A little background
At the beginning of 1772, Lapérouse left for the Isle of France with his protector Arsac de Ternay who had just been appointed commander general.
From there, in April 1773, he undertook a long expedition in the Indian seas.
He returned to Isle de France in March 1774 and returned to France in May 1777 after five years away.
Promoted to Lieutenant on April 4, 1777, he was created Knight of Saint Louis the following month for having saved Mahé from the Indians.
He was initiated into Freemasonry in the Brest lodge “l’Heureuse rencontre”.
Charged with two voyages to the East Indies as commander of La Seine, he met his future wife, Éléonore Broudou, daughter of a shipowner from Nantes, who had become a naval administrator, on the Isle de France.
The fourteen years of peace from 1764 to 1778 allowed him to consolidate his experience of navigation in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, first as a simple officer, then as commander of several of the king’s ships.
At the end of his four-year stay in Mauritius, he published a memoir, “Projects on India”.
The monuments
Monument in Curepipe (Mauritius)
1805 & 1897 in Curepipe (Mauritius)
Monument erected to Lapérouse in 1897 by the Comité des
Historical Memories, at Eau Coulée in Curepipe
Matthew Flinders, during his forced stay on Île-Maurice (from 1804 to 1810), paid tribute to Lapérouse by visiting his house and the garden that still existed and had a memorial stone erected to Lapérouse.
LAPEROUSE
ILLUSTRE NAVIGATEUR
ACHETE CE TERRAIN EN AVRIL 1773 ET Y VECU
LA CAPITAINE FLINDERS DIT
“In this spot he once dwelt, perhaps little known to the world but happy”
THIS STELE, ISSUED BY GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.
FOR THE BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE OF THE REVOLUTION,
WAS INAUGURATED ON MARCH 14, 1989 BY MR. ALAIN DECAUX
OF THE FRENCH ACADEMY, MINISTER OF FRANCOPHONIE
TO THE MEMORY OF
JEAN FRANCOIS GALAUP
COUNT OF LAPEROUSE
FRENCH NAVIGATOR
EXPLORER OF THE INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS
(1741 – 1788)
LAPEROUSE LIVED ON THE ISLE OF FRANCE FROM 1772 TO 1776 AND SETTLED IN MESNIL TO BE CLOSER TO THE ONE HE WAS GOING TO MARRY IN 1783
ELEONORE BROUDOU
IN 1785, KING LOUIS XVI CHARGED LAPEROUSE WITH A SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF CAPTAIN COOK.
WITH HIS SHIPS “THE COMPASS” AND “THE ASTROLABE” LAPEROUSE EXPLORED THE CHINA SEA AND DISCOVERED THE STRAIT THAT LEADS TO KAMCHATKA AND NOW BEARS HIS NAME. HE SAILED ALL OVER THE PACIFIC TO AUSTRALIA.
RETURNING TO THE ISLAND OF FRANCE, LAPEROUSE AND HIS COMPANIONS GOT LOST ON THE REEFS OF VANIKORO, AN UNKNOWN ISLAND.
IN 1791, ADMIRAL D’ENTRECASTEAUX WAS SENT BY THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY TO SEARCH FOR LAPEROUSE AND LOST HIMSELF AT SEA.
ON THE STEPS OF THE SCAFFOLD LOUIS XVI STILL ASKED: “IS THERE ANY NEWS ABOUT LAPEROUSE”.