Synopses & Reviews
This volume completes a trilogy meant to be a commentary on the botanophilia that captured the literate public in 18th-century France. Enthusiastic public support for any governmental initiative likely to expand botanical knowledge was an expression of immense curiosity about the natural world beyond Europe. It amounted to a quest for universal knowledge that could benefit all mankind: useful knowledge that could improve the human condition in this life.
Review
From the reviews: "William's book is the third in a trilogy devoted to the love of botany in eighteenth-century France ... . Of value are his translations of original printed documents connected with the voyage, and his detailed chronological record of events ... . The story of La Pérouse's lost expedition and the trials and tribulations of those who went in search of it is inevitably a moving and exciting one, well recounted here." (Emma Spary, British Society for the History of Science, 2005)
Review
From the reviews:
"William's book is the third in a trilogy devoted to the love of botany in eighteenth-century France ... . Of value are his translations of original printed documents connected with the voyage, and his detailed chronological record of events ... . The story of La Pérouse's lost expedition and the trials and tribulations of those who went in search of it is inevitably a moving and exciting one, well recounted here." (Emma Spary, British Society for the History of Science, 2005)
Synopsis
Royal Instructions for Scientific Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 The French Gardener Overseas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 The Voyage of La Perouse: Part 1, From Brest to Monterey Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Part 2, From Monterey Bay to Botany Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Adventures and Misadventures: The Bizarre Story of the Dupetit-Th9uars Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 The Voyage of Entrecasteaux: Part 1, Genesis and Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Part 2, From Brest to Tasmania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Part 3, New Caledonia to Ambon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Part 4, Esperance Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Part 5, Tasmania Revisisted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Part 6, On to New Caledonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Part 7, Its Woeful End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Internment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 From Explorer to Closet Botanist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 General Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Plant Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Introduction-I INTRODUCTION he title of this book is meant to signal at the outset its confines, both its T inclusions and what is beyond its scope. This volume does not stand alone, neither in splendid nor terrifying isolation, but as the third volume in a trilogy meant to be a commentary on the botanophilia that captured the literate public in 18th-century France, the very time that botany was becoming established as a science independent from medicine and herbal ism. Even though the components of that phenomenon have been examined indi- vidually by earlier scholars, a synthesis of them, founded upon a reliable command of the history of botany, has been wanting.
Table of Contents
Introduction. Royal Instructions for Scientific Exploration. The French Gardener Overseas. The Voyage of La Pérouse: Part 1: From Brest to Monterey Bay. Part 2: From Monterey to Botany Bay. Adventures and Misadventures: The Bizarre Story of the Dupetit Thouars Brothers. The Voyage of Entrecasteaux: Part 1: Genesis and Preparation. Part 2: From Brest to Tasmania. Part 3: New Calidonia to Ambon. Part 4: Esperance Bay. Part 5: Tasmania Revisited. Part 6: On to New Calidonia. Part 7: Its Woeful End. Internment. From Explorer to Closet Botanist. Epilogue. Bibliography. General Index. Plant Index.