Synopses & Reviews
French explorer and naval officer Jean-François de la Pérouse (1741-88) was, after James Cook, the greatest explorer of the Pacific in the eighteenth century. In 1785, La Pérouse 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 Pérouse continued to Easter Island and Hawaii, where La Pérouse Bay bears his name. After a stop in Botany Bay, Australia, La Pérouse'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 Pérouse's ships has been found.
Where Fate Beckons tells the story of La Pérouse'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.
Review
"The world of Pacificc scholarship owes a considerable debt to John Dunmore, whose monographs, editions of journals, and articles . . . have documented the exploits of French navigators in the great ocean. . . . Dunmore is particularly effective in using the journals to convey the claustrophobic, often squalid conditions on ships crowded with men and animals. . . . [Dunmores two biographies] provide readbale and balanced accounts of the lives of two navigators who to many in the English-speaking world are little more than names." Glyndwr Williams
Review
"[Dunmore] wears considerable learning lightly. . . . [He] is consistently excellent." International History Review
Synopsis
French explorer and naval officer Jean-Francois de la Perouse (1741-88) 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 Beckons tells 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.
About the Author
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
Part 1: A Teenager at War
1 Albi
2 Brest
3 A Teenager at War
4 The Slow End of a Disastrous War
Part 2: Interlude
5 Marking Time
Part 3: Down in the Indian Ocean
6 Arguments in the Isle de France
7 Service in Indian Waters
8 Introducing Elénore Broudou
Part 4: The American War
9 Back in France
10 The American Campaign Begins
11 The Struggle Continues
12 Triumphs and Defeats
13 The Hudson Bay Raid
Part 5: Family Business
14 Marriage at Last
Part 6: The Great Voyage
15 An Inquiry in Lorient and Plans in Paris
16 Paris: The Final Plans
17 South and North to Alaska
18 Alaska to California
19 Across the Pacific to China and the Philippines
20 The Philippines to Kamchatka
21 Kamchatka to Australia
22 Forty Years of Oblivion
Part 7: The Unending Search
Epilogue
La Pérouse Commemorated
Notes
Select Bibliography
IndexMaps