François Leguat
Encyclopedia
François Leguat was a French
explorer and naturalist
.
Leguat was a French Huguenot
originating from the Province of Bresse
, now part of the department of Ain
, who fled to Holland in 1689 after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
in 1685. Marquis Henri du Quesne had published a book giving a glowing description of the island of Réunion
and, with the cooperation of the Dutch East India Company
, was planning to establish a colony of French Protestant refugees on the island. Two ships were charted for the purpose and many refugees, including Leguat, were eager to become colonists, but when du Quesne learnt that France had sent a squadron of ships to the island, he abandoned this plan as he wanted to avoid any confrontation with the French. Instead he fitted out a small frigate, L'Hirondelle and instructed the captain, Anthony Valleau, to reconnoitre the Mascarene islands, and to take possession of whatever island was found unoccupied and suitable for colonisation. It appears that the colonists were not informed of this change of plan. On 10 July 1690 Leguat and nine male volunteers boarded L'Hirondelle in Amsterdam
, intending to start a new life on the island of Réunion, which they believed had been abandoned by the French. Instead, on 16 May 1691, Leguat and 7 companions were left on the uninhabited island of Rodrigues
.
After spending a year on the island the group became homesick and set about constructing a wooden boat to allow them to escape to the island of Mauritius
, then under Dutch control. The first attempt failed when they struck Reuniuon's reef
; one of the party subsequently died from some illness (possibly brought about by contact with some poisonous reef fauna
). They finally left Rodrigues on 21 May 1693 and spent a week being carried by the prevailing wind and current in their open boat to Mauritius, a distance of 300 nautical miles (560 km).
They were initially well received by the Governor of the island, Rodolfo Diodati, but after an argument over a piece of ambergris
that one of the group had brought from Rodrigues, and the discovery by the Governor of their plan to steal a dingy and escape to Réunion, five of the party were put in prison. Relations were probably strained by the fact that France and Holland were on opposite sides in the Nine Years' War (1688–97). In February 1694 they were transferred to a tiny islet some distance from the shore and kept under abhorrent conditions. One of the group died in attempting to escape; he seems to have reached Mauritius' mainland with a crude float, but apparently perished in the woods too. Finally, in September 1696 the remaining members of the group were transferred to Jakarta
and brought before the Dutch Council where they were found to be innocent. Leguat and the two other survivors arrived back in Europe in June 1698. Leguat appears to have settled in England and spent the rest of his life there.
Leguat published a description of his adventures in 1708 when he was around 70 years old. The full French title was: Voyage et avantures de François Leguat et de ses compagnons, en deux isles désertes des Indes orientales : avec la relation des choses les plus remarquables qu'ils ont observées dans l'isle Maurice, à Batavia, au Cap de Bon Espérance, dans l'isle de Sainte Hélène, et en d'autres endroits de leur route. Le tout enrichi de cartes et de figures. The French edition was published in both London and Amsterdam. An English translation with the title A new voyage to the East-Indies was published in London and a Dutch edition in Utrecht. Some of the text is very similar to passages found in works by Maximilien Misson
, another French Huguenot living in exile. It appears that either Leguat copied Mission or, more likely, Misson assisted Leguat with the book and wrote the preface.
The book is notable in containing Leguat's natural history observations on the now extinct fauna of Rodrigues including the Rodrigues Solitaire
, the Rodrigues Rail
, the Domed
and the Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoises
and Newton's Parakeet
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
explorer and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
.
Leguat was a French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
originating from the Province of Bresse
Bresse
Bresse is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne, and Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term Bresse has two meanings: Bresse bourguignonne , which is situated in the east of the department of Saône-et-Loire, and Bresse, which is located...
, now part of the department of Ain
Ain
Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...
, who fled to Holland in 1689 after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
in 1685. Marquis Henri du Quesne had published a book giving a glowing description of the island of Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and, with the cooperation of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
, was planning to establish a colony of French Protestant refugees on the island. Two ships were charted for the purpose and many refugees, including Leguat, were eager to become colonists, but when du Quesne learnt that France had sent a squadron of ships to the island, he abandoned this plan as he wanted to avoid any confrontation with the French. Instead he fitted out a small frigate, L'Hirondelle and instructed the captain, Anthony Valleau, to reconnoitre the Mascarene islands, and to take possession of whatever island was found unoccupied and suitable for colonisation. It appears that the colonists were not informed of this change of plan. On 10 July 1690 Leguat and nine male volunteers boarded L'Hirondelle in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, intending to start a new life on the island of Réunion, which they believed had been abandoned by the French. Instead, on 16 May 1691, Leguat and 7 companions were left on the uninhabited island of Rodrigues
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...
.
After spending a year on the island the group became homesick and set about constructing a wooden boat to allow them to escape to the island of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, then under Dutch control. The first attempt failed when they struck Reuniuon's reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
; one of the party subsequently died from some illness (possibly brought about by contact with some poisonous reef fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
). They finally left Rodrigues on 21 May 1693 and spent a week being carried by the prevailing wind and current in their open boat to Mauritius, a distance of 300 nautical miles (560 km).
They were initially well received by the Governor of the island, Rodolfo Diodati, but after an argument over a piece of ambergris
Ambergris
Ambergris is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated or secreted by sperm whales....
that one of the group had brought from Rodrigues, and the discovery by the Governor of their plan to steal a dingy and escape to Réunion, five of the party were put in prison. Relations were probably strained by the fact that France and Holland were on opposite sides in the Nine Years' War (1688–97). In February 1694 they were transferred to a tiny islet some distance from the shore and kept under abhorrent conditions. One of the group died in attempting to escape; he seems to have reached Mauritius' mainland with a crude float, but apparently perished in the woods too. Finally, in September 1696 the remaining members of the group were transferred to Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
and brought before the Dutch Council where they were found to be innocent. Leguat and the two other survivors arrived back in Europe in June 1698. Leguat appears to have settled in England and spent the rest of his life there.
Leguat published a description of his adventures in 1708 when he was around 70 years old. The full French title was: Voyage et avantures de François Leguat et de ses compagnons, en deux isles désertes des Indes orientales : avec la relation des choses les plus remarquables qu'ils ont observées dans l'isle Maurice, à Batavia, au Cap de Bon Espérance, dans l'isle de Sainte Hélène, et en d'autres endroits de leur route. Le tout enrichi de cartes et de figures. The French edition was published in both London and Amsterdam. An English translation with the title A new voyage to the East-Indies was published in London and a Dutch edition in Utrecht. Some of the text is very similar to passages found in works by Maximilien Misson
Maximilien Misson
Francis Maximilian Misson, originally François Maximilien Misson, was a French writer and traveller. Born in Lyon, he fled France at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and settled in Britain...
, another French Huguenot living in exile. It appears that either Leguat copied Mission or, more likely, Misson assisted Leguat with the book and wrote the preface.
The book is notable in containing Leguat's natural history observations on the now extinct fauna of Rodrigues including the Rodrigues Solitaire
Rodrigues Solitaire
The Rodrigues Solitaire was a flightless member of the pigeon order endemic to Rodrigues, Mauritius. It was a close relative of the Dodo.-Discovery:...
, the Rodrigues Rail
Rodrigues Rail
The Rodrigues Rail or Leguat's Gelinote is an extinct bird named after the learned traveller François Leguat, who came with a band of Huguenot religious refugees to Rodrigues in 1691 and stayed there for two years. It was also mentioned by Julien Tafforet in 1726...
, the Domed
Cylindraspis peltastes
The Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise was a species of giant tortoise in the Testudinidae family. It was endemic to Rodrigues. It appears to have become extinct around 1800....
and the Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoises
Cylindraspis vosmaeri
The Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise was a species of tortoise in the Testudinidae family. It was endemic to Rodrigues. The introduction of predators and hunting pressures are believed to have caused the extinction of this species.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. . ...
and Newton's Parakeet
Newton's Parakeet
The Newton's Parakeet was a parrot that was endemic to the forests of the island of Rodrigues, a dependency of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean...
.