Lecture: The great voyages of discovery of the 18th and 19th centuries - the story of three exceptional sailors

While the great maritime expeditions began in France under the reign of Louis XV, voyages with a purely scientific vocation date back to Louis XVI, and were continued under subsequent regimes. These carefully prepared expeditions were commanded by exceptional sailors, not only for their nautical science but also for their human qualities. The name of Jean-François Galaup de Lapérouse is well known, despite the tragedies that punctuated his journey until his long mysterious disappearance. Less well known is that of Joseph Bruny d'Entrecasteaux, one of the greatest French sailors who set out in search of Lapérouse and whose expedition was almost totally decimated. Finally, Jules Dumont d'Urville, who followed in the footsteps of the first two, will go down in the history of the navy not only as a great sailor but also as a leading scholar and scientist. These voyages, in which many scientists took part, provided a rich harvest of geographical, hydrographic and ethnographic knowledge and led to unprecedented harvests of flora and fauna, most of which enriched the collections of the King's gardens and later the National Museum of Natural History. They were also responsible for the discovery of new lands and significant technological advances.
By the Comité Rochefortais de Documentation Historique de la Marine

Show less