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The French Sailor, Soldier, Statesman and Mathematician, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, was one of the most interesting characters of the Eighteenth Century. Born in Paris in 1729, he started the first settlement in the Iles Malouines (Falkland Islands); he led a voyage around the world in the 1760s; he fought in the American War of Independence; he wrote mathematical treatises and was elected to scientific academies; and he survived a duel and the French Revoloution to become a friend of Napoleon and grow roses. After his death in 1811 he had islands, mountains and plants named after him. He was a Renaissance man in the Enlightenment.
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville was born on 12 November 1729, the youngest of the three
children of Pierre-Yves de Bougainville and Marie-Francoise d'Arboulin. It is thought that
the Bougainvilles originally came from the Picardy region of France, north of Paris, though
when the family moved to Paris is uncertain. A small village a few kilometres east of
Amiens is called Bougainville. The family lived at 21 Rue de la Barre du Bec (it later
became part of the Rue du Temple) near the Chatelet where Pierre-Yves was a notary. Their
first child was Jean-Pierre, born on 1 December 1722 and he was followed in 1727 by the
only daughter, Marie-Francoise, named after her mother.
Bougainville's mother died in 1734 when he was only five and his father's sister,
Charlotte, came to look after the children. Apparently Aunt Charlotte ran a strict
household. Bougainville's uncle, on his mother's side, was Jean Potentien d'Arboulin, a
man of standing in Paris Society. D'Arboulin occupied various positions in Government
and was known to be a confidant of Madame de Pompadour (one story has d'Arboulin being
referred to affectionately as "Boubou" by Pompadour). For a period he became Secretaire
du Cabinet du Roi for King Louis XV and arranged for Bougainville to succeed him in this
position. He would use his standing to help his nephew's advancement and was one of the major influences on
Louis-Antoine. Later, they were close friends and d'Arboulin invested in Louis-Antoine's
projects.
Among the Bougainvilles' neighbours was the Herault de Sechelles family and they had a
son, Jean-Baptiste, who was the same age as Louis-Antoine (Jean-Baptiste was known in his
family as "Bonhomme"). The boys were already friends and partly to avoid his Aunt and
partly through the encouragement of Jean-Baptiste's mother, Louis-Antoine came to regard
the Herault de Sechelles household as his home. He would later address Madame Herault de
Sechelles as chere maman in letters he regularly wrote to her. The Herault de
Sechelles owned a house at Beaumont-sur-Oise, just north of Paris, and Bougainville, a
keen and accomplished horseman was a regular visitor. Madame Herault de Sechelles' husband,
Rene Herault, had been Lieutenant General of Police for Paris but had died in 173x, leaving
her with the one son. Her father was the Vicomte Moreau de Sechelles and he was the
Controller General of Finances. In 1756 Corneille-Nicolas Morphey led an expedition to
islands in the Indian Ocean and, during an act of possession on behalf of France, named them
the Seychelles in honour of the Controller General. Marie-Jean Herault de Sechelle,
Jean-Baptiste's son, would be become notorious during the French Revolution as a member of
the Committee of Public Safety responsible for the "Terror".
The school Bougainville attended was the College des Quatres-Nations on the south bank of
the Seine opposite the Louvre. He later went on to the University of Paris where his
principal study was the law but also included classics, langauages and mathematics. It
was in the last, mathematics, that Bougainville excelled.
Bougainville was devoted to his elder brother, Jean-Pierre, who was a brilliant scholar,
educated at the College de Beauvois. He became the Assistant to Nicolas Freret, the Secretary
to the Academie des Inscriptions in 1745 and, through his work in the classics, was elected
a member of the Academie the following year. Freret died in 1749 and Jean-Pierre succeeded
him as Secretary. The elder Bougainville was a severe asthmatic and this illness was a
restricting factor in his life. He never married and died on 22 June 1763, aged 42, at his
sister's home at Loches. While he lived he had a huge influence on Louis-Antoine. Through
Jean-Pierre's studies of early travels, Louis-Antoine began his own interest in exploration
that led to the journey around the world in the late 1760s, after his brother's death.
Jean-Pierre was traditional and conservative in his views, putting him out-of-step with
the current trends of the "Enlightenment". He was not very popular as a result. However,
he mixed in and knew most of the learned part of Paris Society and introduced
Louis-Antoine to many of the most famous people of the day. In 1748, having identified his
brother's ability in mathematics, Jean-Pierre persuaded Alexis Clairaut to take Louis on
as a pupil. Clairaut, the acclaimed astronomer and mathematican, lived close-by in the Rue
du Coq-Saint-Jean. Bougainville's mathematical ability continued to increase and in 1751
he became a pupil of Jean le Rond d'Alembert, the mathematician and one of the principal
authors of the Encyclopedie. D'Alembert was also a neighbour living in the Rue Michel-Lecomte.
These two men helped develop Bougainville into a pre-eminent mathematician, who was able
to write a mathematical treatise about calculus (Traite de calcul integral). The
first part of the treatise was presented to the Academie des Sciences in 1753 and was
published in two volumes in 1753 and 1756. The publication would bring Bougainville to the
attention, and earn him membership, of the British Royal Society on 12 January 1756.
Paris during this period was a centre for learning and played a crucial part in the
Enlightenment, one of the major cultural developments of the Eighteenth Century.
Various national academies were created and other informal learned groups flourished. Salons
existed where discussion and argument thrived and the Bougainville brothers were part of
all these developments. At the same time, similar events were taking place in provincial
towns. In Dijon a key figure in its own Academie was Charles de Brosses. De Brosses was
President of the Burgundy Parliament but he was interested in the exploration of the
Pacific and in 1756 he published Histoire de la navigation aux terres australes.
This work had a profound effect on Bougainville and many other people in whom
it generated an interest in exploration. John Callander translated the work and published
it in Edinburgh as his own without ever crediting de Brosses. Alexander Dalrymple used it
as the basis of a work published in London in 1768 that helped stimulate the British
move into the Pacific. Bougainville, though, was already formulating ideas and plans and
would consult de Brosses in person before his later marine adventures.
Early 1750s Prelude to war
In 1754, France and Britain were on the point of another war. The peace begun a few years
earlier by the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 was wearing thin.
Skirmishes. in North America. between troops of the two countries were becoming more serious
and frequent.
Bougainville had joined the Mousquetaires Noirs in 1750 and three years later became an
adjutant in the Regiment de Picardie (the Bougainville family had originally come
from Picardy). Soon, in 1754, he was appointed Aide-de-camp to General Chevert with the
French army north of Nancy at Sarrelouis but later the same year he left the army and
travelled to London to serve on the staff of the Marechal de Levis-Mirepoix, the French
Ambassador. Bougainville formed several friendships in his very short time in London. Some
of the friends would soon be on the opposite side in battle in North America and he would
have contact, often exchanging food and wine, in the periods between the fighting. His time
in London would prove another short posting as, in February 1755 he returned to the army as
a Lieutenant in the Regiment d'Apchon, again with General Chevert. They were based at
Richemont by the River Moselle, between Metz and Thionville. In 1756, Bougainville's
father, who had risen to become an Echevin or Councillor of Paris, died. Meanwhile
Bougainville received his commission as Captain.
1756
In the middle of the eighteenth century, the European powers had ventured over most of
North America but their permanent settlements were still small and usually close to the
sea or the larger rivers. Spain claimed Florida and the far west, especially Texas and
California. The British had established themselves on the east coast from Georgia up to
Maine (in what would soon become the independent 13 colonies). The Appalachian mountain
range, terrain and afforestation formed a barrier that had slowed advancement of the
colonists to the west. The British also had tentative toeholds in Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland and, through the Hudson Bay Company, claims to vast areas of territory toward
the Arctic Circle.
Between the British settlements, the French had established the colony of Nouvelle France
or, as it was more often called, Canada. The St. Lawrence River was the lifeline for
the French, being the principal artery for movement between the main centres,
Montreal and Quebec, situated on its banks. Montreal had 4,500 inhabitants and Quebec
8,000 out of a total of approximately 60,000 people. Very few French settlements were more
than a few kilometres from the river or one of its main tributaries. The long, hard, cold
winters made life very difficult for the settlers and they remained dependant on
assistance and supplies from France.
The other factor which was having a large effect on the European settlers was the presence
of the earlier inhabitants of the continent, the Native Americans, or Indians as they were
usually termed. The Indians, understandably, resented the arrival of the Europeans and much
fighting had taken place over the years, restricting European expansion. The
Indians were more used to, and, therefore, better able to fight in the conditions so the
Europeans would attempt to form alliances with Indian tribes in the hope that they could
use their fighting prowess against their own European foes. So it was that the Seven Years
War was fought in North America by France, with its Indian allies, against Britain and its
Indian allies.
At this time the French Government comprised the King and a Conseil d'Etat made up of a
Chief Minister and six other Ministers. These Ministers were the Chancellor (and Keeper of
the Seals), the Contoller General of Finances and the Secretaries of State for Foreign
Affairs, War, the Marine and the King's "House". The Marine Ministry, as well as
controlling everything naval, also had responsibility for all of Frances colonies. This
had a historical basis, as the French Navy had played the pivotal role in creating the
colonies and had never relinquished its power over them. It meant though that at least
two Ministries were primarily involved in the war in Canada. Montcalm and the army were
answerable to the Secretary of State for War, the Comte d'Argenson, while the Governor was
answerable to the Secretary of State of Marine, the Marquis de Peirenc de Moras. It
was a situation bound to cause problems.
We have a good record of Bougainville's time in North America through letters he sent back
to France and a journal in which he recorded all the events. He describes the relationship
that developed between Montcalm and the officials of French Canada. The Governor at the
time was Pierre-Francois Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, himself the son of an earlier
Governor, and born and raised in Canada. Vaudreuil was based in Montreal while the
Intendant General, Francois Bigot, was based in Quebec. Montcalm would soon be at odds with both
these men. Vaudreuil expected the army and, therefore, Montcalm to be under his command, while
Montcalm maintained that he should be in charge of all the French armed forces. The
Troupes de la Marine and a local militia, both of which answered to Vaudreuil, were already
based in Canada. This created antagonism and confusion in chains of command and, ultimately,
contributed to the loss by France of Canada. Montcalm and Vaudreuil's rivalry was shown
in a steady stream of letters back to their respective masters in France, in which they
sought to gain ascendancy over the other.
On 12 May 1756 the Licorne reached Quebec. The crossing, which had been Bougainville's
first real taste of sea travel, was a particularly rough one. Despite suffering on the
crossing Bougainville showed great interest in the navigational and seamanship skills
required to sail the ship. He talked extensively to the ship's captain, Chevalier de la
Rigaudiere. Bougainville had a cousin in Quebec, Monsieur de Vienne, with whom he stayed
when in the city. The son of de Vienne, Francois-Guillaume de Vienne, would later sail
with Bougainville around the world as a pilot on the Boudeuse. At this stage,
relations were still cordial between the army and the locals, and Bigot entertained the
newcomers. On 22 May, Montcalm set off for Montreal to report to the Governor; Bougainville
followed shortly after, reaching Montreal on 29 May. Much travel at the time was by canoe
along the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries. In many places rocks, rapids or other
obstacles required the canoes to be manhandled across land; these locations were called
portages. Given that the rivers froze for several months each winter, travel was very
difficult and most activity took place between March and October. The French usually
retreated from their frontier posts to spend the winters in Montreal or Quebec.
In 1756, the French knew of British troop movements inland around the Ohio River valley and needed
to protect themselves from attack from this quarter. It was determined that they should
attack Fort Oswego, on the south side of Lake Ontario. Therefore on 21 July 1756 the army
set off from Montreal up the St. Lawrence. They called briefly at Fort La Presentation
(Ogdensberg) before moving on to Fort Frontenac (Kingston) on the north side of Lake
Ontario, which was reached on 29 July. Two days later Bougainville set off to join the
French advance troops under Rigaud (Governor Vaudreuil's younger brother) in Niaoure Bay
(Sackett's Harbor) on the east side of Lake Ontario. He then returned to Frontenac and
joined Montcalm and the rest of the army, which set off for Naioure Bay. On 9 August, the
army moved south via Cabin Bay to land at La Petite Anse just to the east of Oswego.
Oswego was a small settlement at the mouth of the Oswego River, comprising three forts,
Forts Oswego, Ontario and George. However, all three forts were in poor repair and only a
small contingent of British troops had been left to defend them when the French began
their assault on 11 August. The French began a barrage against the forts and soon had them
in disarray. Bougainville had his first experience of warfare, as a member of an assault
party that skirted the forts, fording the river and attacking from the south. The British
were overrun in two days and as their commander, Colonel Mercer, had been killed by cannon
fire, his second-in-command, Lieutenant-Colonel Littlehales, surrendered. Bougainville was
deputed to negotiate for the French and he would be used in this role many times because of
his ability to speak English. He then witnessed an aspect of the war that would disturb him.
Both the French and the British used local Indians (Native Americans) in their armies and
the Indians fighting on the French side at Oswego mutilated and killed most of the British
survivors. No prisoners were taken. Montcalm commended Bougainville's part in the capture
of Oswego. Bougainville left Oswego on 21 August to report the success to Vaudreuil in
Montreal, which he reached on 26 August.
In early September, Bougainville went south with Montcalm along the Richelieu River and Lake
Champlain to check the state of readiness of Fort St. Frederick (Crown Point) and Fort
Carillon (Ticonderoga). The river and Lakes Champlain and St. Sacrement offered a possible
route past the Ariondack Mountains for an attack by the British from Albany and the south.
The two forts existed to prevent such an attack. They reached Fort St. Frederick on 9
September and Fort Carillon the next day. On 15 September Bougainville was part of a small group that
went up Lake St. Sacrement (Lake George) to spy on Fort William Henry (Fort George) at the
head of the lake. They climbed a mountain, thought to be Shelving Rock, next to the lake,
from which they could see the whole expanse of the lake. Bougainville reported back to Montcalm in Carillon where
the fortifications were being upgraded.
On 26 October, as winter approached, the French retreated north to Montreal, leaving a token
force at Carillon. The British had made a similar withdrawal from their forward positions
and no large scale attacks were expected. Both sides would undertake many small-scale
scouting sorties but the bad weather ensured that no major warfare would take placefor several
months. In early November 1756, Moncalm allowed Bougainville to go to Quebec where he
spent the winter months at the house of his cousin, de Vienne. Bougainville had taken a library with
him and he read extensively. This is demonstrated in his journals, both in Canada and from
his voyage round the world, when he quotes extensively from authors such as Ovid, Vergil and
Tacitus, among many others. As well as writing his daily journal, Bougainville was a
regular letter writer to his brother and to Madame Herault de Sechelles. He also found
time to write Memoires sur l'etat de la Nouvelle France, which he sent to the
Minister of War in France via Madame Herault de Sechelles. He went on short trips around
Quebec to St. Foix and Lorette and at other times he enjoyed the social life of the city,
attending balls and gambling.
1757
By early July, Montcalm was nearly ready and he decided to visit two of the local
settlements of friendly Indians to ensure their continued support. On 9 July, together with
Bougainville, he went to Lac des Deux Montagnes on the Ottawa River, west of Montreal. The
next day they visited Sault-St. Louis (Caughnawaga) on the south side of the St. Lawrence,
opposite Montreal, where Bougainville was initiated into the Iroquois tribe. He was given
the name Garionatsigoa (Great angry sky). He also met Celuta, the daughter of one of the
Iroqouis chiefs, and a relationship began between them. Three days later, the French set
off from Montreal, in July 1757, to repeat the attack on Fort William Henry. Crossing the
St. Lawrence first to La Prairie, the French continued east to St. Jean on the River
Richelieu. Here they embarked into boats that would take them south to Fort Carillon,
which they reached on 18 July.
Gradually the French army assembled and boats were transferred to Lake St. Sacrement to
carry the army onwards. They were ready to move again on 1 August. By the 3rd they had traversed
the length of the lake and Montcalm had made his camp at Artillery Cove, just northwest of
the fort. The siege began but Colonel Munro, the British Commander refused to surrender.
His immediate superior, General Webb, was at Fort Edward but was unable to come to Munro's
aid. A letter from Webb, informing Munro of this news, was intercepted by the French and Bougainville
was sent on the 7th to Munro to offer terms of surrender. He was led blindfold in and
out of the fort but returned with the news that the British still refused to surrender. The
siege ended on 9 August, when the British finally surrendered after suffering a long
bombardment. Munro was dead so Colonel Young represented the British and Bougainville the
French in the talks over the terms of surrender. Once resolved, Montcalm sent Bougainville
off to give the good news to Vaudreuil in Montreal, which he reached on 11 August. In the
meantime, the Indians on the side of the French committed another massacre of British prisoners.
Having reported the success to Vaudreuil, Bougainville returned south to rejoin Montcalm,
who had moved back to Fort Carillon. On 25 August they left Carillon and reached Montreal on 1
September, via St. Jean, St. Therese and La Prairie. Bougainville was released from his duties on 10
September and went down the St. Lawrence to spend the 1757-1758 winter in Quebec. In late
September and October he was walking by the river to Samos and Sillery and musing about the
geology of the rocks he saw. In early October he went northeast along the north shore of
the St. Lawrence as far as Cap Tourmente inspecting possible sites for forts to protect
Quebec should the British attack from down river. Bougainville made another trip this way later in
the month to see the Falls of Montmorenci.
1758
On 8 July the British, poorly led by General Abercromby, attacked Fort Carillon but were
repulsed decisively. Lord Howe, a charismatic General who might have led them to victory,
had been killed in a skirmish a few days earlier. The French waited to see if there would
be further attacks but the British were not in any shape to do so and returned down the
lake. The French victory was not without cost as Bougainville was injured during
the fighting, receiving a head wound from gunshot. Bougainville, when he had recovered, was
sent by Montcalm to Montreal on 7 August to appraise Vaudreuil of the situation. The
Governor immediately sent him back and on to the British camp to discuss the terms of
prisoner exchange. While he was at the British camp, Bougainville met Captain Abercromby,
the General's nephew and a friend from his London days. Both knew that the British were
attacking the French fort at Louisbourg on Ile Royale and they had a bet on the outcome.
Within a few days they heard that the British had taken the fort and Bougainville paid up
on the bet.
Back at Carillon, the French were improving the defences of the fort. Bougainville had ideas
for putting a small battery on Mouton Island, a tiny island in Lake St. Sacrement guarding the
landing place near Carillon, and, at the beginning of September, he helped organise this
installation. Bougainville was becoming a regular commuter between Carillon and Montreal
and he made the journey twice more over the next few weeks. On 2 October he exchanged beer
and wine with Captain Abercromby. Winter was fast approaching and Montcalm withdrew from
Carillon on 18 October, reaching Montreal 3 days later.
So far Montcalm's forces had had success against the British but sieges and battles in which
Bougainville had been involved were only a part of a much larger theatre of war. Overall,
the French were making little impact upon the British who were far from beaten and were, in fact,
regrouping. The French leaders back in Paris were far more concerned with the state of the
war in Europe and were loath to commit resources to the campaigns in North America and
India. Even when Montcalm had sailed for Canada he had only 1200 men with him. The British
Royal Navy's supremacy in the North Atlantic ensured that the French remained largely
isolated in Canada and this had been further compounded with the British capture of
Louisbourg, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence. In late 1758, Montcalm and Vaudreuil for
once agreed when they decided to send emissaries back to France to request more troops and
aid. Bougainville and Anddre-Jean-Baptiste Doreil, the Financial Commissary of War and a
man sympathetic to Montcalm were chosen. Doreil had reached the end of his term in Canada
and sailed back separately landing in Spain before travelling to Versailles. Vaudreuil,
knowing Bougainville's loyalty to Montcalm, had already sent his own man, Major
Michel-Jean-Hugues Pean ahead of them to give Vaudreuil's version of the state of affairs.
Bougainville left Montreal on 3 November in a small boat to sail down the St. Lawrence.
However, just above Quebec, near Les Ecureuils, the boat was wrecked and Bougainville had
to finish the journey on foot. He boarded the Victoire on 11 November and the ship
sailed the next day for France. He landed at Morlaix, on the north coast of Brittany, after
an alarm when the ship sailed into British waters in the Bristol Channel. Bougainville made
straight for Paris, which he reached in late December 1758. He soon met with Government
ministers at Versailles and made the case for reinforcements and committment to the cause
of French Canada. However, he found the ministers more concerned with Europe and his pleas
were undermined by letters from Governor Vaudreuil.
When the war finished in 1763 the French were more concerned about retaining the island of
Guadeloupe instead of Canada. However, the French preoccupation with Europe was not
confined to Government Ministers. Voltaire wrote Candide in 1759 in which he said,
"You know that two nations are warring for a few acres of snow in Canada and that they
are spending for the war much more than Canada is worth". Canada would be effectively
left to its fate in 1759 when the Royal Navy inflicted two crushing victories over their
French counterparts at Lagos Bay, off the Portuguese coast, and later at Quiberon Bay near
the mouth of the River Loire. The French navy was no longer able to support Canada
properly and the French army was totally stranded.
Bougainville sailed from Bordeaux on the Chezine on 28 March 1759 bound for Quebec.
The
ship's captain was Nicolas Duclos-Guyot from St. Malo, whose brother Alexandre had sailed
to the South Atlantic visiting the Iles Malouines, among other places. It is probable that
the two men talked of these islands and that this would be another seed for Bougainville's
future exploits. Meanwhile, Bougainville's present mission could only be counted a very
partial success as only twenty supply ships and 300 troops had been dispatched with him.
This number was far too small to make any impact in the future struggle. On a personal
level though, he had been promoted to Colonel and made a Knight of St. Louis.
1759
The British fleet under Vice-Admiral Charles Saunders arrived in late June 1759 to anchor
near Pointe Levi on the 29th. The Royal Navy had transported part of the British army, which
had captured Louisbourg the previous year. Its commander was General James Wolfe. The
British began setting up camps on the south shore of the river opposite Quebec and
attempting to discern how they would capture the city. On 18 July some British ships
managed to sail up the river past the city and started attacking the small settlements
along the river. Meanwhile, Wolfe, despairing of finding a way to attack Quebec, made an
unsuccessful attempt at Montmorenci, east of Beauport on 31 July.
In early August Bougainville was put in command of the troops patrolling the north shore
of the St. Lawrence upstream of Quebec for abot 30 kilometres as far as Jacques-Cartier.
The British fleet had continued to harry along this stretch of river and Montcalm did not
want to lose the line of communication to Montreal. Attempted landings were repulsed at
Pointe-aux-Trembles and further up at Deschambault in mid-August. Bougainville had made
his headquarters at Cap Rouge but his force of 3,000 men was spread out all along the
river as Rear-Admiral Charles Holmes' ships taunted them sailing up and down the river.
News arrived in August of the loss of Forts Carillon and St. Frederick and Brigadier
Francois-Gaston de Levis, Montcalm's second-in-command was sent to help defend the
Richelieu. Quebec was already suffering badly from the bombardment by British guns and
much of the city was in ruins.
Finally in September Wolfe found the way to defeat the French. While diversions were
made at Beauport and upstream of Quebec, the British army landed at Anse au Foulon through
the night of 12 September. It climbed up a steep, narrow path onto the Plains of Abraham,
a plateau behind the city of Quebec and moved quickly into battle formation early in the
morning. Montcalmwas informed and rushed from Beauport to defend the city. However, he
made a fatal mistake by not waiting for possible reinforcements and rushed forward to
attack the British. The French and Canadians were no match for the British in this form
of fighting and were quickly routed. The battle had begun early in the morning and was all
over well before noon. All was not well though for the commanders of the two armies.
General Wolfe was killed on the battlefield while Montcalm was severely wounded and was
carried back into the city where he later died. Vaudreuil appeared after the battle was lost and decided
to retreat, taking what French forces that were left. They marched as far as
Jaques-Cartier, reaching it on the 15th. Before leaving, Vaudreuil had instructed the
Commandant of Quebec, Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas-Roch de Ramezay, to wait as long as possible
but to surrender without fighting. De Ramezay waited until the 18th before surrendering.
Bougainville had heard about Wolfe's attack at 9.00am but by the time he had assembled
sufficient of his men and marched them to Quebec, 2 hours away, the battle was already
lost. Colonel George Townshend had now assumed charge of the British following Wolfe's
death, and he was waiting for them so Bougainville avoided confrontation and retreated
to Pointe-aux-Trembles.
Levis had been informed of the battle and of Montcalm's fate. He quickly returned to
Jacques-Cartier to assume control of the French Army and determined to lead it back to
recapture Quebec. He ordered Bougainville and his troops ahead of the main army and
Bougainville marched via Lorette to be at Charlesbourg, 4 kilometres north of Quebec when
it was learned that de Ramezay had surrendered the city. Meanwhile the main army had
reached St. Augustin, just to the west of the city, when it too heard about the surrender.
Bougainville was asked to negotiate with the British over the exchange of prisoners and
sick and wounded. After a couple of days Levis led the French troops away from Quebec.
The British fleet soon sailed from Quebec taking some of the Army, including Townshend
back to Britain. Colonel James Murray was left in charge of the beleaguered city. The
British had only secured Quebec and a small ring of land a few kilometres around
the city. Quebec itself was in ruins, supplies were in short supply and French skirmishers were
patrolling in the countryside. The hospitals were full of sick and dying. Things became
even worse when they experienced a very cold winter and it was a weak and vulnerable city that
struggled to survive into 1760.
1760
However, Levis was aware of the state of the British at Quebec and decided to attack them.
On 20 April he led the army down the river and landed at Pointe-aux-Trembles from where
they marched to St. Foy. On the 28th Murray marched his troops out and, in a near replica
of the previous year's battle, attacked first only to be be routed and had to retreat
into Quebec. Levis began a siege of the city until on 9 May a sole British ship, the
Lowestoft arrived with news of a squadron following behind. It arrived and chased
the small fleet of French ships that had accompanied Levis. The French Fireship Captain,
Jean Vauquelin, managed to scupper his own ship, the Atalante before being taken.
Levis led his army back to Montreal and after a short time Murray began his advance up
the St. Lawrence.
Vaudreuil had sent word to France in late 1759 asking for reinforcements but Nicolas-Rene
Berryer, Comte de la Ferriere, the Minister of Marine, was slow in responding. A few
merchant ships with an escort by the Machault, commanded by Francois Chenard de
La Giraudais (later to sail with Bougainville) reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence in
mid-May to learn it was behind the British squadron. La Giraudais put into Baie de
Chaleur and sent Ensign Antoine-Charles Saint-Simon (who also sailed later with
Bougainville) from a local Acadian militia to inform Vaudreiul. Captain John Byron came
looking for the Machault and on 8 July found and destroyed the ship. After
Saint-Simon returned from Montreal, La Giraudais sailed a small Acadian schooner round
Newfoundland and across the Atlantic back to France.
The mood amongst the French and its allies was in mid-1760 very despondent. The members of the
local militias began drifting away to their farms while most of the Indian allies,
including the Iroquois, changed their allegience to the British.
By early August the British Army under Haviland had negotiated Lake Champlain and on the
16th they began attacking Bougainville at Ile-aux-Noix. The French were in a poor state
to defend the fort being short of powder and men able to fire the cannons. On 25 August
the French support vessels were captured and Bougainville evacuated the fort two days
later, retreating to Fort St.-Jean, a few kilometres to the north. Haviland quickly
followed and Bougainville decided to move on to Montreal via La Prairie. Forts St.-Jean
and Chambly were left to the British.
The pincer movement of the British had proved successful. Murray had passed Sorel and
crossed to camp to the north of Montreal while Amherst had come down the St. Lawrence to
reach Lachine on 6 September and pitch his camp to the south of Montreal the next day.
Haviland was across the river from Montreal. The walled city of Montreal was full of
soldiers from beaten armies, refugees as well as its normal inhabitants. The French
leaders convened a Council of War and it was decided to sue for peace. On the 7th,
Bougainville was sent to find out from Amherst what his terms were. Amherst informed him
that he required total surrender and would not grant the French Army the "Honours of War"
on account of the attrocities committed by allies of the French over the previous few
years. Bougainville returned with this news, which angered the French officers,
especially Levis, who demanded to be able to fight on. Vaudreiul overruled them and
signed the surrender on 8 September 1760.
Gradually the French officers, including Bougainville, were transported back to France
aboard British ships. The war in Europe was still happening and most of them were placed
on parole whereby they could not take an active role in any part of the war.
On his return to France in late 1760, the war in Europe was still being fought but
Bougainville was under parole and could not take part in any miltary activity. It was
also to a very different set of personal circumstances that Louis-Antoine returned. Both
his parents were now dead and he found accomodation in the Rue Neuve-des-Bons-Enfants
near his brother, Jean-Pierre, who was living in the Rue du Croissant. The brothers
visited their sister, Marie-Francoise, who had married Louis-Honorat de Baraudin and was
now living at Loches, near Tours in the Loire Valley.
Madame Herault de Sechelles was in mourning as Jean-Baptiste (Bougainville's best friend,
Bonhomme) had been seriously wounded at the Battle of Minden, against the Prussians in
August 1759, and had died shortly afterwards at Kassel. Before his death Jean-Baptiste had
married Marie-Marguerite Magon de la Lande and two months after his death she had given
birth to a son, Marie-Jean Herault de Sechelles. Marie-Jean would grow up to become one
of the leading figures in the French Revolution, being one of the members of the Committee
of Public Safety, before his downfall and execution in 1794.
The war may have been over in North America but in Europe it still raged and being under
parole was an intolerable imposition for Bougainville. He wanted to be able to extract
some revenge for the loss of Jean-Baptiste, as well as the loss of Canada. He went to
court at Versailles where he met Madame de Pompadour and Etienne-Francois, Duc de Choiseul,
who was now both Minister of War and of Marine. Despite Choiseul's efforts and
Bougainville's own by way of writing to the British Prime Minister, William Pitt,
Bougainville remained under parole. Bougainville, perhaps as a reaction to his enforced
redundancy, commenced a somewhat hedonistic lifestyle in Paris. His behaviour even
attracted the attention of the Paris police who produced a report in 1763 about him. He
frequented brothels and gambling dens and apparently had a Madamoiselle Reybres living at
his Rue-des-Bons-Enfants address. In 1761 Bougainville had met and begun a relationship
with Sophie Arnould, one of the premier actresses of the time. She was a regular performer at
the Theatre-Francais and the Opera, and Gluck wrote some of his operas with her in mind.
All was not hedonism however, and Bougainville was a regular attendee at the Salons of the
period, including those of Baron d'Holbach, the Duchesse de Praslin and Madame Dogny, where
he would reacquaint himself with friends such as d'Alembert and Diderot. He also became friends with
Claude-Adrien Helvetius and attended his gatherings.
In March 1761, the Duc de Choiseul attached Bougainville to a delegation that his cousin,
the Duc de Praslin, was about to lead to Augsburg for peace talks with Prussia. Before he
could depart, though, the talks were cancelled. At the end of 1761, there was the satisfaction
of seeing Vaudreuil, Bigot and other corrupt ex-leaders of French Canada being put on
trial. During the remainder of 1761 and the first part of 1762, there was nothing else to
occupy Bougainville other than gambling, the salons and his friends.
1762
Meanwhilw, he French had formed a plan for a diversion that would distract British attention away
from Europe. The Comte d'Estaing was assembling a force of 1,000 men in Dunkirk in
northern France that would be shipped to Brazil to attack the Portuguese territory, an
ally of Britain. Bougainville was added to d'Estaing's command but a preliminary peace
treaty, which rendered the Brazil expedition redundant was negotiated in November 1762.
The Treaty of Paris proper was signed in February 1763. The Seven Years War had
proved to be a huge disaster for France, with loss of territory such as Canada and the
country being virtually bankrupt.
1763
Bougainville sought out Duclos-Guyot and Benjamin Dubois, a St. Malo armourer, and
together they made plans for such a venture. Bougainville produced a somewhat fanciful
report to support the venture, in which he gave a long list of benefits to France that
would result if it was approved. Many of the benefits could not be guaranteed, or were pure
invention. Potential settlers were already to hand, as the British had forced out the
Acadians, the French inhabitatants of Nova Scotia, and many of them were in France and
still without homes. Bougainville approached the Government with his idea but, while
the Minister and even the King were sympathetic to it, there was no money to finance it.
If Bougainville wanted to proceed he would have to finance the project himself. To that
end, he formed a company with his uncle d'Arboulin and a cousin, Michel-Francois
Bougainville de Nerville. The Compagnie de St. Malo was funded largely by these three men
while a Paris notary, Maitre Dupres, drew up the legal deeds for the company in early
February 1763. At no point does it seem that any thought was given to the possibility of
Spanish claims to the islands.
Bougainville now set about recruiting crews for the ships and firstly he signed on two
important sailors. The Duclos-Guyot family from St. Malo had quickly developed a sailing
reputation, including experience in the South Atlantic Ocean and Nicolas-Pierre was taken
on as Bougainville's second-in command. Francois Chenard de la Giraudais was recruited to
be the Captain of the second ship. It had been decided to take two ships and they would
be new, purpose built vessels. Duclos-Guyot was given charge of having a frigate, the
Aigle, and a corvette, the Sphinx, built in the Solidor yard at St. Malo.
In May, the Duc de Choiseul gave the Government's agreement for the project to go ahead
and to underwrite some of the costs.
In late June 1763, Bougainville received a letter from his sister, Marie-Francoise, informing
him that their brother, Jean-Pierre, had died. On 8 June, Jean-Pierre had gone to stay with
her at Loches but soon became ill, and died on 22 June. He was buried at the church of
St.-Ours in Loches. Jean-Pierre left his Aunt Charlotte all his money but gave his
library, including all his travel books, to Louis-Antoine.
After this devastating event Bougainville needed to quickly refocus his attention on the
Malouines project. He had received brevets from Paris to the efffect that he was now
Capitaine de vaisseau, Duclos-Guyot a Capitaine de brulot and la Giraudais a Lieutenant de
fregat. It was arranged that 20 single men and three families from Acadia would travel in
the Aigle. By August all preparations were nearly complete. Bougainville received
a letter from the King on 14 August giving him instructions and wishing him well. He then
travelled to St. Malo and was present on 25 August when the ships were blessed.
The ships were loaded and ready to sail on 5 September but had to wait for favourable
winds. They sailed on the 8th but the winds were too strong and against them, forcing
them to take refuge in Baie de la Frenaye. One of the Acadian passengers objected to
being made to work so Bougainville had him and his family put ashore at St. Cast (they
were allowed to keep items already given to them and advances of money). On the 19th, the
ships set off again and finally rounded Cap Frehel on 22 September.
It was soon obvious that the Sphinx was a much slower vessel so on 8 October
Bougainville sent instructions over to La Giraudais that, should they be separated, the
ships should make for a rendezvous at Montevideo in the River Plata. A separation soon
happened and the Aigle continued south alone. On 25 October, the ship passed the Cape
Verde Islands and on 9 November they held an elaborate ceremony as they crossed the
Equator. Three weeks later, on the 29th, the ship passed between Ihlas Gal and de Santa
Catarina and anchored between the islands and the Brazilian mainland. Bougainville went
ashore to pay his respects to the local Governor, Dom Francisco Antonio Cardoso de
Menezes y Souza. They stayed here for two weeks, during which time they were entertained
by the Portuguese and restocked their supplies.
The Aigle sailed on 14 December and worked its way down the South American coast to
approach the Rio Plata on the 23rd. Off Isla Maldonado they contacted the shore to
enquire after the Sphinx but it had not been sighted. A storm sprang up and
Bougainville sailed on to anchor at Montevideo on 28 December 1763. The Governor here, Don
Joseph Joaquim de Viana, was very suspicious and gave the French a cool welcome.
Bougainville managed, though, to negotiate their stay and for them to obtain supplies. He
was not prepared to tell the Spanish where he was to sail to after Montevideo. Three
days later the Sphinx appeared and anchored in the harbour. Their progress had been
slow but their charts had misled them off the Brazilian coast and they had nearly run
aground on the Arquipelago dos Abrolhos. They then put into a nearby port, Togny, for
repairs before continuing south (the exact position of Togny is in doubt but probably was
Itaunas, just north of Vitoria in Espirito Santo).
1764
Over the next eleven weeks the French explored all the land around their anchorage. No
signs were seen of inhabitation, either by indigenous or colonising people. However, there
was disappointment because there were no trees so building houses would be difficult. At
least peat was found which would be used for heating. In early February, Bougainville made
one longer expedition over five days. He and a small party headed down Baie Accaron,
past Kidney and Cochon Islands and Cape Menguera into the next inlet to the south, Baie
Choiseul, later named Port William. The party rowed into this inlet and then up to the
head of a side inlet, Beauport (Port Stanley). Bougainville decided to go inland to
explore. The party headed west and southwest, walking and climbing their way inland. They
camped one night near a large pond (there are two likely possibilities, Colorado Pond or
Mount Pleasant Pond). From there they walked on to reach another inlet, the present day
Choiseul Sound. A side inlet, Swan Inlet, forced them north again before some of the
party climbed a mountain from where they could see the sea far to the west and to the
south. After another night camped near the pond they returned to their boat. Given the
weather conditions, Bougainville decided to walk back to the ships, telling the others to
get the rowboat back when they could. With four others, Bougainville set off over the
hills to reach the south side of Baie Accaron from where he could see the ships but not
attract their attention. Finally, they were noticed and a boat sent across to collect them.
It was decided to construct a small fort, to be named Fort Louis, on the north side of
the bay. A main house, 50 metres by 12, was built into the hillside with a surrounding
wall in which twelve cannon were emplaced. Several other thatched building were also
put up inside the wall. The settlement would comprise, initially, 29 persons under the
control of Bougainville's cousin, Bougainville de Nerville. On 5 April 1764 a ceremony
was held to take possession of the islands and to bless the settlement. The
Sphinx was all ready and sailed immediately for the island of Guadeloupe in the
West Indies. The Aigle sailed three days later on 8 April. The journey
north was uneventful for the Aigle. The only land seen was on 27 April when they
passed just to the west of the Ihlas de Trindade, off Brazil. On 25 June they approached
the Brittany coast and Bougainville was dropped off at Morlaix so he could proceed
straight away to Paris. Duclos-Guyot anchored the ship at St. Malo on the 26th. Dom
Pernetty set about writing up the journal of the voyage and it was published in Paris in
1770 as Histoire d'un voyage aux iles Malouines fait en 1763 et 1764, avec des
observations sur le detroit de Magellan et sur les Patagons.
Bougainville was rightly pleased with the expedition having landed the first settlement
on the islands and had returned with a healthy ship to France. He learned the Court was at
Compiegne, north of Paris, and reached there on 28 June 1764. His own news, though, was
overshadowed by the news that Madame de Pompadour had died. The Duc de Choiseul, to whom
he was now reporting, his uncle and he himself all owed much to her sponsorship and their
future was now more uncertain. The Duc de Choiseul was interested in the news of the
expedition and listened carefully to Bougainville's proposals for follow up expeditions, in
which more settlers would be taken south but this time at Government expense.
Choiseul had become aware, though, that Spain had an interest in whatever happened on the
Malouines, never mind what the British might also attempt. Days after Bougainville's
return to France, the Spanish Ambassador to France, the Conde de Fuentes, approached the
French Government to ask the intentions of French ships, the news of whose presence at
Montevideo had reached Madrid. At first, Choiseul was evasive in his responses but on 8
July news reports were circulating in Paris about Bougainville having been at the Iles
Malouines.
Bougainville had no intention of giving up and set about organising another voyage. On 4
August the Government gave the go ahead and on 21 August the Sphinx returned to
France from Guadeloupe with a cargo, the sale of which helped considerably to finance the
new voyage. Bougainville reached St. Malo on 22 September and all were ready to sail on
the 27th. Winds were not favourable and the Aigle did not sail until 6 October 1764.
Alexandre Duclos-Guyot replaced his brother, who did not sail, as Captain of the ship and
there were several other changes, including l'Abbe Duguerard replacing Dom Pernetty and
Charles Routier de Romainville replacing Lhuillier de la Serre. A small number of Acadian
settlers were also aboard the Aigle which sailed alone on this voyage. On 4
November, the ship sailed through the Cape Verde Islands and on 27 December one of the
Acadian women gave birth to a son. As Bougainville approached the Malouines he made a
search for Pepys Island, an island supposedly seen by a British ship in this region.
1765
The lack of trees and wood was a major concern for Bougainville and he determined to take
the ship across to the Strait of Magellan to collect timber. On 2 February the Aigle
left the Iles Malouines and headed west, having yet another search for Pepys Island. As
they approached Cabo Virgenes, on 15 February, ships were sighted which proved to be British
under the command of Captain John Byron (the poet's grandfather). The ships were close when they
entered the Strait and Bougainville even assisted one British vessel on a sand bank but
the British were not keen for contact. On the 17th and 18th the French ship passed through
the First and Second Narrows and anchored off Isla Isabel. The British passed them here
and sailed on. Bougainville continued and rounded Cabo San Isidro to anchor in Bai de l'Aigle.
The next day they transferred to an adjacent inlet, the Baie de Bougainville, where the
hinterland was covered in a forest suitable for felling.
From 22 February until 15 March, the French were busy cutting down trees. The Aigle
was loaded with the wood and also with thousands of seedlings. The French saw signs of
habitations but met no local Patagonian people until they were about to depart. On
15 March, the Aigle sailed and, after a quick inspection of Baie Famine on the coast
of the Peninsula de Brunswick, they made good progress back out of the Strait of Magellan to
reach the South Atlantic on the 25th. With favourable winds they were back at Port Louis
on 29 March 1765. It took over two weeks to unload the cargo but work started immediately
on a schooner, the Croisade, which was launched on 24 April. More explorations
were made and Desperriers had confirmed the Strait between the islands. Bougainville then
recommended that a safer site for the settlement would be in this Strait, Detroit Nerville
(Falkland Sound).
Two more couples were married in April and the population to be left on the islands now
numbered 75. Bougainville prepared to leave and arranged for as much food as possible to
be left ashore. On 25 April 1765, the Aigle sailed from Port Louis. The journey
north was slow and the decision to leave food nearly proved costly as, by early July,
food was running out and many of the crew were showing signs of scurvy. On 16 July, Flores,
one of the islands of the Azores, was sighted and two days later the French anchored at
Angra do Heroismo on the island of Terceira. Bougainville sent De Belcour ashore to meet
the French Consul, Mathieu Pires, and to arrange for restocking of supplies. The ill soon
recovered and it was a healthy ship once more that left the Azores on 26 July. Ouessant was
sighted on 10 August and the Aigle reached St. Malo on 13 August 1765.
Once more a pleased and satisfied Bougainville headed for Paris to report to the
Government but if the news about Madame de Pompadour had surprised him a year earlier, the
news that he was about to receive was far more shocking. The Spanish Government had
demanded that France relinquish all claims to the Iles Malouines, remove the French
settlements and hand over the islands to them. What was more, the French Government had
agreed!
While Bougainville had been away, there had been much diplomatic activity. The news that had
reached Madrid from Montevideo in July 1764 had angered the Spanish Government and, despite
the friendly relationship that existed between the countries, the Spanish had demanded
explanations. Geronimo, Marquis de Grimaldi, was the Spanish Minister of State at the time
but had previously been Spanish Ambassador to France, from February 1761 until October
1763. During this time, he had developed a close relationship with Choiseul and they had
produced the Third Family Compact between the two countries, signed in February 1763. Over
the next few months letters travelled back and forth between the two Courts and Grimaldi
had regular meetings with the Marquis d'Ossun, the French Ambassador to Spain, while
Choiseul had regular meetings with Joaquin Pignatelli, Conde de Fuentes, Grimaldi's
successor as Ambassador to France. The Spanish insisted on their rights to the Malouines
and eventually, in January 1765, Choiseul agreed. It only now needed Bougainville to
return from the islands and the formalities of handing over could begin. Choiseul
remained secretive, though, and in May 1765 he dispatched l'Abbe Beliardi to the Spanish
Court to be his agent there.
This was the situation when Bougainville returned to Paris. All his work had been undone.
Choiseul, away in Flanders when Bougainville arrived in Paris, finally saw him on 25
August to give him the bad news. Over the next few days, the incredulous Bougainville saw
Choiseul and, verbally and in writing, presented multiple reasons why his venture should
go ahead and why the Spanish claim was totally invalid. Among other things, the Spanish had
never made an attempt to settle the islands and, what was more, they did not even know where
the islands were situated! The French Government had agreed though and Bougainville was
required to go to Madrid to complete the formalities.
Choiseul was alert to British activity in the area and was very concerned that they did not
recognise the rights of Spain to claim land under the Treaty of Tordesillas and might
attempt to settle there themselves. He began to waver in his resolve and allowed Bougainville
to prepare for another voyage down to the Iles Malouines. In September, Bougainville
had meetings with Fernand de Magallon, the Spanish Charge d'Affaires deputising for Conde
de Fuentes, who was ill. Bougainville again made his case strongly but the Spanish were
not prepared to budge from their decision. Diplomatic activity slowed to almost zero and
Choiseul signed instructions allowing Bougainville to dispatch the Aigle and a new
ship, the Etoile, to the Malouines. The flute, the Etoile, sailed from
Rochefort on 9 November 1765 under the command of La Giraudais while the Aigle
began its third trip south from St. Malo on the 25th under Alexandre Duclos-Guyot.
1766
At this point though, King Carlos III stepped in, after a meeting with Ambassador Ossun, and
instructed his Committee of Ministers to reimburse Bougainville. On 5 May, the Committee
met and announced that Spain would take over the settlement on the Malouines and that
Bougainville would be reimbursed all legitimate costs. Bougainville had had to agree
and held another meeting with Grimaldi to finalise details. On the 10th, Bougainville had
an audience with King Carlos III, during which the King asked about the Malouines, the
voyages and about the Patagonian people. He also asked whether Bougainville was satisfied
with the outcome and Bougainville, now weary of the whole matter, replied that he was.
On 12 May, Bougainville returned to Madrid and on the 17th he left there for Paris, which
he reached on 29 May 1766.
The Duc de Praslin, by way of compensation, now offered Bougainville the position of
Governor of the Mascareignes, which were the islands of Ile de Bourbon (Reunion) and Ile
de France (Mauritius) in the Indian Ocean. However, before this could be finalised he met
the Duc de Choiseul who informed him that the Spanish were insisting that Bougainville be
present in the Islas Malvinas (as they were now to be called in Spanish) for the handing
over ceremony. The details of Byron's voyage into the Pacific reached Paris with some
apparent errors concerning the South Atlantic, prompting the French to become suspicious
once more of British intentions in the region.
By now, Bougainville was thoroughly tired of the Malouines but he saw an opening for a new
project should he go south again. By taking a storeship with him to the islands, he could
stock up the frigate after the ceremony to sail on into the Pacific, leaving the now empty
storeship to repatriate those settlers who wished to return to France. In late August 1766,
he told the Ducs de Choiseul and Praslin who both endorsed the plan, though Praslin was
concerned about the cost and who would pay. On 2 September, Bougainville set off for Madrid
and met Ambassador Ossun at La Granja on the 12th. After two days admiring the Royal
Gardens at San Ildefonso, Bougainville had a meeting with Grimaldi in which he handed over
copies of letters from Bougainville de Nerville concerning the handover and a complete set of
bills and other documents detailing his own expenditure. Grimaldi, in turn, told
Bougainville that he would receive part of his money in Paris and the remainder in
Montevideo.
On 4 October 1766, Bougainvlle and Grimaldi finally signed the documents which guaranteed
Bougainville the total sum of 618,108 livres, 13 sols and 11 deniers. Two days later, he
left Madrid and was back in Paris on 15 October. This should have marked the end
of the Malouines affair for Bougainville but it would prove to be something of a millstone
around his neck as claims and accusations kept surfacing for the next 25 years.
While Bougainville had been occupied in diplomacy with Spain, his two ships had made
another successful expedition to the islands under dispute in order to take supplies.
Surprisingly the storeship, the Etoile, sailed better than the Aigle. The
ships travelled south independently and the Etoile, sailing from Rochefort,
reached Port Louis in the Malouines on 10 February 1766. The Aigle had a slower
journey, including a month at Funchal in Madeira to pick up a cargo of wine, and reached Port Louis on 24 March. After
discharging their cargoes the two ships sailed on 24 April to the Strait of Magellan to
collect wood. Entering the Strait on 1 May the ships attempted to reach Baie de
Bougainville but could not round Cabo San Isidro and anchored in Baie Famine where there
were plenty of trees. Speed was necessary as it was already late autumn and they did not
want to experience winter there. The Etoile was ready first and sailed on 26 May.
Before it left the Strait it stopped near Cabo San Gregorio and met 7-800 Patagonians. The
ship reached Port Louis on 15 June and quickly unloaded its timber.
The Aigle, meanwhile, continued to load timber at Baie Famine until 21 June when it
sailed and, making a very fast crossing, anchored at Port Louis on the 29th. The Etoile
had waited for the other ship's arrival but set off for France on 3 July 1766. It made
an uneventful journey up the Atlantic to anchor at Rochefort on 2 September. La Giraudais,
its captain, hastened to Paris to find Bougainville had departed for Madrid. He met
Choiseul and reported to him on the state of the settlement. His ship, the Etoile,
was being prepared immediately at Rochefort for its next adventure, accompanying Bougainville
on his next voyage. The Aigle, however, was just leaving the Malouines on 7
September and experiencing a long, miserable journey home. Seven men had died from scurvy
when Duclos-Guyot brought the ship into St. Malo on 17 December 1766. Bougainville had
already set out on his round the world voyage and thought he had sighted the Aigle
shortly after leaving Brest.
Bougainville was greatly disappointed that the French gave up the Iles Malouines but he
soon had an idea for another project, an expedition around the world. The Ducs de
Choiseul and Paslin both supported the new venture and Bougainville was given
two ships and Government backing. The plans for the expedition were prepared with the
assistance of Charles de Brosses. The storeship, the Etoile, had only just returned
from the Malouines and was still being refitted and stocked so only one ship was ready at
the beginning of November 1766. Bougainville set sail on 5 November from Nantes on the
frigate, the Boudeuse, on a voyage that would last 28 months. The second vessel,
the Etoile, would leave when it was ready and rendezvous with the Boudeuse
at the Malouines. Many of the crew, including several of the officers, had sailed with
Bougainville or on his ships to the South Atlantic.
The Boudeuse was a 550 ton frigate 40 metres long with a complement of 11 officers
and 203 crew. It had been launched in 1766 but was already not in good condition.
Bougainville had as his second-in-command Nicolas-Pierre Duclos-Guyot, with whom he had
sailed to the Malouines. Bougainville was still relatively inexperienced at sailing a ship
and so Duclos-Guyot was, in effect, still "in charge" in the early part of the voyage.
The Etoile was a 480 ton storeship, 33.8 metres long with a complement of 8 officers
and 108 men. The command of this vessel was given to Francois Chenard de la Giraudais,
another Malouines veteran, and he had Jean-Louis Caro, l'aine as his number two. The voyage
can claim to be one of the first scientific expeditions through some of the people on
board the storeship. Philibert Commerson, a botanist, was taken as the ship's naturalist,
while Pierre-Antoine Veron was the astronomer (he later transferred to the Boudeuse).
Charts of the voyage were drawn by Charles Routier de Romainville. The Prince de
Nassau-Siegen sailed on the Boudeuse as a passenger.
November 1766 - February 1767 France to Iles Malouines
The first part of the voyage involved the handing over of the Iles Malouines to the
Spanish so Bougainville was making for Montevideo to meet up with the Spanish
representatives. Buenos Aires, the residence of the Governor, Don Francisco Buccarelli, did
not have a suitable harbour so Montevideo served as the main port for the colony. On 30
January they rounded Cabo Santa Maria to enter the Rio Plata and the next day they passed
Isla Lobos to anchor in Montevideo harbour. Bougainville waited a few days then accompanied
Spanish officials across the Rio Plata to carry out the formalities with the Governor in
Buenos Aires. He stayed there from the 7th to the 12th of February then crossed back to the
north shore near Isla Martin Garcia and completed the journey back to Montevideo overland.
The formal handing over of the Malouines was to take place at the islands but the Spanish
ships, the Esmeralda and the Liebre, that would accompany the Boudeuse
were not ready and Bougainville had to wait. Don Philip Ruis Puente, the new Governor of
the Islas Malvinas, as the islands would be known, was commander of the Esmeralda.
Finally on 28 February the three ships set sail.
February 1767 - July 1767 Iles Malouines to Rio de Janeiro
On 21 June Bougainville anchored in the harbour of Rio de Janeiro where he found the
Etoile and La Giraudais waiting for him. The Etoile, which had left Rochefort
on 2 January 1767, had sailed to Montevideo. Here they had learned of Bougainville's
movements and decided to return north to meet at Rio de Janeiro where they arrived
six days before Bougainville. Francis Nicolas Buet de Kemper, the Etoile's chaplain
had been murdered ashore on 17 June. Commerson, the botanist, had spent his time more
profitably collecting specimens of the local flora. Among the new plants found and
described in Brazil was a violet flowered climber that Commerson later named "Bougainvillea"
after the expedition's leader. At first, Antonio Alvares da Cunha, the Portuguese Viceroy,
received the French cordially but after a few days relations soured dramatically. Fights
broke out between the French sailors on shore leave and local Portuguese. Bougainville
thought it prudent to leave straight away and transfer to the Spanish port of Montevideo
where he knew he would receive a more friendly reception.
July 1767 - November 1767 Rio de Janeiro to Montevideo
On 27 August Bougainville took the Etoile out into the estuary to confirm the
damage. He had realised that Montevideo did not have the facilities to repair his
storeship and wanted to know if it could reach Encenada de Baragan, near Buenos Aires, where
there was a refitting yard. He needed permission to go there but this was slow in being
granted so on 7 September Bougainville himself sailed the Etoile across without the
aid of a pilot. It anchored at Encenada on the 10th but could not enter the anchorage for
repairs until 8 October. A schooner was brought from Buenos Aires so that cargo could be
offloaded and the lighter storeship could enter the dock. The repairs were then carried out
and the Etoile sailed out to anchor off Punta Lara, where the cargo was reloaded.
Bougainville was able to take the ship back on the 31 October, skirting the Ortiz Bank to
reach Montevideo on 3 November.
November 1767 - December 1767 Montevideo to Strait of Magellan
They next negotiated the Segunda Angostura on the 11th, to anchor for two days on the north
side of Ile St. Elizabeth (Isla Isabel). Bougainville sent men ashore using the small boats.
The ships departed on the 13th and sailed south, keeping close to the coast of the Peninsula
de Brunswick. They stopped for two days at a bay named Baie Duclos by Bougainville after
his number two. Moving on, on the 16th they passed Point Sainte Anne (Punta Carreras) and
Cape Round (Cabo San Isidro) to be off Cabo Froward, the southernmost point of the South
American mainland. They returned northeast to anchor in Baie Francaise. Bougainville was
unhappy with the anchorage and transferred the next day to a neighbouring bay, which he had
visited in 1764 and was named after him, Baie Bougainville.
A camp was set up ashore and repairs began on the Etoile, which was still leaking.
Veron, the astronomer, set up his instruments on a small offshore island, causing it to be
called Observatory Island. A small boat was dispatched to inspect the coast between Capes
Froward and Holland but bad weather forced its return. Bougainville then took the two
longboats, on the 27th, across the Strait to the Tierra del Fuego shore. He first landed on
Isla Dawson before crossing the entrance to a great inlet (Canal Magdalena) to reach a
small bay, which he named Baie Beaubassin. This is situated at the northeastern corner of
Isla Capitan Aracena, and the party spent the night here. The next day they rowed on to the west,
circling Isla Peak before reaching the Baie de la Cormorandiere, where they passed the
second night. The next night was spent at Bahia Cascada (Baie de la Cascade) after rowing
past Les Deux Soeurs. On 30 December 1767, they crossed back to the north shore near Cabo
Froward and on to reach the ships. Bougainville was pleased with the trip, having identified
three suitable anchorages. The next day the ships set sail and rounded Cabo Froward to reach
Baie Fortescue and Port Galant, where they anchored.
January 1768 Strait of Magellan
However, on 4 January the weather deteriorated and for the next two weeks Bougainville and
his crew were stuck in Port Galant experiencing gale-force winds, much rain, below freezing
temperatures and much snow. Local Patagonians visited the ships. Eventually, on the 16th, the
ships were able to sail and headed for the channel on the northeast side of
Isle Louis-le-Grande (Isla Carlos III) but while the Etoile was able to reach Baie
Dauphine on that island, the conditions prevented the Boudeuse passing Isle Rupert
(Isla Ruperto) and forced it even to return to Port Galant. Another nine miserable days
were spent there before Bougainville sailed on 25 January.
Suddenly the conditions were favourable and the ships sailed quickly up Paso Ingles, past
Isla Carlos III and the entrances to Riviere Batchelor and Baie St. Jerome (Canal Geronimo).
Later that day they rounded Cap Quad to enter Long Reach, the final part of the Strait of
Magellan. Conditions remained favourable and the two ships rounded Cap des Pilers (Cabo
Pilar) and the 12 Apostles rocks to enter the Pacific Ocean on 26 January 1768. The final
stretch from Port Galant to the Pacific had been negotiated without stopping.
January 1768 - April 1768 Strait of Magellan to Tahiti
On 21 March small islands were sighted, which proved to be part of the Tuamotu Archipelago.
Over the next week the ships threaded their way past the small reefs and atolls that
Bougainville termed the Dangerous Archipelago. The first islands seen were a cluster that
make up Vahitahi (Bougainville's Les Quatres Facardins). Bougainville, passing to the
north, immediately saw another island just to the west and sailed on to inspect it. This
was Akiaki (Ile de Lanciers) and while people could be seen ashore there was no apparent
landing place. Sailing on, the ships next passed to the south of a much larger island, Hao
(Bougainville's Ile de la Harpe), which could be seen to hold a large lagoon with canoes.
Several more small islands, including Marokau, Ravahere and Hikueru, were seen over the
next few days before they entered open seas again on 27 March. Without landing, Bougainville
took possession of the islands he had just sailed past.
Soon another island loomed ahead, the tiny island of Mehetia, which was reached on 2 April.
Bougainville gave it two names, Le Boudoir and the Pic de la Boudeuse, but did not attempt
to land because he had already sighted a much larger landmass just beyond, to the west.
Water, wood and other resources were in short supply aboard and the second island looked
more likely to be able to replenish these supplies. For two days, the French ships tacked
off the northeast coast of this island, often surrounded by canoes that had come out to meet the
strangers. The greeting was very friendly and trading began immediately. Bougainville was able
to observe that the land was effectively two islands joined by a low isthmus. While off the
north coast he could also see another island (Moorea) further to the west. Finally, on the
6th, the two ships found a gap in the reef and managed to get through to anchor on the east
coast of the northern part of the island.
April 1768 Tahiti
Some Tahitians were unhappy about the French presence but after Bougainville assured them
that he would leave within 18 days good relations were restored. Ereti took the French
around and indicated which trees could be felled. Commerson quickly collected many
botanical specimens including some plants that were good antiscorbutics. It was while he
was ashore with his valet that local men saw through the valet's disguise and "he" was
revealed to be a woman, Jeanne Baret. On 10 April Toutaa, the Chief of the neighbouring
district of Pare, visited Bougainville while that night a Tahitian was shot dead.
On the 12th strong winds began, which created problems for the anchored ships over the next
few days. Cables and hawsers gave and anchors were lost. Fortunately for
the French, the ships were not driven onto the surrounding coral. A problem of
a different sort arose on the 13th when three Tahitians were killed or wounded but
Bougainville avoided a situation by putting four soldiers in irons and giving peace
offerings to the Tahitians. The time had come to leave and the French started loading the
ships.
Bougainville took possession of the island for the French nation, erecting a sign on a tree
near the beach and burying a bottle with a message asserting the action. The Etoile
sailed out of the anchorage by a more-northerly passage on the 14th. The Boudeuse
managed to raise its anchors and leave the next day. Just before the departure, Chief Ereti
went on board to say farewell, good relations having been restored. He also persuaded the
French to take one of his people (possibly his brother), Ahu-toru (Aotourou), away with
them.
The French had only been on the island for nine days but it had a profound effect on all
on board the two ships. In their writings and observations that they took home with them a
picture of an earthly paradise was created. Coming closely after writers such as Rousseau
had put forward the concept of the "Noble Savage" living outside the influence of Europe,
the Tahitian people were depicted as proof of this state. Bougainville (who was reluctant
himself to promote the Noble Savage theory) and others wrote descriptions of the climate,
the vegetation, the ready supply of good food, the lack of a need to do much work, all of
which combined to convey the sense that Tahiti was a Utopia.
April 1768 - May 1768 Tahiti to Vanuatu
They continued west for over two weeks until, early on 3 May 1768, they sighted a small but
high, steep-sided island to their north. This was Ta'u, a member of the Samoan Group of
islands (at first Bougainville called them Les Petits Cyclades but changed this name to
the Archipel des Navigateurs). Bougainville had the ships stand off to the northeast and
canoes came from the shore to inspect them. The French made no attempt to land and sailed
along the northern side of the island. More canoes approached and sailed round the ships
but Aho-toru was not able to understand their language. Beyond Ta'u were two smaller
islands, Olosega and Ofu, which with Ta'u make up the Manua Group.
On 5 May another island was sighted off to the west and Bougainville steered the ships
toward it. However, he kept a distance away from land as he ranged along the south coast
of this island, Tutuila. It was on the north coast of Tutuila that crew from Laperouse's
expedition had a violent fight with Samoans 18 years later that resulted in 40 deaths.
Later that day, yet another island, Upolu, could be seen to the northwest but the weather
worsened so that clouds obscured it the next day and Bougainville was not prepared to risk
the ships to investigate. The Boudeuse and the Etoile sailed on leaving
Samoa.
A few days later they approached land but Bougainville was not certain whether it was one
or two islands. He decided it was one and called it La Solitaire but soon changed this to
L'Enfant Perdu. Bougainville was incorrect as there are two islands separated by a very
narrow passage, the Sain Channel. They are now known as Futuna and Alofi, the Hoorn
Islands, a name given to them by the Dutch explorers Schouten and LeMaire who had visited
early in the Seventeenth century. The peak on Alofi, Mt. Kolofau, has also been known as
Mt. Bougainville. Bougainville, sailing past to the south without stopping, took possession
of the Archipel des Navigateurs and L'Enfant Perdu.
Bougainville himself was recovered from his illness but both ships now had cases of scurvy
and venereal disease. The source of the venereal disease would be the subject of much
writing over the next years with both the French and British accusing the other of
introducing it to the region. Some suggested the disease could have been endemic while
others noted the similarity between the syphilis virus and that of yaws, a disease known
in the Pacific. Whatever the origin of the disease, the sexual relations between European
men and Pacific women ensured that it spread far and wide.
In 1605 the Spanish explorer Quiros had led an expedition to the area Bougainville was now
entering. Quiros had located some islands to which he had given the name Austrialia del
Espiritu Santo but their exact position was still in doubt. Bougainville hoped to find them
and on 22 May his hopes were raised when two islands separated by a small strait were
sighted. The ships headed for the strait but were forced north along the east coast of the
northern island. He named this island Aurora (also known now as Aurore and Maewo) and its
southern partner Pentecost (Raga). Rounding the northern point of Aurora, from where he saw
a tiny island to the north (he called it Pic de L'Etoile though it is now called Mera Lava),
Bougainville brought the ships south to anchor off Aoba. It was now 23 May and the ships
were in need of water, wood and fresh vegetables so Bougainville sent two boats ashore to
obtain supplies. Landing on the northern side of the island the French encountered people
unlike any they had seen before. These people were Melanesian unlike the Polynesians who
inhabited the other islands the French had visited in the Pacific. The Aoba people allowed
the French, somewhat reluctantly, to land but stood, fully armed, observing all what the
French did. A small exchange of goods took place.
From the ship, Bougainville could see no signs of houses though he could see smoke from
fires in the forest. He also saw canoes but of a different type to those of Tahiti and
Samoa. The canoes here were simpler and without sails. In the afternoon Bougainville went
ashore himself. The people of the island had a skin disease, which caused Bougainville to
call it L'Isle des Lepreux (Lepers Island). He also took possession for France. As the
French left the Aobans threw stones and fired arrows and the French fired their guns.
The ships sailed but the winds dropped and they were becalmed. Land could be seen in most
directions. By now Bougainville suspected that he had reached the islands described by
Quiros but he did not realise that a much larger island that he now neared west of Aoba
was in fact Quiros's Espiritu Santo. Had he sailed north he would have found the large bay
of St. Phillip and St. James with the Jordan River flowing into it. Instead on 25 May the
Boudeuse and Etoile veered south and entered a strait that separates Espiritu
Santo from another island, Malekula, to the south. Several smaller islands were seen off
the south coast of Espiritu Santo and Bougainville dispatched the small boats to search
for good anchorages.
Afterwards the strait received the name, Bougainville Strait. Bougainville did not use
Quiros's name for the islands but instead called them the Archipel des Grandes Cyclades.
They would be later known as the New Hebrides before achieving their local name Vanuatu.
On 29 May 1768 the French left land and sailed on to the west. Bougainville hoped to sail
close to latitude 15°S and reach New Holand.
June-July 1768 Australia to Solomon Islands
In 1606 during the expedition of Quiros one the ships under the command of Torres had left
the main party and sailed west, successfully finding a passage between New Holland and New
Guinea that still bears his name. Bougainville, though, did not want to follow this route and
was aiming to sail to the east and north of New Guinea. On 10 June the mountains of New
Guinea loomed ahead to the north. The ships entered a bay, Cul-de-Sac de l'Orangerie, but
did not land, deeming it unsafe. Instead they returned to deeper water and sailed east
though the currents tried to take them west. The mainland of New Guinea soon finished but
a string of small islands and fringing reefs would prevent Bougainville sailing north.
On 17 June a small island reminded Bougainville of Ouessant (Ushant) near Brest and he
named the island accordingly. They passed Tagula Island before, on 22 June, reaching Rossel,
the end of the island chain. With great relief they named the eastern point of the island
Cap de la Deliverance. King Louis XV was honoured when the sea they had just sailed through
was named Golfe de la Louisiade and the island chain was named Archipel de la Louisiade.
Not all was well or harmonious aboard the ships. Supplies were in very short supply and
Bougainville had to reduce rations further. The last goat and dog were killed to be eaten
while several members of the crew were acquiring a taste for cooked rat. Saint-Germain, who
kept a journal wrote of his suspicions that Bougainville had extra and better food than
everyone else aboard. He also questioned the reasons for and success of the voyage.
Bougainville, in his journal, recorded that he had the same food as the crew.
Sailing north the French saw land again on 28 June. Several small islands, Ranongga, Baga
and Simbu, were seen to the northeast while more small islands, the Treasury Islands were
seen in the distance to the northwest. They had reached the Solomon Islands, named by the
Spanish explorer Mendoza nearly 200 years earlier but whose exact location had remained a
mystery. The next day they passed Vella Lavella and approahed a much larger island trending
southeast to northwest. The ships sailed northwest along the island's southern coast.
Canoes full of armed men came offshore. They were seen to be Melanesian
The end of the island was reached on 30 June and Bougainville sent two longboats to inspect
a bay and search for anchorages and supplies. In the bay the longboats encountered 10 canoes
with 150 armed men who attacked the French with arrows and stones. The French replied with
two rounds of gunfire, the second of which dispersed the locals. Two canoes with carved heads
on their prows were captured along with their contents of nuts, fruit, coconuts, and bows
and arrows. A good anchorage was identified but the ships had great difficulty in
negotiating passages in the Raz Denys that protected the bay and stood off. The island and
the bay were named Choiseul in honour of Etienne-Francois, Duc de Choiseul, the present
French Minister of Marine. The River Sui from which the canoes had emerged was called
Riviere aux Guerriers (Warriors' river).
July 1768 - August 1768 Solomon Islands and New Ireland
The British buccaneer Dampier had visited this area 60 years earlier and described an
anchorage on the island of what he called New Britain, north of New Guinea. Bougainville
rounded Cape Hanpan, the northernmpost point of Buka and headed west looking for Dampier's
island. The Nissan islands were seen in the distance to the north. On 6 July he reached a
headland and sent Bouchage ashore to look for an anchorage. This was found and the ships dropped anchor safely in a
sheltered bay just north of the headland, Cape St. George.
The bay, Port Praslin, proved to have good sources of fresh water and timber but little
else. It rained continually for most of the 18 days they remained in the bay, ensuring a
nearby waterfall always looked spectacular. Repairs were made to the ships and the sick
were able to get ashore to help their recovery. However, there were no coconut palms or
bananas or other fuits for the French to collect. Part of a metal plaque with writing in
English was then found. A search revealed other signs of a recent visit to another bay,
just to the north, by a British ship in the last few months. Bougainville speculated that
it was Carteret in the Swallow. A solar eclipse on 13 July allowed Veron to fix the
bay's position. An offshore island was named variously Ile Duclos and Isle aux Marteaux
(after hammer oysters found there). They were finally able to sail on 24 July but only
after experiencing an earthquake two days earlier.
The ships rounded the headland and sailed off to the north along the east coast of the
island where they had been anchored. Bougainville did not realise that the land against
which he had anchored was in fact an island separated from New Britain by a passage, St.
George's Channel. This island was later called New Ireland. A smaller headland just
northeast of Cape St. George is called Cape Bougainville. As they sailed up the coast
Bougainville bestowed the names of some of his officers on offshore islands as they were
passed. From south to north these were Bournand for Ambitle in the Feni Group, D'Oraison
for Malendok on the Tanga Group, Du Bouchage for Lihir, and Suzannet for the joint islands
of Tabar and Tatau. None of Bougainville's names have been retained.
The stay at Port Praslin had proved good for recuperation but poor as a source for
provisions so food for everyone was still strictly rationed. As they were finally nearing
again a part of the world with European contact, albeit the Dutch East Indies, Bougainville
reasoned that the need to use tents had reduced considerably and he gave instructions to
cut up the tent material to make new trousers for the crews. The men had been away for 18
months and their clothes were in poor condition.
On 29 July the ships were visited by visited by canoes manned by armed islanders who
brandished bows and arrows. The next day more canoes appeared and the French speculated
that the islanders were preparing for an attack by identifying which was the weaker vessel.
Indeed, on the 31st the Etoile was attacked by a flotilla of canoes but cannon fire
scattered the canoes, none of which returned. They reached the end of New Ireland on 2
August but another smaller island, New Hanover (called Kerhue after another French officer)
was located off its northwestern point. Cape Entrance (Dampier's Cape Salomasner), the
northern point of New Hanover was passed and on 3 August 1768 they were in open water
with a tiny island, Tench (Le Corre) distant on the northern horizon. Dampier had located
and named the St. Matthias Islands in 1700. Now, on the 4th, Bougainville sailed past to the
north of Emira and the larger Mussau that make up the island group.
August 1768 New Guinea to Ceram
The ships were sailing just south of west when on 9 August two small islands appeared.
They were followed by a cluster of many others. Bougainville called the group L'Echiquier
(Chessboard) but the islands are now known as the Ninigo Group. Again, Bougainville was wary of
grounding and did not attempt to land. Keeping the islands to his north, he passed between
them and another isolated island, Liot, off to the south. Bougainville called Liot La
Boudeuse after his own ship. The French headed southwest away from the islands.
By 11 August the ships could see the mainland of New Guinea. Between Vanimo in Papua New
Guinea and the Irian Jaya border are situated Bougainville Bay and Mount Bougainville. On
the 13th two mountains were especially clear, which Bougainville called the Two Cyclops. A
coastal range of mountains running west from Jayapura on Humboldt Bay is still called the
Cyclops mountains. A series of small islands lie off the north coast of New Guinea and over
the next few days Bougainville sighted them but did not attempt to land. Progress was slow
on account of the state of the Etoile.
A group of islands, Pulau Podena, in Teluk Walckenaer was called Iles des Falaises while
Oger, the pilot of the Boudeuse, had his name bestowed on the next island they
passed, though it has reverted to being called Pulau Jamna. On 15 August Bougainville
could see a particularly high mountain, which he called Moulineau (it was probably a
mountain of 2193 metres in the Foja Range). Another island, L'Isle d'Alie, one of the
Pulau Koumamba islands, followed. The currents were against them and then the surface of
the sea started to be covered with material such as tree trunks, leaves and fruit,
denoting the outflow of a large river. Indeed, the River Mamberano enters the sea close
by Tandjung D'Urville. On the 18th the much larger offshore island of Biak came into view.
Morale was low and food continued to be in extremely short supply causing them to kill
and eat their last dog. They were now close to the Equator and the ships crossed the line
several times. By the 21st, Bougainville had regained the coast of New Guinea in the form of the
Doberai Peninsula but the next day the coast began trending to the south. He was aware
that he was nearing the western end of New Guinea, off which there were many small islands
and routes through them were hard to locate. While waiting once more for the Etoile
to catch up Bougainville sent Suzannet to investigate two small islands, Pulau Su but no
houses and people were seen or food obtained.
Bougainville could now see a wide passage (Dampier Strait) between New Guinea and an
island, Waigeo, off to the west. He realised he had the choice of attempting to make the
passage or go round to the north of Waigeo. A tentative effort was made at negotiating the
strait but currents and winds forced the ships back and they steered for the north of
Waigeo. Even then they were in danger as they were driven close to rocks and over reefs.
On 24 August, sailing west, they saw canoes along the coast and could see the atolls of
Pulau Ayu to the north. Their troubles were far from over as, the next day, approaching the western end
of Waigeo, Bougainville was faced with three passages to choose from to get him through to
the open seas to the southwest. He chose the southern passage between the islands of
Waigeo and Kawe, off to its north. The French sailed through safely and called their
route French Passage. It was later called Selat Bougainville (Bougainville Strait).
Passing to the west of Gag the Boudeuse and the Etoile pressed on toward the
southwest. A string of islands stretched across their route. Bougainville called them the
Five Isles and sailed between the Boo Islands and Pisang (called Le Gros Thomas by the
French). Bougainville instructed La Giraudais to send out the Etoile's small boat to
investigate Pisang but, other than one man, nothing of interest was found. On 30 August land
was seen to the south.
On 31 August 1768 the French ships reached the north coast of the island of Ceram. They
had reached the area under the control of the Dutch East India Company, whi
The war (later known as the Seven Years War), which had broken out in North America, had, by
1756, spread to Europe, when Britain formally declared war on France on 18 May. The French, who were
keen to protect their interests in North America, dispatched an army across the North
Atlantic under the command of Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm. Bougainville secured a
position as Aide-de-camp to Montcalm and they sailed from Brest on the Licorne on
3 April 1756. Bougainville quickly impressed Montcalm and they developed a close working
relationship, becoming good friends.
Bougainville set off back to Montreal on 31 January 1757, reaching that city on 2 February.
Relations between Governor Vaudreuil and the Marquis de Montcalm continued to be very cool,
with Vaudreuil reluctant to consult Montcalm or to inform him of his own plans. An example soon
occurred when Vaudreuil dispatched his brother, Rigaud, to command an army comprising the Canadian
militia and Indians, in an attack on the British outpost of Fort William Henry at the
southern end of Lake St. Sacrement. Vaudreuil was intent on gaining status at the expense
of Montcalm but this expedition was destined for failure. The French reached the fort and
demanded its surrender but the British refused, leaving Rigaud to retreat to Fort Carillon.
Meanwhile, Montcalm, Bougainville and the regular French army waited in Montreal for the
weather to improve.
In mid-February 1758 Bougainville left Quebec for Montreal, which he reached on the 22nd.
In early March, he paid another visit to his adopted Iroquois family in Sault St. Louis.
The British were expected to attack on several fronts, including along the Richelieu valley
where the French had captured Fort William Henry the previous year. Montcalm realised the
need to defend the forts at the south end of Lake Champlain and, in late June, took his
troops to Fort Carillon (this fort would later be known as Fort Ticonderoga). They arrived
on 30 June and six days later the British army had negotiated Lake St. Sacrement to
assemble outside the fort. In mid-1758, Bougainville learned that Celuta was pregnant and
soon after a boy, their child, Lorimie-Nuage Lointain, was born.
After a slow crossing the Chezine arrived at Quebec on 10 May just ahead of the
storeships but, more importantly, just ahead of the British fleet that was coming to attack
Quebec. Bougainville quickly went on to Montreal to inform Montcalm and Vaudreuil of the
lack of success of his trip and the news about the British. Vaudreuil learned that he had
to answer to Montcalm in all matters relating to the war.During his short stay at Montreal
it is thought he crossed to Sault-St. Louis to see Celuta and the baby Lorimie. All the
French leaders immediately hastened with their forces to Quebec and Bougainville was back
there on 22 May. He was dispatched with Anne-Josephe-Hippolyte Maures de Malartic to check
the defences along the north shore of the St. Lawrence as far as Cap Tourmente. In June
the Ile d'Orleans was evacuated while Bougainville was placed in charge of the camp at
Beauport, just northeast of Quebec city.
At the beginning of 1760 the French in Canada were expecting attacks from three fronts.
The overall British commander, Major-General Jeffery Amherst was known to be in the Ohio
Valley region and was expected to move via Lake Ontario. A second force under
Brigadier-General William Haviland was assembling to the south near Albany. The third
army under Murray was in Quebec, which it had taken the year before. The French were
stretched to meet these challenges and they dug in to defend the region around Montreal.
In March 1760 Bougainville was given command of Fort Ile-aux-Noix, the most
southerly of three forts on the River Richelieu, guarding against attack from the south.
In 1748 Bougainville became acquainted with the famous
actress of the time, La Clairon, and a short relationship is thought to have
developed. By 1755, Bougainville was involved with Madame de la Fortelle, the
young wife, of an elderly noble. When he was in Canada, Louis-Antoine and Celuta,
an Iroquois, had a relationship, which produced a son, Lorimie-Nuage Lointain.
On his return to Paris, and while he was under parole, Bougainville had a
succession of partners. They included Sophie Arnould, one of the most famous
actresses of the time. Bougainville's exploits at this time were apparently
worthy of police scrutiny and a police report told of a Madamoiselle Reybres
living at Bougainville's appartment.
Things changed in May 1762 when Choiseul obtained a partial relief to Bougainville's
parole that allowed him to participate in the war in Europe. He was made an Etat-Major
and attached to Choiseul's brother, the Comte de Stainville. Having reached the Comte,
Bougainville
was sent on with dispatches for the Marechal de Soubise and the Marechal d'Estres,
commanders of the French army in Germany. In July 1762, he was placed in charge of a
regiment of dragoons at Hirschfeld, part of a force entrusted with blocking the advance of
Luchner's Prussian army. No engagement took place and de Stainville sent Bougainville back
to Paris to report on events. The Duke of Bedford, the British Ambassador to France, then
agreed to the complete termination of Bougainville's parole.
At the beginning of 1763, Bougainville began to have ideas for a project that might
restore some French pride. In his short stay in London seven years earlier he had
met and talked with Admiral George Anson, who had led an expedition into the Pacific Ocean.
Through his own brother, Jean-Pierre, and Charles de Brosses, Bougainville had read other works about the
Pacific and the potential it offered for new lands to discover and settle. Then, in 1759,
he had talked to Nicolas Duclos-Guyot about the Iles Malouines (known to the British as
the Falkland Islands) in the South Atlantic Ocean. Bougainville saw these islands as the
key to the Pacific in that, close to the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn, they controlled
the passage of ships from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean. If the French could start a
settlement on these islands they would control the passage.
Ship type
Length
Width
Weight
Expedition leader
Captain
Second-in-command
Engineer / Geographer
Captain of Artillery
Naturalist / Historian
Master
Persons on board
On 14 January 1764, the two reunited ships sailed from Montevideo into the South Atlantic
Ocean. Their presence in Montevideo had concerned the local Governor and he dispatched
messages to Madrid voicing his suspicions about the destination and intent of the two
ships. On the last day of the month, the small islands, the Sebaldes (now called Jason
Islands), situated off the northwest point of the Malouines, were sighted. The ships
worked their way eastward along the north coast past La Tour de Bissy (Eddystone) and round
to anchor at the head of a large inlet. This inlet was later called Berkeley Sound by the
British but Bougainville named two parts of it, where they were anchored, Baie Luxembourg
and Baie Accaron.
It is difficult to place exactly the locations of many
of the incidents relating to Bougainville and his associates during their
time in the Iles Malouines.
Partly, this as a result of the subsequent political history of the islands,
whereby most of the names bestowed by the French were replaced by Spanish and
British ones. For example, Baie Accaron became Puerto de la Soledad under the
Spanish and Berkeley Sound under the British. Sometimes names moved, as
happened with the name Baie Marville transferring away from present day Port
Salvador to a much smaller cove just to the east.
Partly, it can be ascribed to the imprecise details found in Dom Pernetty's
book and the journals of others present. For example, Bougainville describes
walking for 6 leagues in a southwesterly direction from Beauport (Port
Stanley) - this is impossible as another inlet would have blocked his
progress. Either the direction or the distance were incorrect.
And partly, the maps and known topography of the period contribute to the
confusion. A British sailor, John Strong, had visited in 1690 and had sailed
between the two main islands, calling the strait Falkland Sound, yet
Bougainville seemed to be unaware of this strait. Other French sailors had
also visited and the cartographer, Frezier, had produced a chart as early as
1716 but Bougainville does not seem to have been totally au fait with it.
Finally, bad cartography played its part. The English translation of Dom
Pernetty's book carries a map of the islands where the whole of the
northeastern part of East Falkland is badly distorted. Present day Ports
William and Stanley are entirely absent and the names that Bougainville
applied to them, Baie Choiseul and Beauport, have been attached to inlets
much further south. To this day Choiseul Sound is applied to the wrong inlet.
On 3 January, La Tour de Bissy was sighted and two days later the Aigle was anchored
once more at Port Louis. As the ship was unloaded, Bougainville learned from his cousin,
Bougainville de Nerville, that the community had survived the winter relatively
unscathed. There had been one death but this was countered by two births and one
marriage. They had made tentative attempts to explore the island and an Acadian, Augustin
Benoist, believed there were, in fact, two islands separated by a stait. They had also
erected several new buildings at the settlement. In late January, groups went out to
explore. One group set out to climb a nearby mountain while another took a small boat
round to the north coast. This group returned having seen, they claimed, two ships,
possibly British, off the Baie de Marville (present day Port Salvador). The good luck of
the settlement was shattered when a wave swamped a small boat and five men were drowned.
Bougainville spent the winter in Paris and at Court. On 7 April 1766 Choiseul handed over
the Ministry du Marine to his cousin, the Duc de Praslin. Two days later, Choiseul
dispatched Bougainville, ostensibly with war plans, to Madrid, which Bougainville
reached on 18 April. The Spanish Court was at Aranjuez, with the Marquis d'Ossun in
attendance, so the Abbe Beliardi met Bougainville before escorting him to Aranjuez on 26
April. Through Ossun, Bougainville presented Grimaldi with another report outlining
French claims and rights but Grimaldi remained unconvinced. In early May, Bougainville,
accompanied by Beliardi, finally met Grimaldi and Bougainville was further dismayed to
learn that the Spanish did not intend to reimburse his costs, that being the duty of the French
Government.
Ship type
Length
Width
Weight
Expedition leader
Captain
First Lieutenant
Other Officers / Ensigns
Jean-Jacques-Pierre de Gratet, Chevalier de Bouchage
Pierre Landais
Pierre-Marie Lavarye-Leroy
Engineer / Cartographer
Captain of Artillery
Naturalist / Doctor
Astronomer
Writer / Historian
Surgeon
Passenger
Master
Persons on board
The Boudeuse had been overhauled and stocked at Nantes, in readiness for the voyage.
In early November 1766 it sailed out of the River Loire into the Bay of Biscay but on the
17th it encountered a storm in which two masts were broken, necessatating a return to land.
Bougainville made for Brest and anchored in the Rade du Brest on 21 November. All repairs
being completed, the ship sailed from Brest on 5 December, heading for the South Atlantic.
On 17 December they approached the small islands, the Islas Selvagens, north of the
Canary Islands, which were themselves sighted and passed the next day. Bougainville did not
stop and pressed on to pass the Cape Verde Islands on the 21st and cross the Equator on 8
January 1767.
The Iles Sebaldes (Jason Islands) to the northwest of the Malouines were sighted on 21
March and the ships sailed along the north coast, past La Conchee and Baye Accaron, to anchor
near Port Louis on the 24th. The islands were handed over on 1 April 1767. The Acadians, who
had been brought here by Bougainville, were given the option of staying on under Spanish
rule or being shipped by the Spanish back to France. The majority chose to return to
France, while ten volunteered to sail with Bougainville as replacements for sick and
deserters (three men had absconded at Montevideo). The Spanish ships sailed on 27 April.
There was no sign of the Etoile and Bougainville settled down to wait its arrival.
In mid-May he made a short trip to l'Anse a l'Yvrogne and Beauport. However, by the end of
May the Etoile still had not appeared and Bougainville determined to leave at
the beginning of June. The Boudeuse sailed north on 2 June to the second nominated
rendezvous, Rio de Janeiro.
The two ships left Rio de Jameiro on 15 July and sailed down to Montevideo. The Etoile
was taking on water and was much slower than the frigate, which often had to wait for the
storeship to catch up. En route, the astronomer, Veron, who had transferred on to the
Boudeuse, predicted a solar eclipse and this was observed on 25 July. Five days
later the ships anchored in Montevideo, where Bougainville learned that Spain and its
colonies were expelling Jesuits. He also found that the ships that were to take the Acadian
settlers back to Europe had been appropriated to transport the Jesuits, so the Acadians were
still in the River Plate area. On 9 August, Bougainville crossed to Buenos Aires in a
schooner to meet the Governor. He was in Buenos Aires from the 11th to the 19th before
returning to Montevideo. Arriving back on the 23rd, he was informed that a Spanish ship, the
San Fernando, had dragged its anchors in a storm and smashed into the neighbouring
Etoile causing severe damage. The bowsprit was broken and there was a hole in the
bow through which it was taking on water.
Finally, on 14 November the two ships were able to leave Montevideo and the Rio Plata.
It was virtually a year to the day since Bougainville had sailed from Nantes and yet he was
still only in the South Atlantic. On the passage south past Patagonia a storm caused damage
to the Etoile but, at last, in early December, they sighted the northern entrance to
the Strait of Magellan, Cabo Virgenes. The ships entered the Strait two days later on
5 December. Bougainville and Duclos-Guyot were now in familiar territory, having visited
the Strait three years earlier on a wood collecting trip from the Iles Malouines. They
began a slow passage through the Strait and would take seven weeks to reach the Pacific
Ocean. The ships anchored on the 7th by the north shore in Baie de Possession (Bahia
Posesion). Sailing on, they passed through the Premier Goulet (Primera Angostura) to anchor,
on the 8th, close to Cabo San Gregorio at the western end of Baie Boucault (Bahia Santiago).
They met local Patagonian people.
1768 began badly for Bougainville. The first few days were relatively fine and allowed some
exploration to take place. On 1 January he sent one longboat out to investigate ahead
along the north shore, hoping to reach Baie Elizabeth (Bahia Isabel), and another to
examine the Isles Royales (Islas Carlos) in the middle of the Strait. Meanwhile, inspection
of Port Galant revealed felled tree trunks, inscriptions on tree trunks and other signs of
recent European visitors, probably most recently the British expedition of Wallis and
Carteret. Bougainville dispatched another boat to the southern shore of the Strait, where he
expected the entrance of the Canal Barbara to be located. On the 4th, some men climbed
the mountain behind Port Galant, which afforded a good panorama of the Strait.
Entering the Pacific, the ships sailed northwest. Bougainville instructed La Giraudais to sail
the Etoile just behind and to the south of the Boudeuse but always keeping in
sight so that they would cover as much ocean as possible. A British sailor, Davis, had
reported land in the southeast Pacific and Bougainville attempted to verify the sighting
but with no success. In fact, no land was sighted until late March. During March a water
distillation machine was used successfully to supplement the water ration.
The French called the island Nouvelle-Cythere and the group of islands, Archipel de
Bourbon. Its local name was Tahiti and the anchorage was at Hitiaa on Tahiti-Nui. On 7
April Bougainville met Ereti, the Chief of the district, and received assent to set up a
camp ashore. A building close to a stream was allocated to the French where they could
take their sick ashore. They were also given permission to draw water from the stream.
Bougainville used soldiers to guard the camp, especially against thieving, which seemed
endemic among the Tahitians. The continued thieving would prove a problem between the two
peoples. The French entertained the Tahitians with music and a fireworks display.
The ships sailed north at first skirting the atoll of Tetiaroa before striking westward
once more. Ahu-toru was soon able to demonstrate his knowledge of neighbouring islands and
his ability to navigate using the stars and other natural phenomena. He told
Bougainville which islands were friendly with Tahiti and he was keen for the ships to
visit them. Bougainville, who was sick at the time, preferred to sail on. In doing so he
missed the islands in the Leeward Group of what would be later known as the Society
Islands.
Late on 4 June crew on the Boudeuse heard the sound of breakers and cannons were
fired to warn the Etoile. The next morning a low sandy island could be seen on
which Bougainville bestowed the name, Le Bature de Diane (Diane Bank). The next day the
ships arrived at a reef, which was the cause of concern to the French. Given the state of
the ships Bougainville decided to turn and head northeast away from potential disaster.
The reef, later called Bougainville Reef, was an outlier of the Great Barrier Reef that
fringes the eastern coast of New Holland (later called Australia) and the sailors' concern
was well founded. Some of the crew believed they had been able to see land from the
mastheads away to the southwest.
With the longboats back on board the ships sailed from Choiseul on 2 July 1768. Across a
strait to the northwest was another island and both this island and the strait would be
called after Bougainville. The Boudeuse and the Etoile sailed along the
island's north coast. On the 3rd a prominent cape at the northern end of Bougainville
Island was named Cap Laverdi. Beyond the cape was a smaller island from which canoes came
out, full of men shouting "bouka, bouka, bouka", which occasioned Bougainville to call the
island Bouka (It is now written as Buka). The word probably meant "come here". The island
of Choiseul had not provided them with many supplies and Bougainville was still looking
for somewhere to land. Once more Bougainville took possession for France of land they
had just visited or passed.
On 8 August a small island appeared ahead. The Boudeuse and the Etoile passed
to the south of the island but close enough to observe the presence of many coconut palms
and houses. Numbers of canoes were out fishing but the occupants ignored the passing French
completely. Bougainville named the island Ile de Anchorites (Hermits) on account of their
seeming isolation and self-contentment. The island and some adjacent smaller ones are
still called the Anchorites or the Kaniet Islands. One of the other islands was seen
further west and Commerson called it Sae. (Strangely the name Hermit Islands is now
applied tho Maron and Luf Islands, further south and not seen by Bougainville).