1994 (Cahiers de notre histoire; 45–46) *Louis Roubaud: ''La Bourdonnais''. Publication : Paris : Plon, 1932 (Les grandes figures coloniales; 10) *Jackie Ryckebusch: ''Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais : entre les Indes et les Mascareignes''. Sainte-Clotilde : Éd. du CRI, 1989 (Collection: Figures) *Robert Surcouf: ''Souvenirs historiques sur Mahé de La Bourdonnais: le combat de La Hogue. Eloge de La Tour d'Auvergne. Portzmoguer (Primauguet)''. Saint-Malo, 1886 * ''Le Guide de Pondichéry. L'unique guide français de Pondichéry.'' Editions Presse Bureau 2008/2009. Pondicherry. * ''Pondicherry Heritage Trail''. Published by INTACH, Pondicherry. December 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahe, comte de La Bourdonnais, Bertrand-Francois French slave owners Governors of Réunion Governors of Isle de France (Mauritius) French Navy officers from Saint-Malo 1699 births 1753 deaths Prisoners of the Bastille

Biography

Recognition and legacy

Family

References

Further reading

Autobiography

Biography

External links