Jean-Nicolas Céré
Encyclopedia
Jean-Nicolas Céré was a French botanist and agronomist
born on the Indian Ocean Ile de France (Mauritius
) but educated in Brittany and Paris. On the Ile de France he was befriended by Pierre Poivre
(1719–1786), administrator of the Ile de France and Ile Bourbon (Réunion
), who he assisted in the cultivation of spice
s. When Poivre was recalled to France in 1773 Céré was appointed Director of the Royal Garden at Monplaisir (now Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden
), a position he held from 1775 to the time of his death in 1810.
During his time on the island Céré encouraged plant exchange, making a considerable contribution to economic botany by sending living plants to many countries, raising numerous pepper
s, cloves, cinnamon
and nutmeg
trees which he distributed to the neighbouring French islands, and also introducing to Mauritius useful plants from Malaysia, America, China and elsewhere.
Jean-Nicolas Céré was the son of François-Toussaint Céré, a naval officer who, according to the memoirs of Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais
, was at the age of five posted to France to study, his father having died in Martinique
. He arrived at Brest
as a ward of the state. For several years he was a student at the College of Valves finishing his studies in Paris
. In 1757, he served in two campaigns under the command of Count Anne Antoine d'Aché being promoted to officer. In 1759 he settled on the Ile de France, his father leaving him a considerable fortune.
On the Ile de France Céré married Bernardine Marie de la Roche of Ronzet on 27 January 1763. His son Jean-Auguste Céré (17 May 1764 to 18 November 1831) succeeded him as Director of the garden. On his death Céré left two sons and five daughters, the eldest son living at home with three of his sisters. The second son was in the service of France. His other two daughters were married, Constance Josephine Céré (19 July 1769 to 23 June 1842) to General Louis Marie François César Angel Houdetot their son being the historian Caesar Lecat Bazancourt, the other to Mr. Barbé, former Royal Judge in the Isle-of-France: both were living in Paris.
.
In the garden Céré acclimatised plants and trees from America, India and China as well as European fruits and vegetables. He maintained correspondence with other horticulturists and naturalists including Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, Edme-Louis Daubenton
, André Thouin
, Jacques Labillardière
and others, sending briefs to the Royal Agricultural Society of the Generalitat de Paris, which awarded him in 1788 with a gold medal. Napoleon confirmed his title as director of the botanical garden. He also introduced an Indian species of fish, the gourami
, and made observations to assist the prediction of Tropical Cyclone
s on the island. Céré was asked by the Hapsburg Emperor Joseph II to assist in expanding the famous Gardens of Schönbrunn.
Céré was Director of the gardens at the time of a visit to the island in 1795 after the demise of the Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
expedition to New Holland in search of La Pérouse. Botanist Labillardiere noted that the Coco de Mer Palm, Lodicea maldivica
from the island of Praslin
in the Seychelles
(botanically notable for its 'double' coconut, the largest seed in he world) was cultivated at the Pamplemousses gardens where it had been planted in 1769. This remarkable palm had been discovered in 1768-9 on an expedition to the Seychelles organised by Marc-Joseph Marion Dufresne. One reason for the visit would have been to prepare the way for the arrival of Breadfruit plants collected by himself and gardener Félix Delahaye
in Tonga and which at that time were being tended by gardener botanist Delahaye in Java in preparation for the journey to Ile de France.
Agronomist
An agronomist is a scientist who specializes in agronomy, which is the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. An agronomist is an expert in agricultural and allied sciences, with the exception veterinary sciences.Agronomists deal with interactions between plants, soils, and...
born on the Indian Ocean Ile de France (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...
) but educated in Brittany and Paris. On the Ile de France he was befriended by Pierre Poivre
Pierre Poivre
Pierre Poivre was a French horticulturalist born in Lyon; missionary to China and Cochinchina, Intendant of the Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon, and wearer of the cordon of St. Michel...
(1719–1786), administrator of the Ile de France and Ile Bourbon (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...
), who he assisted in the cultivation of spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s. When Poivre was recalled to France in 1773 Céré was appointed Director of the Royal Garden at Monplaisir (now Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden
The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden , commonly known as the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, is a popular tourist attraction near Port Louis, Mauritius, and the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere...
), a position he held from 1775 to the time of his death in 1810.
During his time on the island Céré encouraged plant exchange, making a considerable contribution to economic botany by sending living plants to many countries, raising numerous pepper
Piper (genus)
Piper, the pepper plants or pepper vines , are an economically and ecologically important genus in the family Piperaceae...
s, cloves, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
and nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
trees which he distributed to the neighbouring French islands, and also introducing to Mauritius useful plants from Malaysia, America, China and elsewhere.
Biography
Details of Céré’s life, on which the following account is based, have been researched by J. Deleuze.Jean-Nicolas Céré was the son of François-Toussaint Céré, a naval officer who, according to the memoirs of Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French naval officer and administrator, in the service of the French East India Company.-Biography:...
, was at the age of five posted to France to study, his father having died in Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. He arrived at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
as a ward of the state. For several years he was a student at the College of Valves finishing his studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1757, he served in two campaigns under the command of Count Anne Antoine d'Aché being promoted to officer. In 1759 he settled on the Ile de France, his father leaving him a considerable fortune.
On the Ile de France Céré married Bernardine Marie de la Roche of Ronzet on 27 January 1763. His son Jean-Auguste Céré (17 May 1764 to 18 November 1831) succeeded him as Director of the garden. On his death Céré left two sons and five daughters, the eldest son living at home with three of his sisters. The second son was in the service of France. His other two daughters were married, Constance Josephine Céré (19 July 1769 to 23 June 1842) to General Louis Marie François César Angel Houdetot their son being the historian Caesar Lecat Bazancourt, the other to Mr. Barbé, former Royal Judge in the Isle-of-France: both were living in Paris.
Association with Pierre Poivre
Assuming a date of establishment of 1735 the Jardin du Roi at Pamplemousses was the world's first tropical botanic garden and, situated on the trade route between Europe and Asia, it had accumulated many of the new botanical treasures of the day. The gardens had evolved on the 'Mon Plaisir' estate of Pierre Poivre. It had been sold to the French crown at the end of his directorship with a recommendation that Céré be appointed the next director. During his directorship it was renamed Jardin National. Céré became assistant to Pierre Poivre who had in 1766 been appointed Administrator of the islands of France and Bourbon administering trade the country. When Pepper left the island in 1772 Céré was named Director of the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden in 1775. Plantations of peppers, cloves, cinnamons, and nutmeg were established on the Ile de France and Bourbon, the plants then being sent to the West Indies and CayenneCayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
.
In the garden Céré acclimatised plants and trees from America, India and China as well as European fruits and vegetables. He maintained correspondence with other horticulturists and naturalists including Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, Edme-Louis Daubenton
Edmé-Louis Daubenton
Edmé-Louis Daubenton was a French naturalist.Edmé-Louis Daubenton's tombstone is in the church of Saint-Pierre in Avon. It was Buffon who engaged this cousin of Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton, Edmé-Louis, to supervise the colored illustrations for the Histoire naturelle...
, André Thouin
André Thouin
André Thouin was a French botanist who was born in Paris. He studied botany under Bernard de Jussieu . In 1793 Thouin attained the chair of horticulture at Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. Thouin was a good friend of U.S...
, Jacques Labillardière
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French naturalist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition...
and others, sending briefs to the Royal Agricultural Society of the Generalitat de Paris, which awarded him in 1788 with a gold medal. Napoleon confirmed his title as director of the botanical garden. He also introduced an Indian species of fish, the gourami
Gourami
Gouramis are a family, Osphronemidae, of freshwater perciform fishes. The fish are native to Asia, from Pakistan and India to the Malay Archipelago and north-easterly towards Korea. The name "gourami" is also used for fish of the families Helostomatidae and Anabantidae. "Gouramis" is an example of...
, and made observations to assist the prediction of Tropical Cyclone
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
s on the island. Céré was asked by the Hapsburg Emperor Joseph II to assist in expanding the famous Gardens of Schönbrunn.
Céré was Director of the gardens at the time of a visit to the island in 1795 after the demise of the Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was a French navigator who explored the Australian coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse....
expedition to New Holland in search of La Pérouse. Botanist Labillardiere noted that the Coco de Mer Palm, Lodicea maldivica
Coco de mer
The Coco de Mer , the sole member of the genus Lodoicea, is a palm endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. It formerly also was found on St Pierre, Chauve-Souris and Ile Ronde in the Seychelles group, but has become extinct on these islands...
from the island of Praslin
Praslin
Praslin is the second largest island of the Seychelles, lying 44 km north east of Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 6,500 people and comprises two administrative districts; Baie Sainte Anne and Grand' Anse . The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.It was...
in the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
(botanically notable for its 'double' coconut, the largest seed in he world) was cultivated at the Pamplemousses gardens where it had been planted in 1769. This remarkable palm had been discovered in 1768-9 on an expedition to the Seychelles organised by Marc-Joseph Marion Dufresne. One reason for the visit would have been to prepare the way for the arrival of Breadfruit plants collected by himself and gardener Félix Delahaye
Félix Delahaye
Félix Delahaye Félix's surname is variously presented as de Lahaie, Delahaie, de Lahaye, de La Haye, and Lahaie. was a French gardener who served on the Bruni d'Entrecasteaux voyage that was sent by the French National Assembly to search for the missing explorer Jean-François La Perouse.Delahaye...
in Tonga and which at that time were being tended by gardener botanist Delahaye in Java in preparation for the journey to Ile de France.
See also
- List of gardener-botanist explorers of the Enlightenment
- European and American voyages of scientific explorationEuropean and American voyages of scientific explorationThe 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...