Hyacinthe Yves Philippe Potentien, baron de Bougainville (1781 — 1846) was a French naval officer

History of the French Navy

Although the History of the French Navy goes back to the Middle Ages, its history can be said to effectively begin with Richelieu under Louis XIII.Since the establishment of her present territory, France had to face three major challenges on the naval level:...

. He was the son of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. He became Rear-Admiral on 1 May 1838.

Career

As a young second-class midshipman of eighteen Hyacinthe de Bougainville participated in the 1800-02 Baudin expedition

Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1802

The Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1803 was a French expedition to map the coast of Australia. Nicolas Baudin was selected as leader in October 1800...

 to Australia.

Hyacinthe de Bougainville sailed around the world from 1824 to 1826 onboard Thétis and Espérance, sent by the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies, the duc de Clermont-Tonnerre

Aimé, duc de Clermont-Tonnerre

Aimé-Marie-Gaspard, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre was a French general and statesman.Son of Gaspard-Paulin, vicomte de Clermont-Tonnerre and Anne-Marie-...

.

On 12 January 1825, Hyacinthe de Bougainville led an embassy to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 with Captain Courson de la Ville-Hélio, arriving in Da Nang

Da Nang

Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...

, with the warships Thétis and Espérance. Although they had numerous presents for the Emperor, and a 28 January 1824 letter from Louis XVIII, the ambassadors could not obtain an audience from Minh Mạng

Minh Mang

Minh Mạng was the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 14 February 1820 until 20 January 1841. He was a younger son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Crown Prince Canh, had died in 1801...

. Hyacinthe de Bougainville infiltrated Father Regéreau from the Thétis when it was anchored in Da Nang, triggering edicts of persecution against Christianity by Minh Mạng.

Bougainville visited New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 in 1825. That same year, he visited Port Jackson

Port Jackson

Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...

 and Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 where he set up a monument to La Pérouse

Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse

Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was a French Navy officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania.-Early career:...

 in Botany Bay

Botany Bay

Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...

.

Works

Journal de la Navigation Autour Du Globe de la Frégate Thétis et de la Corvette L'Espérance (Paris : Arthus Bertrand) 1837.

See also

• France-Vietnam relations
• European and American voyages of scientific exploration
  European and American voyages of scientific exploration
  The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment...