After the treated of Paris, Perugia is chosen by the marquis de Castries, minister for the Navy and by Louis XVI to direct a forwarding around the world aiming at supplementing the discoveries of James Cook in the Pacific Ocean.

The king Louis XVI launched one of greatest forwardings of discovered of his time. It wished to rectify and complete the cartography of planet, to establish new commercial counters, to open new sea routes around the world, to enrich the scientific knowledge and collections.

All the scientists were invited to make known the species of the research most suitable to hasten progress of the human connaissanes; and several of them embarked on the buildings from Perugia, with the mission express of dealing with those which had been indicated (see: Robert de Lamanon and Jean-Andre Mongez).

Thus, during nearly three years, the Compass , vessel ordered by Perugia to which it command of forwarding was entrusted, and the Astrolabe , traversed all the oceans of the sphere (Easter Island, Îles Sandwich, Filipino, Japan, Brésil, Chile, Australia…).

This one, made up of 220 men, leaves Brest in August 1785 on two ships, the Boussole and the Astrolabe , of the trading vessels of 500 barrel X reclassified like frigates for the circumstance.

See also: List of the members of forwarding Perugia

Composition

Many scientists take part in forwarding: an astronomer, a doctor, three naturalists, a mathematician, three draftsmen and even of the priests having a technical training. The objectives are numerous: geographical, scientific, ethnological, economic (prospection of the possibilities of hunting for the Whale or collection of Fur S), but also political with the possible establishment of French bases or colonial co-operation with the Spanish allies with the Filipino ). The exploration program must lead it in the Pacifique North and the Pacifique South, including on the coasts of the Far East and Australia. The results of forwarding were known by mail in the stopovers having connections with the European countries.

Preparations

As of March 1785, Lapérouse proposed that Paul Monneron, which was selected as chief engineer of forwarding, London in order to will obtain the last conclusions to on the remedies antiscorbutic recommended by Cook. Its mission also consists in taking information on the articles of exchange used by Cook. Incidentally, it can also buy scientific instruments of English manufacture.

More known aspect of this mission, Joseph Banks intervenes with the Royal Society to obtain that it lends two inclinometers having belonged to Cook. Monneron also buys the scientific instruments being reproduced on the list drawn up by Fleurieu, by having recourse to the largest English firms, in particular Ramsden. It exceeds even the directives of Fleurieu by making for example the acquisition of two sextants of a new type.

The voyage of Monneron undoubtedly constitutes the best example of than represents the precedent of Cook, a reference accurately copied, but which one hopes to exceed by the meticulousness of the preparations.

On their side, the astronomers and the geographers of the forwarding of Lapérouse copy their work methods on those of Cook, founded on the association in the two ways of calculating longitude - distance from the moon to the sun and stop watch of precision - followed triangulations to the theodolite, or raisings taken of the ship, similar to those which the English navigator carried out for his charts of the Pacific Islands. For the raisings, the method recommended by Fleuriot de Langle is exactly with the imitation of that of Cook. As regards geography, Lapérouse shows in a decisive way the rigor and safety of the methods tested by Cook. From its voyage, the resolution of the problem of longitudes becomes an obviousness and the cartography reaches a scientific precision. Obstructed like had been to it Cook by the continual fogs wrapping the north-western coast of America, it more does not succeed in however drawing up the complete chart of it, but it contributes to decrease the gaps by them.

On the way towards Alaska

• , departure of Brest

• 1 - August 13rd, Madeira

Ténériffe

• Of the 20 with the August 30th, forwarding is with Ténériffe.

Trinity

The October 18th, in the island of the Trinity.

Holy-Catherine

The November 9th, forwarding is with the island Holy-Catherine.

Cape Horn

Forwarding circumvents the Cape Horn in January 1786.

Chile

February 24th at mid-March, forwarding makes an investigation into the Spanish colony of the Chile to the Design.

Easter Island

It passes by the Easter Island on April 10th.

Hawaii

The 28 and May 29th, forwarding is with Mowee in the archipelago of Hawaii

Alaska

Forwarding reaches the Alaska, where Perugia unloads close to the Holy Mont Elias at the end of June 1786 and explores the surroundings. A barge and two launches transporting 21 men are lost in the currents violent one of named bay “Port of the French” by Perugia (today Baie Lituya).

See also: Catastrophe of the Port of the French for the forwarding of Perugia

California

Then, it makes stopover with Monterey mid-September 1786. in California, where it describes the missions franciscaines and writes critical notes on the Amerindian treatment of the S.

The Northern Marianna Islands

The December 14th 1786, forwarding is with the the Northern Marianna Islands.

Japan and Russia

Macao

It crosses the Pacific then again, slackening with the Portuguese colony of Macao of the January 3rd to the February 5th, where it sells the furs bought in Alaska, sharing the profit with its crew.

Manila

After a stopover with Manila then under Spanish influence, one carries out repairs of at the end of February at mid-April. Perugia left Philippines the April 10th, to go on the coasts of Tartarie and the islands of Japan. This portion of the sphere was then known only by traditions collected by the missionaries. Perugia is the first which raised the doubts that these accounts confused had given birth to.

Formosa, Korea

It moves towards the north-eastern coasts of the Asia. The May 6th, it is at the coasts of Formosa. The May 25th, they are the coasts of Korea. It redécouvre the island Quelpaert (Cheju-C), visited only once by Européens, a group of Dutch which made shipwreck in there 1653. He visits the east coast of the Korean peninsula, then goes to Oku-Yeso (Sakhaline).

Tartarie, Japan, Russia

The June 25th, forwarding is with Ternay in Tartarie. Being, the July 24th, by 51° 1/2 of latitude, the depth of water decreased suddenly, and one was obliged to stop. Perugia sought a passage vainly where its frigates could enter without danger. It crossed several times the channel while going alternatively from the east to the west, and made sure that the high funds which had stopped it entirely barred the passage. The wind of the south, which started to blow with enough violence, and which pushed it towards these dangers, made its position perilous. Fortunately a beautiful bay, which he discovered at the coast of Tartarie, offered to him a sure asylum; and the frigates started to it at the shelter. This bay was called bay of Castries at the bottom of the Détroit of Sakhaline.

Boats visited the places where the frigates had not been able to penetrate. No passage was found; it was even impossible to advance to the mouth of the Amur river, which one was not moved away. The opinion of Perugia was that the Ségalien island, which remained to him in the east, is actually detached of the coast of Tartarie, but that the channel which separates them is blocked by the deposits of the Amur river, which discharges precisely at the place more tightened. Perugia, while returning to the south, did not deviate from the coast of the Ségalien island and discovered there by 45° 10 ' of latitude, in the south of the course Grillon, the strait which bears its name. The accounts of the missionaries had hitherto confused under the name of ground of Jesso all the grounds which are in north, of Japan the discovery of this strait made known to us that they form two islands, of which one is Ségalien, detached by the strait of Perugia, and the other, the Chika island, separated from the large island from Japan by the strait of Sangaar, which one knew for a long time. Of Request, navigator Dutch, who discovered the ground of the States, located at the east of the strait of Perugia, in 1643, had taken the grounds of Ségalien and Chika for the advanced points of a large bay, in which it did not have. wanted to be likely to engage. The frequency of the fogs, which so extremely embarrassed the navigation of the French frigates, was undoubtedly the cause of its error.

The August 15th with the strait of Lapérouse (between Japan and Sakhaline), the inhabitants of Hokkaido show him a chart, but it does not find the strait and puts the course at north towards the peninsula of the Kamtchatka, only it reaches in September 1787. Perugia, afterwards to have checked the discoveries of the Dutchmen, crossed the Kouriles islands, between the island of the Company, thus named by Request, and the Murikan island; the strait accepted the name of channel of the Compass.

It then slackened in Kamtschatka, and rests at Russian . From the 6 with the September 29th, forwarding stops in Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul (Avatscha Pétropavlosk) with the Kamchatka. It receives instructions of Paris by the means of Barthélemy de Lesseps, vice-consul of France with Kronstadt and uncle of the future manufacturer of the Suez Canal, to submit a report/ratio on colonization in Australia.

The Pacific

Samoa

Taking again the sea, it slackens with the Samoa, in the island of the Navigators with mid-December to Maouna (Baie of Tutuila). Right before its equipment, the Samoans attack its men and twelve kill some, of which the second of forwarding, Fleuriot de Langle, ordering Astrolabe .

See also: Robert de Lamanon

Tonga, Norfolk

It is at the end of December, with the island of the Friends (Tonga), then the January 17th with the island of Norfolk.

Australia

It sails then towards Botany Bay, which it reaches on January 26th, 1788, just at the moment when the captain Arthur Phillip transfers the colony to Port Jackson (Sydney). The Britanniques receive it with courtesy, but cannot provide him vivres, because they do not have the available ones.

It gives its newspapers and letters so that they are transmitted in Europe and obtains wood and fresh water. It sets out again at semi March.

I will go up in the islands of the Friends, and I will do absolutely all that is to me enjoint by my instructions relative with the southernmost part of New Caledonia, in the island Santa-Cruz de Mendana, the southern part of the ground of Arsacides de Surville, and with the ground of Louisiade de Bougainville, while seeking to know if the latter belongs to New Guinea, or if it is separate. I will pass, at the end of July 1788, between New Guinea and News-Holland, by another channel that of Endeavor, if however there is one. I will visit, during September and part of October, the gulf of Carpentarie and all the Western coast of News-Holland to the ground of Diemen, but in manner however that it is possible for me to go back to north rather early to arrive at the beginning of December 1788 at the island of France.

Vanikoro

It installs for the New Caledonia (west coast), the islands Santa Cruz, the the Solomon Islands, the Louisiades and the coasts of the west and the south of Australia. Then it disappears with its men.

Louis XVI

It is told that Louis XVI, at the time to pass on the scaffold, in 1793, would have required: “ are there news of Mister of Perugia? ”. In the hope perhaps that new discoveries in the Indian Ocean would delay its execution, the sudden disappearance of the navigator and his crew was, indeed, at the time, the object of all the phantasms.

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