At the turn of the eighteenth century, Australia might nominally have
belonged to England, but it was France who knew her best.
For the English, Australia was essentially Botany Bay, a land for convicts
and a potential for colonial ventures. But for the French, Australia and the
Pacific were places of discovery, imagination and inspiration. Despite wars and
political turmoil, successive French governments sent impressivelyn
well-equipped scientific expeditions to study the people, plants, animals and
environment of the Pacific.
Tracing the often-tragic voyages of Bougainville, Laperouse, d'Entrecasteaux,
Baudin, Freycinet, Dumont d'Urville and others for Australia from 1768 to 1828,
'Voyage to the South Seas' brings to life this remarkable period. Some of the
stories include Empress Josephine's construction of her 'Australian' garden at
Malmaison and Louise VXI's ruminations on his way to his execution as well as
Sir Joseph Banks' efforts to collaborate with his French colleagues.
It is a story of the scientists, collectors, savants and sailors who risked
their lives in order to bring back untold riches, not of spices and gold, but of
knowledge, for a fascinated public to devour.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Looking for Laperouse: d'Entrecasteaux (1791-1794)
- Louis XVI
- Jacques-Julien Labillardiere
- Antoine-Raymond-Joseph Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
- Elisabeth-Paul-Edouard de Rossel
- Unknown Sailor
- Joseph Banks
Picking to Shells and Catching Butterflies: Baudin (1801-1804)
- Josephine Bonaparte
- Nicolas Baudin
- Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
- Francois Peron
- Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
In the Footsteps of Others: Freycinet (1817-1820, Duperry (1822-1824), and
Bougainville (1824-1825)
- Rose de Freycinet
- Rene Lesson
- Georges Cuvier
- Hyacinthe de Bougainville
The Last Great Continent: Dumont d'Urville (1826-1829 and 1837-1840)
- Jules Dumont d'Urville
- Elisabeth-Paul-Edourd de Rossel
- Charles Darwin
- Jules Dumont d'Urville
Notes
Bibliography
Picture Sources
