Where Fate Beckons : The Life of Jean-Francois de la Perouse

by Dunmore, John

• ISBN13: 9781602230033
• ISBN10: 160223003X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-15
• 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: 11 November 1826	p. 7
A Teenager at War
Albi: 25 August 1741	p. 9
Brest: December 1756-March 1757	p. 14
A Teenager at War: April 1757-November 1759	p. 21
The Slow End of a Disastrous War: January 1760-January 1763	p. 31
Interlude
Marking Time: February 1763-December 1771	p. 39
Down in the Indian Ocean
Arguments in the Isle de France: January-September 1772	p. 56
Service in Indian Waters: April 1773-April 1774	p. 73
Introducing Eleonore Broudou: May 1774-September 1776	p. 85
The American War
Back in France: May 1777-June 1778	p. 102
The American Campaign Begins: July 1778-February 1780	p. 111
The Struggle Continues: March 1780-April 1781	p. 121
Triumphs and Defeats: April 1781-May 1782	p. 133
The Hudson Bay Raid: May-November 1782	p. 150
Family Business
Marriage at Last: April-October 1783	p. 161
The Great Voyage
An Inquiry in Lorient and Plans in Paris: October 1783-May 1784	p. 171
Paris: The Final Plans: September 1784-June 1785	p. 179
South and North to Alaska: August 1785-June 1786	p. 193
Alaska to California: July-September 1786	p. 205
Across the Pacific to China and the Philippines: October 1786-March 1787	p. 215
The Philippines to Kamchatka: April-September 1787	p. 223
Kamchatka to Australia: October 1787-March 1788	p. 238
Forty Years of Oblivion: 1788-1827	p. 250
The Unending Search	p. 259
Epilogue	p. 265
La Perouse Commemorated	p. 267
Notes	p. 268
Select Bibliography	p. 277
Index	p. 285
Maps
France	p. 16
British North America in the 1780s	p. 116
The West Indies	p. 141
Voyage of La Perouse	p. 198
La Perouse in Alaska	p. 210
La Perouse in North-East Asia	p. 234
Possible route of the expedition May-June 1788	p. 253
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