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Heading to a polar adventure, destination the Kerguelen archipelago.
The 18th century was significantly marked by a strong desire for travel and discovery. Just like Jean Godin des Odonais, whom you told us about in this article, many set out on expeditions to the ends of the earth.
Today's article takes you to the South Pole to tell the story of travelers that echo those of the great explorers of the 18th century. So, heading to a polar adventure, destination the Kerguelen archipelago.
It is February 13, 1734, when Yves Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec is born at the family manor in Landudal, Finistère. He will study at the Jesuit college in Quimper before joining the Royal Navy and then the Marine Guards Company in Brest in 1750. It was there that he was trained to become an officer in the great fleet. The sailor will embark on several ships before setting off for the West Indies and, a few years later, Iceland to lead a campaign to protect cod fishermen. This will be followed by a trip to Greenland, then Norway.
In the early 1770s, de Kerguelen de Trémarec attempts to convince the Minister of the Navy of the possible discovery of an austral continent in the South Pacific. And off he goes, a year later, with 14 months of provisions and 300 crew members. They arrive at the Isle of France (Mauritius) in August of the same year. There, he will exchange his ship for a flute, La Fortune, and the gabarre, Le Gros Ventre, which are lighter and suitable for navigation in the Indian Ocean. Several months after leaving the Isle of France, the commander spots what he believes to be the austral continent and will name this land Austral France. Yves Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec actually sees an archipelago, the future Kerguelen archipelago. It is Charles-Marc Du Boisguéhenneuc who will take possession of the territory in the name of the king, due to a storm that will eventually separate the two vessels, which will return each to their side to Brest. History tells us that de Kerguelen de Trémarec is welcomed as a new Christopher Columbus and he will not hesitate for a moment before asking the king for a second expedition, praising the beauty and strong potential for exploitation of this new land.
He sets off again in 1773, with provisions, men, scientists, but also settlers, heading for Austral France. Blocked upon arrival by the terrain and unfavorable weather conditions, the captain will make only a brief incursion into Oiseau Bay, land that he will take possession of again for the French crown and which will be recognized by navigator James Cook a few years later.
It is another Breton who will decide to embark on an expedition to the Kerguelen archipelago. Raymond Rallier du Baty is born on August 30, 1881 in Lorient and quickly follows in his father's footsteps by joining the merchant marine. After crossing the Horn while still a student, he will become a captain at sea (to take command of large ships for long voyages). As a young captain, he decides, in 1907, to lead his first expedition to the Kerguelen archipelago with his brother on the JB Charcot. There will be only 5 on board. After numerous adventures throughout the voyage, the crew arrives in 1908. They will draw the first accurate map there and hunt seals and sea elephants to pay the crew. They will discover the presence of unoccupied German scientists' huts (early 1900s) as well as a cave set up by shipwrecked people from the 19th century. In the 1910s, the first exploiters of the archipelago arrive with a Norwegian steamship to set up a whaling factory and a Marseilles seal hunter. The explorer brothers will stay more than a year in the Kerguelen before returning to France, where history also tells us 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 cut short by the outbreak of World War I in France.
For centuries, the Kerguelen archipelago has fascinated and intrigued. Today, many scientists from around the world still try to unravel the island's mysteries (ornithology, geology, seismology...) during scientific expeditions. To get there, all you need to do is board the Marion Dufresne, a ship specially used for the scientific exploration of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (whose 300 Kerguelen lots represent only one district). Tourists are only allowed on board if there are seats left and only if they are willing to pay a certain amount (often more than €10,000)...
This quick chronological overview of expeditions at the heart of the Kerguelen archipelago proves that travel marks the centuries and that the discovery of new lands or knowledge still attracts many great explorers...