« Comte Jean-François de Galaup de Lapérouse, I am sending you on a scientific expedition to the last ocean with unknown parts…»
Louis XVI, king of France, asked Lapérouse to take care of his crews as well as the populations he would come into contact with, to facilitate the opening of trading posts for the fur trade, but the priority was scientific.
Two ships were placed at the disposal of Lapérouse, La Boussole under his command and the Astrolabe under that of De Langle.
The expedition wanted by Louis XVI did not stop at Vanikoro but continues today in the wake of La Boussole and the Astrolabe.
Whether the two ships were stopped by a storm and an unknown coastline, both equally unpredictable, or whether the crews disappeared, the memory and spirit of the expedition remain intact.
Human beings met, got to know each other, gathered around the values conveyed by Lapérouse.