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Newly Discovered: A Critical Map in the Search for La Pérouse.

Updated on the D'Entrecasteaux Expedition with Manuscript Annotations by the Hydrographer Beautemps-Beaupré.

Incorporating Information from the First Fleet and the Voyage of HMS Pandora.

This exceptional 1791 chart, produced, as the title says, specifically to be taken on the d'Entrecasteaux expedition to locate the missing explorer, Jean-François de La Pérouse, marks a significant rediscovery in the history of French maritime efforts to map Oceania. This example of the chart served as a critical working document during the expedition. It bears manuscript annotations by the renowned French hydrographer Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré, reflecting data gathered on the early stages of the mission, including insights from key British voyages, namely the First Fleet and HMS Pandora.

La Pérouse disappeared after leaving Botany Bay in 1788, prompting an extensive French search effort. The d'Entrecasteaux expedition, launched in September 1791, was officially tasked with locating the missing explorer, though its scope extended well beyond search and rescue. This chart, with its manuscript additions, reveals how Beautemps-Beaupré gathered vital intelligence to assist in the mission, making it a pivotal artifact in the broader geopolitical and scientific efforts of late 18th-century French exploration.

This map is unequivocally the work of Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré, as evidenced by its purpose, usage, and the matching manuscript annotations found on both this chart, his 1796 manuscript map, and two related charts in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The new geographic data recorded on this 1791 map, including critical information gathered from British sources, directly aligns with the details Beautemps-Beaupré later incorporated into his 1796 map, which he compiled while in Cape Town before returning to France via Sweden.

Background: The d'Entrecasteaux Expedition

Led by Admiral Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux aboard the ships La Recherche and L'Espérance, the expedition included a skilled team of scientists, artists, and hydrographers, including the renowned Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré, transforming a nominal rescue mission into a strategic exploration that sought to expand French presence and knowledge in Oceania and the Pacific.

From 1792 to 1793, the d'Entrecasteaux expedition explored vast areas of Oceania, including Tasmania, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and the southern coast of Australia. As they charted these regions, Beautemps-Beaupré led the mapping efforts, producing highly accurate charts that were unmatched at the time. His work set a new standard for hydrography, one that would shape maritime navigation for decades to come.

However, the voyage faced significant challenges. The crew suffered from scurvy, a common yet deadly affliction on long maritime expeditions. News of the French Revolution, which reached the crew during their voyage, led to political tensions among the officers and sailors, further complicating their mission. In 1793, Admiral d'Entrecasteaux died of scurvy near New Guinea, leaving the expedition in disarray. Command broke down, and upon reaching Java later that year, the remaining crew was arrested or scattered when the ships were seized by the Dutch.

Despite its tragic end, the expedition left a lasting legacy. The scientific and cartographic data gathered during the voyage, particularly through the work of Beautemps-Beaupré, proved invaluable. The expedition’s contributions to the mapping of Australia and the Pacific regions were substantial, and its efforts to advance French knowledge and presence in the Pacific rank among those of Bougainville, Baudin, and La Pérouse himself.

The Role of Beautemps-Beaupré and the Map

Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré (1766–1854) was only 25 years old when the expedition started, but he had already emerged as one of the foremost hydrographers of his time. His detailed surveys set a new standard for naval navigation, with techniques that would inform hydrographic practices for decades to come. This map, annotated in the expedition's early stages, exemplifies his groundbreaking work.

The map's manuscript additions incorporate findings from two key British voyages: the First Fleet and HMS Pandora. It documents Captain John Shortland's 1788 discoveries along the Lord Howe Rise and reflects information from Captain Edward Edwards's ill-fated Pandora voyage in 1791.

The HMS Pandora Connection

HMS Pandora played an unexpectedly significant role in the d'Entrecasteaux expedition’s search for La Pérouse. In 1790, the British government dispatched the Pandora to the South Pacific to apprehend the mutineers from HMS Bounty. Although Captain Edward Edwards captured several mutineers in Tahiti, the Pandora met its own tragic fate when it was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef in August 1791. This misfortune, however, presented a unique opportunity for the French, as the surviving crew of the Pandora made a piecemeal return to Europe and crossed paths with the d'Entrecasteaux expedition at a critical juncture.

The key moment of contact occurred at the Cape of Good Hope in January and February 1792. Lieutenant John Larkan was the first Pandora officer to reach the Cape of Good Hope, and, importantly, the only one to arrive during d'Entrecasteaux's stay. Larkan landed at the Cape on January 25, 1792, aboard the Zwaan, eight days after d'Entrecasteaux's arrival.

On February 2, d'Entrecasteaux wrote to the Minister of the Marine relating his attempts to arrange a meeting with the British officer:

Having learned that he lost everything in the wreck and was without resources, I went to see him; I offered him all kinds of services, which I begged him to accept in the name of the good relations which must unite two generous nations which concur in the same goal... I begged him to do me the honour of dining with me the next day, and I renewed the offer; he seemed to me appreciated of my approaches but since the arrival of the English ships I heard no more of him than of the newcomers... It is difficult to recognize in such conduct the nobility and generosity of the English nation; something no doubt has caused such a sudden and surprising change. (quoted in Horner, ch. 12, pp. 172-173; ML Hélouis Transcripts)

While d'Entrecasteaux's initial attempts to meet with Larkan were unsuccessful, these entreaties marked not an end but rather a midpoint in their overlapping stay at the Cape. Following his written expression of frustration, a substantial window of opportunity remained. For 19 more days after the date of the letter, both d'Entrecasteaux's expedition and Larkan continued to be present at the Cape.

This extended period of coexistence at the Cape, from January 25 to February 21, provided ample time for potential information exchange, despite the earlier difficulties. Larkan departed on the Zwaan for Europe on February 21, while d'Entrecasteaux's expedition remained at the Cape for an additional five days, leaving for Tasmania on February 26, 1792. Notably, the rest of the Pandora's officers did not arrive at the Cape until March, after d'Entrecasteaux had already set sail.

Beautemps-Beaupré's map annotations reveal the fruits of this intelligence-gathering opportunity. His chart includes precise corrections based on the Pandora's discoveries, extending from the Cook Islands in the east to the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait. Importantly, some of these updates diverge from the information later incorporated into British maps following the return of Lieutenant Thomas Hayward, another Pandora officer, further supporting the source being Larkan. A notable discrepancy concerns the location of Pitt's Island: Beautemps-Beaupré aligns it with Rennell Island, south of Guadalcanal, whereas British maps, such as Aaron Arrowsmith's 1798 Chart of the Pacific Ocean..., place Pitt's Island much farther east, identifying it with Vanikoro Island—where La Pérouse's expedition remains were ultimately discovered. This divergence in cartographic detail underscores a significant misunderstanding that has long affected the historiography of the search for La Pérouse.

Pitt Island = Vanikoro Island?

In the literature, the expedition's decision not to land at what was believed to be Pitt's Island in July 1792 is often described as a missed opportunity, with many historians suggesting that this island was Vanikoro, where some survivors of La Pérouse's shipwrecks might have still been alive. However, this chart conclusively shows that Pitt's Island was actually Rennell Island, located much farther from Vanikoro than previously thought. The reason for this variation in the location of Pitt's Island between these two cartographic traditions remains an intriguing question.

This interpretation is further supported by the National Library of Australia's 1796 Beautemps-Beaupre manuscript map, which positions the expedition near Rennell Island, not Vanikoro, in July 1792. Curiously, Pitt's Island was entirely omitted from the 1807 d'Entrecasteaux atlas map, adding another layer of complexity to the historical narrative.

Rarity and Census

The printed map is not recorded in Tooley, The Mapping of Australia and Antarctica, Ferguson, nor any other standard references on the mapping and bibliography of Australia. The chart is not mentioned in Hélène Richard Le voyage de d'Entrecasteaux à la recherche de Lapérouse, 1986.

The map is known in only the following examples:

The current example is the only known copy with manuscript annotations by Beautemps-Beaupré himself. The printed image has been modified in two ways on the present example: the location of the reef labeled "Ressif vu par le Nau. [sic.] le Supply en 1788." has been moved to the northeast and relabeled with the spelling error corrected "Ressif vu par le Vau. le Supply en 1788." This was accomplished by abrading the surface of the printed map to remove the engraved lettering and replacing it with manuscript. Additionally, the erroneous s's have been removed from "Latitudes Meridionales" at the right edge.

Another example of the map, held by the National Library of Australia, features manuscript annotations by Louis-Claude de Saulces de Freycinet. This map was previously sold at Christie's in 2003 and provides a glimpse at the use of the chart in later French exploration of the region.

Another example of the map was auctioned by Peter Arnold Auctions in 2024, having previously been sold at Paulus Swaen in 2008. There are no manuscript annotations on this example.

The Bibliothèque nationale de France holds four undigitized (as of September 2024) examples of the map. PF 188 DIV 3 P7 is in contemporary wash color with two pastedowns updating Tasmania and the Torres Strait with post-1800 cartography. PF 188 DIV 3 P7 1 is a black and white uncorrected example. PF 188 DIV 3 P7 2 is in contemporary wash color and has the manuscript track of the expedition, as well as corrections from the First Fleet information, but not from Pandora. PF 188 DIV 3 P7 3 us uncolored and has the tracks of the expedition as well as Pandora information and First Fleet corrections. This last example is probably the working chart for the expedition and raises the prospect that the present chart was maintained as a separate record of the information gleaned from the British, kept clean of expedition's discoveries.

We extend our thanks to Catherine Hoffman for the information regarding the charts at the BnF.

A Contemporary Manuscript Copy

This very example of the chart appears to have been the basis for a wholly manuscript map now in the Museo Naval Madrid. The copy was produced by a Spanish hydrographer (possibly Andrés Baleato) later in the 1790s and subsequently updated on an unnamed voyage in 1803. Where the Spanish hydrographer may have encountered our chart, possibly at the Cape prior to 1797, remains unknown. However, the map contains several distinctive features that strongly suggest it was copied from the present chart. Not only were the exact manuscript annotations replicated precisely as they appear here—written in red ink and circled to indicate they were not part of the original printed map—but also the manuscript labels at the Pandora's shipwreck and Bickerton Island, which are partially effaced on our chart were completely omitted from the Spanish manuscript, as if the copyist could not read them. The Spanish map also includes the correct location of the Supply reef, which appears on our chart (it is not labeled on the 1796 manuscript). Furthermore, that map copies the erroneous spelling of Grenville (i.e., "Grenwille") Island.

This Spanish chart was employed in a significant 1799 Pacific voyage, in which Lieutenant Juan Antonio de Ibargoitia was sent to navigate an innovative route from the Philippines to Spanish South America, devised by Ignacio María de Álava to bypass British blockades and improve Pacific trade routes. This alternative route aimed to shorten the journey between Manila and Lima, directing ships southeast to avoid Palau and the New Carolinas before reaching the Juan Fernández Islands. The expedition was crucial for maintaining Spanish trade and interests in the Pacific during a time of war, and its success reinforced the strategic importance of Álava's navigational expertise.

Conclusion

This map represents a remarkable convergence of cartography, exploration, and historical intrigue. It is a living document of the d'Entrecasteaux expedition, with Beautemps-Beaupré’s manuscript annotations providing concrete illustration of the intent in producing these charts for the expedition.

The collaboration—and competition—between French and British explorers laid the groundwork for much of the next generation’s cartographic advancements. The intelligence from Pandora's crew, incorporated into this chart, highlights the exchange of discoveries across rival empires, and how, at times, those competing interests were set aside in the pursuit of humanitarian goals.

The revelations of this chart were not confined to 1792; the map’s error at Pitt’s Island helps correct a longstanding misinterpretation in the historical record. By clarifying the true location of d'Entreacasteaux's Pitt’s Island, the chart provides a crucial correction, reshaping our understanding of 18th-century Pacific exploration and the search for La Pérouse.

Provenance

• The family of Alphonse Le Cavelier (1800-1872), a noted French book collector from Caen.
• Binoche et Giquello Auctions, Paris, November 7, 2014.

Appendix: Manuscript Additions: HMS Supply, 1788

North to south, in black ink with pencil labels:

• Ressif vu par le V. le Supply en 1788.
• Î. de Sir. Chs. Middleton
• Bas Fond

This information was superseded by information from the Belona on many slightly later charts (see Arrowsmith)

Appendix: Manuscript Additions: HMS Pandora, 1791

From east to west, in red ink, with pencil labels:

• Îs. de Clarence
• Î. du Duc d'York [printed location of the island changed by hand to accord with Pandora information]
• Î. de Bickerton
• Î. de Gardiner
• Î. de Rotumah ou Grewille [on the manuscript map, the latter is spelled "Grenville"]
• Rocher de la Pandore
• Î. Mitre
• Î. Cherry
• Î. de Pitt [this is markedly west of where the island is located in the 1798 Arrowsmith Chart of the Pacific Ocean...]
• Rocher des Puits [not recorded on Arrowsmith's track of the Pandora]
• Cap. Rodney
• [A doted line of islands in pencil extending north from Louisiade to New Guinea]
• B. de [?]age [the location of the wreck of Pandora]