Kerguelen, between discoveries and expeditions
On the way to a polar adventure, head to the Kerguelen archipelago.
The 18th century was considerably marked by the numerous desires of travel and discoveries. In the same way as Jean Godin of the Odonais of which you were talking to us in This item, there were many to go on an expedition to the end of the world.
In the article of the day, we take you to the South Pole to tell you the story of travelers who echoes those of the great explorers of the 18th century. So, on the way to a polar adventure, direction the Kerguelen archipelago.
A first discovery in the 18th century
We are on February 13, 1734, Yves Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec was born at the family manor in Landudal in Finistère. He was studying at the Jesuit college in Quimper before entering the Royal Navy and then joining the Marine Guard Company in Brest in 1750. It was there that he was formed to be an officer of the big body of the vessels. The sailor will embark on several boats before leaving for the Antilles and, a few years later, Iceland to carry out a campaign to protect cod fishermen. There will be a trip to Greenland, then in Norway.
In the early 1770s, from Kerguelen de Trémarec attempted to convince the Minister of Navy with the possible discovery of a southern continent in the South Pacific. And here he is off, a year later, with 14 months of provision and 300 crew men. They arrive on the’Île de France (Mauritius) in August of the same year. There, he will exchange his ship for a flute, Fortune, and the gabarre, The big belly, plus légers et adaptés à la navigation dans l’Océan Indien. Plusieurs mois après être reparti de l’Île de France, le commandant aperçoit ce qu’il croit être le continent austral et donnera à cette terre le nom de France australe. Yves Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec aperçoit, en fait, un archipel, le futur archipel des Kerguelen. C’est Charles-Marc Du Boisguéhenneuc qui prendra possession du territoire au nom du roi, à cause d’une tempête qui finira par séparer les deux embarcations qui rentreront chacune de leur côté à Brest. L’histoire raconte que de Kerguelen de Trémarec est accueilli "Like a new Christopher Columbus "And he will not hesitate a minute before asking the king a second expedition, praising the beauty and the high potential for the exploitation of this new land.
He left in 1773, with provisions, men, scientists, but also colonists, in the direction of southern France. Blocked upon arrival by the relief and unfavorable weather conditions, the captain will only make a short foray into the bay of the bird, a land of which he will take possession again for the French crown and which will be recognized by the navigator James Cook A few years later.
New expeditions in the 20th century
Another Breton will decide to go on an expedition to the Kerguelen archipelago. Raymond Rallier du Baty born on August 30, 1881 in Lorient and quickly followed the footsteps of his father by integrating the merchant navy. After having crossed Cape Horn by being a student, he will become a long -term captain (to take control of large boats for long -term trips). Very young captain, he decided, in 1907, to lead his first expedition with his brother to the Kerguelen archipelago on the JB Charcot, They will only be 5 on board. After numerous adventures throughout the trip, the crew arrived in 1908. They will set the first exact card and chase seals and sea elephants to pay the crew. They will discover the presence of huts of unoccupied German scientists (early 1900) as well as a cave developed by shipwrecked from the 19th century. In the 1910s arrived at the first operators of the archipelago with a Norwegian steam boat to install a factory for whale hunting as well as a Marseille seal. The explorers will stay more than a year in the Kerguelen before returning to France where, there too, the story tells that they will be welcomed as "16th century adventurers lost in the 20th" by the prince Roland Bonaparte. Raymond Rallier du Baty will lead a second expedition to the archipelago, quickly shortened by the trigger of the First War-Mondial in France.
The Kerguelen archipelago still attracts explorers
For centuries, the Kerguelen archipelago has fascinated and intrigue. Even today, many scientists from around the world are trying to unravel the mysteries of the island (ornithology, geology, seismology ...) during scientific expeditions. To get there, just board the Marion Dufresne, a ship specially used for the scientific exploration of French southern and Antarctic lands (of which the 300 islets of the Kerguelen represent only a district). Tourists are not allowed to board only if there are still places and only if they agree to pay a certain sum (often more than 10,000 €) ...
This rapid chronological panorama of explorations at the heart of the Kerguelen archipelago proves to us that the trip marks the centuries and that the discovery of new lands or knowledge still attracts many major explorers ...