An Account of a Voyage in Search ofLa Pérouse
Undertaken by Order of the Constituent Assembly of France, and Performed in the Years 1791, 1792, and 1793

This 1800 English translation, covering a scientifically significant voyage in Australasia, is accompanied by a volume of finely engraved plates.

Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (Author)

9781108073769, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 October 2014

482 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.7 cm, 0.61 kg

Following the mysterious disappearance of the La Pérouse expedition after it sailed out of Botany Bay in 1788, the French botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (1755–1834) took part in the search that departed in 1791 from Brest in two ships, Recherche and Espérance. In the space of three years, the expedition's naturalists collected numerous specimens, with Labillardière focusing on Australian flora, but their missing countrymen were never found. Notwithstanding the later confiscation of the scientific collections by the British - Sir Joseph Banks helped to secure their return - Labillardière was able to publish this narrative to great acclaim in 1800. Reissued here is the English translation of the same year, complete with a volume of finely engraved plates. The work is especially notable for its descriptions and illustrations of the indigenous peoples of Australasia. Volume 2 includes discussion of Tasmania, New Caledonia and the Friendly Islands, along with vocabulary lists.

Table of the route of the Espérance
Names and value of new French measures, compared with the old
10. Stay in Rocky Bay
11. Departure from Rocky Bay
12. Departure from Adventure Bay
13. Departure from Tongataboo
14. Departure from New Caledonia
15. Stay at Waygiou
Vocabulary of the Malay language
Vocabulary of the savages of Cape Diemen
Vocabulary of the language of the Friendly Islands
Vocabulary of the language of the natives of New Caledonia
Vocabulary of the language of the natives of Waygiou.

Subject Areas: European history [HBJD]