Pirogue des Orotchys. / Pirogue des Bitchys.

Title

Pirogue des Orotchys. / Pirogue des Bitchys.

Description

Beautiful hand-colored plate depicting two narrow dugout canoes.. The upper section shows the “Pirogue des Orotchys” (canoe of the Oroch people), and the lower section shows the “Pirogue des Bitchys” (canoe of the Bitchy people). From the “Atlas du Voyage de La Pérouse”.

ca. 1797

Artist

Perousse, de La Jean-François de Galaup (1741-1788)

Jean-François de Galaup de La Pérouse was a French navigator, circumnavigator, and geographer of the Enlightenment. He began his naval career at age 15 and added a noble title to his name to improve his prospects. During the Seven Years' War, he sailed to places including Quebec. From 1772 to 1776, he explored the Indian Ocean and participated in the American Revolutionary War. For his achievements, he was ennobled. In 1785, he set out on a major Pacific expedition with the ships Astrolabe and Boussole, accompanied by scientists from various fields. The journey took him through Patagonia, Cape Horn, Easter Island, Hawaii, Alaska, California, Macau, and East Asia, where he mapped seas and coastlines. He was the first European to deliberately refrain from claiming unknown islands. In 1787, his second captain, Paul Fleuriot de Langle, was killed by locals on Samoa.