Where Fate Beckons

by Dunmore, John

• ISBN13: 9781602230026
• ISBN10: 1602230021
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-08-15
• Publisher: Univ of Alaska Pr

Summary

French explorer and naval officer Jean-Francois de la Perouse (174188) was, after James Cook, the greatest explorer of the Pacific in the eighteenth century. In 1785, La Perouse was commissioned by Louis XVI to head an expedition into the uncharted regions of the Pacific Ocean. Setting out from France, the expedition over the next three years was the first to map the coasts of California, Alaska, and Siberia. From there, La Perouse continued to Easter Island and Hawaii, where La Perouse Bay bears his name. After a stop in Botany Bay, Australia, La Perouse's two ships set out for the Solomon Islands. En route, they encountered a storm and were sunk; despite search efforts over the centuries, no trace of the wreckage of La Perouse's ships has been found. Where Fate Beckonstells the story of La Perouse's life and adventures, along the way providing a lively introduction to the world of French colonialism, the end of the Age of Exploration, and French society in the years leading to the French Revolution.

Author Biography

John Dunmore is professor emeritus of French at Massey University, New Zealand and has written more than twenty books on French navigation in the Pacific.

Table of Contents

Prologue
A Teenager at War	p. 1
Albi	p. 2
Brest	p. 3
A Teenager at War	p. 4
The Slow End of a Disastrous War
Interlude	p. 5
Marking Time
Down in the Indian Ocean	p. 6
Arguments in the Isle de France	p. 7
Service in Indian Waters	p. 8
Introducing Elenore Broudou
The American War	p. 9
Back in France	p. 10
The American Campaign Begins	p. 11
The Struggle Continues	p. 12
Triumphs and Defeats	p. 13
The Hudson Bay Raid
Family Business	p. 14
Marriage at Last
The Great Voyage	p. 15
An Inquiry in Lorient and Plans in Paris	p. 16
Paris: The Final Plans	p. 17
South and North to Alaska	p. 18
Alaska to California	p. 19
Across the Pacific to China and the Philippines	p. 20
The Philippines to Kamchatka	p. 21
Kamchatka to Australia	p. 22
Forty Years of Oblivion
The Unending Search
Epilogue La Perouse Commemorated
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
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