This glossary explains key historical, political and scientific terms mentioned in the project
French Names Along the Australian Coastline.
Historical glossary
The Académie Française
Since its official creation in January 1635, l’Académie française has had one function: to oversee and refine the French language. Its distinguished ‘Dictionnaire de l'Académie française’ editions define the codes and spelling rules of the French language.
On August 8, 1793, the institution was abolished by a decree of the Convention nationale (National Convention), along with all the former royal academies. Then, in 1803, by a decree of 3 Pluviôse, Year XI (January 23, 1803), the First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte decided to restore the old academies, but only as divisions (classes) of the Institut de France*. The second of these, the ‘class of French language and literature’ effectively corresponds to the former Académie Française.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, resulted in American independence from Great Britain. The fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. During the conflict, the American Patriots received support from the Kingdom of France, as well as to a lesser extent, the Dutch Republic, and the Spanish Empire. The war took place in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. Notable naval officers who fought for the American cause included the Marquis de Lafayette and Admiral D'Estaing, among others.
Bureau des longitudes (Board of Longitude)
Le Bureau des longitudes (Board of Longitude) was established under the government of the National Convention in 1795 to improve the accuracy of data when tracking a ship's longitude through astronomical observations and timekeeping instruments. The purpose of this scientific institution was to make advances in astronomical knowledge and the effectiveness of navigational instruments, ultimately enhancing the safety of French navigation and its competitiveness with the British Navy. The Bureau was responsible for managing the Paris Observatory (Observatoire de Paris), which later became independent, as well as for publishing la Connaissance des temps, a collection of nautical almanacs that were essential references during voyages. The Bureau also played a major role in the introduction of the decimal system. Two of its members, Mechain* and Delambre*, used triangulation to measure the length of the meridian between Dunkirk and Barcelona, from which the meter (defined as one ten-millionth of the distance between the terrestrial pole and the Equator) was derived.
The names of the Bureau's first members, including Lagrange*, Laplace*, Lalande*, Cassini*, Borda*, Bougainville*, Méchain*, and Delambre*, are included in the nomenclature of the Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands edited by Péron and Freycinet.
Château de Malmaison
Located at Rueil-Malmaison, to the west of Paris, the Château de Malmaison was acquired by Joséphine de Beauharnais in 1798. Under the Consulate and later the Empire, it was far more than a country residence. Its landscaped park, plant collections, and cultivation facilities formed a major centre of horticultural and botanical experimentation. Joséphine assembled rare plants from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and territories then being explored or administered by France, drawing on networks of botanists, gardeners, nurserymen, and scientific correspondents.
The greenhouses, particularly those at the Petite Malmaison, made it possible to preserve, observe, and attempt to acclimatise tropical and subtropical species that could not be cultivated outdoors in the Paris climate. Part of the botanical and zoological collections brought back from the southern lands by the Baudin expedition was also sent to Malmaison, as indicated in the entry on Josephine Gulf in the “Further Information” section of the Map page.
Consulat (Le Consulat, in English: Consulate)
Le Consulat was a political regime established in France following the coup d'état of 18-19 Brumaire Year VIII (9-10 November 1799), which replaced le Directoire*. It lasted until the establishment of the First Empire on 18 May 1804.
Under le Consulat, a new constitution was promulgated on December 13, 1799, known as the Constitution of the Year VIII. It was later modified by the Constitution of the Year X (1802), which made Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul, Consul for life. With increased power, he was able to appoint his successor and surrounded himself with a court-like entourage: Even without a crown, he became more of a king than any other sovereign in Europe. Bonaparte presented himself as a national reconciler and aimed to transcend party politics: ‘The government no longer knew parties and saw in France only Frenchmen’. He allowed many emigrated nobles, including Rossel*, and outcasts from different revolutionary periods, to return freely to France.
Financial recovery was aided by the founding of the Bank of France on February 13, 1800; the introduction of the Germinal franc in March 1803; and the creation of a corps of civil servants, specialists in the distribution and collection of taxes, including Mollien* and Cretet*.
Convention (La Convention, in English: The National Convention)
La Convention was a constituent assembly that, during the French Revolution, established the First Republic and governed France from September 1792 until October 26, 1795. It was during the Convention that the Reign of Terror was implemented, where the republican movements in power were radicalized by a violence that brooked no compromise in their fight against the external and internal threats that they faced.
Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine
Le Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine was a French hydrographic institution founded in 1720 in Paris. It served as a storehouse and distribution center for existing nautical and marine charts and documents such as sea journals, nautical papers, and publications. Beautemps Beaupré and Freycinet worked at the dépôt to edit the charts of their voyages and publish their atlases.
The nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet lists the names of the directors of le Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine at that time, including Rosily* and Buache*. Hamelin* later became one of its directors from 1833 to 1839.
Today, le Dépôt des Cartes et Plans is known as the Service Hydrographique de la Marine.
Directoire (Le Directoire, in English: The Directory)
Le Directoire was the regime that governed France from the end of the National Convention (October 26, 1795) [4 Brumaire, year IV] until November 9, 1799 (when the Consulate began). Outside of France, the Directory pursued an expansionist policy and sent Bonaparte on his Egyptian campaign (May 1798).
École normale
L’ École normale, also known as the École normale de l'an III, provided a series of high-level courses for the training of high school teachers. It was established by the Convention in 1795 with the goal of promoting a planned centralized national education system in France. The decree that established the school, issued on 30 October 1794 (9 brumaire an III), stated in its first article that ‘There will be established in Paris an École normale, where citizens from all parts of the Republic, already educated in useful sciences, shall be called upon to learn, from the best professors in all disciplines, the art of teaching.’
These courses only lasted for four months, from 1 Pluviose of the year III (20 January 1795) to 30 Floréal of the year III (19 May 1795). Nevertheless, the École normale de l'an III is considered the predecessor of today's prestigious École normale supérieure (rue d'Ulm - Paris) and other French normal schools.
The professors who taught at the École normale were renowned scholars, and their names are included in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet. They were:
• Mathematics: Joseph-Louis Lagrange and Pierre-Simon Laplace; • Descriptive geometry: Gaspard Monge; • Physics: René Just Haüy; • Natural history: Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton; • Chemistry: Claude Louis Berthollet; • Agriculture: André Thouin; • Geography: Jean-Nicolas Buache and Edme Mentelle (the latter was appointed as Buache's assistant by a decree of 24 nivôse); and • History: Volney.
Encyclopédie
l’Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a major work published between 1751 and 1772 under the direction of Denis Diderot* and Jean Le Rond d'Alembert*. This first French encyclopedia was conceived as a vast illustrated system for classifying, ranking, and understanding human knowledge.
French campaign in Egypt and Syria
The Napoleonic campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria (Campagne d’Egypte, 1797-1801) followed Napoleon Bonaparte's victorious campaign in Italy in 1797, leaving England as France's sole enemy. As general-in-chief of the French army, Bonaparte proposed, along with Talleyrand, to take the war to Egypt, which could serve as a base of operations against British dominance in India.
The campaign also included a scientific expedition, with about 160 scientists, historians, draftsmen, botanists, and engineers, who accompanied the army to study and describe the country. Their meticulous work led to the emergence of a new science: Egyptology. Many of their names are included in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet.
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of conflicts between France and other nations in Europe, following the French Revolution which took place between 1792 and 1802. The wars saw France fighting against a coalition of European powers, including Great Britain, Austria and Prussia. They had a profound impact on European and world history, leading to the rise of Napoleon and the spread of revolutionary ideals across Europe.
Institut national des sciences et des arts
In 1795, the National Convention established and organized l’Institut national des sciences et des arts (National Institute of Sciences and Arts, referred to in short as the Institut), now known as l’Institut de France, to serve as an assembly for writers, scholars, and artists. This followed the dissolution of the royal academies during the French Revolution. Initially, the Institute had 144 members divided into three classes: Physical Sciences and Mathematics (60 members), Literature and Fine Arts (48 members), and, for the first time, Moral and Political Sciences (36 members).
During the Consulate, a decree issued on May 13, 1801, introduced a formal dress code for members of the Institute: a black costume adorned with green olive branches embroidered on its sleeves and collar. This ceremonial attire is still worn on solemn occasions today.
Subsequently, on January 23, 1803 (3 Pluviôse Year XI), another decree reorganized the National Institute of Sciences and Arts. It was divided into four classes: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, French Language and Literature, Ancient History and Literature, and Fine Arts. As part of this restructuring, the class of Moral and Political Sciences was abolished, reflecting an effort to neutralize the republican ideals held by many of its members. These members were allowed to join one of the other, more politically neutral, classes within the newly restructured Institute.
With the establishment of the Napoleonic Empire in May 1804, the National Institute of Sciences and Arts was renamed l’Institut impérial des sciences, arts et lettres.
The class of Moral and Political Sciences was later reinstated in 1832 during the reign of Louis XVIII and is now known as the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques.
The names of the first members of l’Institut are included in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet, such as Lagrange*, Laplace*, Delambre*, Legendre*, Monge*, Prony*, Berthoud*, Lalande*, Méchain*, Cassini*, Coulomb*, Berthollet*, Fourcroy*, Vauquelin*, Guyton-Morveau*, Chaptal*, Dolomieu*, Lamarck*, Jussieu*, Cuvier*, Daubenton (albeit Baie Daubenton, mentionned in Péron, F (2011) 'Voyage de découvertes aux Terres Australes', Op cit., tome 1, p.318 , is not included in Freycinet atlas), Lacépède*, Hallé*, Parmentier*, Volney*, Cambacérès*, Talleyrand*, Roederer*, Dacier*, Bougainville*, and Jacques-Louis David*. Bonaparte himself was elected a member of the Institut on December 25, 1797, to the mechanical arts division of the science section, replacing Carnot.
Since 1805, the headquarters of the Institut has been located at the Collège des Quatre-Nations, quai de Conti, in Paris.
Isle of France
L'Isle de France was the former name of the island of Mauritius after it became a French colony in 1715. The French governor, Mahé de La Bourdonnais, established Port Louis as a naval base and a ship-building centre. The island was under the administration of the French East India Company until 1767. From that year until 1810, the island was governed by officials appointed by the French Government, except for a brief period during the French Revolution when the local authorities set up a virtually independent government who refused to enforce the Revolutionary’s bans on the slave trade and on slavery and did not warmly welcome the Baudin expedition in 1800. From that year until 1810, the island was governed by officials appointed by the French government, except for a brief period after the French Revolution when local authorities established a virtually independent government that refused to enforce the Revolution’s bans on the slave trade and slavery and did not warmly welcome the Baudin expedition in 1800. However, Napoleon maintained slavery in the French colonies.
During the Napoleonic Wars, under the governorship of Decaen*, the Isle de France became a base from which French corsairs organised raids on British commercial ships over a vast area of the Indian Ocean, encompassing the entire Mascarene Archipelago (Isle de France, Île Bonaparte [previously Île Bourbon, now La Réunion], and Île Rodrigues) and the entire Seychelles Archipelago to the north. The British ended French hegemony in this part of the Indian Ocean in 1810. Under the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the Isle de France reverted to its former name, Mauritius.
Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1796-1797; 1799-1802)
The Italian Campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars refer to the military operations carried out by Napoléon Bonaparte in northern Italy in 1796 and 1797 against Austria, Piedmont, and their allies (First European Coalition, 1792-1897). These campaigns also included battles fought in May-June 1800 against the Second European Coalition (1799-1802).
The nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet includes many of the French victories in Northern Italy (Marengo*, Rivoli*…), and of the generals who led them (see for example the Southern part of Golfe Bonaparte/ Gulf Spencer)
La Pérouse expedition (1785-1788)
The La Pérouse expedition was a voyage of discovery led by Jean-François de La Pérouse, also spelt Lapérouse or Lapeyrouse, at the instigation of the French king Louis XVI.
On August 1, 1785, the explorer set sail from Brest with two frigates: l'Astrolabe and la Boussole. On board the ships were over 200 scientists specializing in a wide range of disciplines.
In February 1786, the two ships rounded Cape Horn, before reaching Easter Island in April. After a stopover in Chile, the expedition continued on to Alaska, then California, before crossing the Pacific Ocean to Macao in China in 1787. The ships continued their voyage to the Philippines, Japan, Korea and Kamchatka (in Russia's far east). The expedition then sailed to Botany Bay (today's Sydney) in New South Wales (Australia), from where La Pérouse sent mail and journals taken by British vessels to France. After leaving Botany Bay, his vessels were wrecked on the Vanikoro reefs in the South Pacific in early 1788. The fate of the expedition remained a mystery for almost 40 years.
Légion d’Honneur
The Legion of Honor was created on May 19, 1802, by the First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte, as part of a wider reorganization of the State. It was adopted after lengthy discussions in the Council of State, as well as the Tribunat and Legislative Body. The institution aimed to re-establish a complete system of rewards based on individual merit, rather than privileges or exemptions, while respecting the equality of citizens. Bonaparte pursued three objectives with the creation of the Legion: to reconcile the French people exhausted by more than a decade of instability and conflict, to unite them around the ideals of individual and national honor, and to symbolize a strong and unified state by uniting the courage of the military with the talents of civilians. The Legion of Honor was open to both soldiers and civilians from the time it was introduced. The marshals of the Empire, including Berthier*, Soult*, Ney*, Murat*, and Lannes*, were decorated alongside civilian personalities such as senior civil servants, magistrates like Mollien*, doctors like Corvisart*, industrialists, scientists such as Cuvier*, Monge*, and Montgolfier*, and artists like David*, Gros, and Gérard*, as well as architects, musicians, and writers.
Madame Campan and the ‘Institut national de Saint-Germain’
This Institution, now known as the Maison d’éducation des Loges, was a boarding school for girls established in Saint-Germain-en-Laye by Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Genet, known as Madame Campan (1752 – 1822), who was a distinguished educator in the late 18th century.
Madame Campan had previously served as chambermaid to Queen Marie-Antoinette but started a new career after the period of the Terreur. With few resources and several dependents, including her sick husband, her young son and three motherless nieces (including Adèle*), Madame Campan moved to Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1794 and opened a small boarding school for young ladies. She remained at the school for eight years, during which time it became a hub of social activity for the Directory and the Consulate. In September 1795, Marie Josèphe Rose of Beauharnais (the future Empress Josephine*) brought her two children, Eugène* and Hortense*, to Saint-Germain for their education. Eugène went to the Irish college, while Hortense enrolled in Madame Campan's institution at the Hôtel de Rohan. The following year, Madame Campan informed Hortense of her mother's marriage to General Bonaparte, who then visited the school with his new wife on March 10, 1796. From that point on, the Bonaparte girls began to attend the school, including Napoleon's youngest sister Annunziata (later Caroline*), Lucien's eldest daughter Charlotte, and even Pauline*, who was put in the school by her husband General Leclerc to improve her neglected education.
Madame Campan moved to Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1794 and opened a small boarding school for young ladies. She remained at the school for eight years, during which Saint-Germain-en-laye became a center for elite social education during the Directory and the Consulate. For example, in September 1795, Marie Josèphe Rose de Beauharnais (the future Empress Joséphine*) brought her two children, Eugène* and Hortense*, to Saint-Germain for their education. Eugène attended the Irish College, while Hortense enrolled in Madame Campan's institution at the Hôtel de Rohan. The following year, Madame Campan informed Hortense of her mother's marriage to General Bonaparte, who visited the school with his new wife on March 10, 1796. From that point onward, the Bonaparte girls began to attend the school, including Napoleon's youngest sister Annunziata (later Caroline*), Lucien's eldest daughter Charlotte, and even Pauline*, who was enrolled by her husband, General Leclerc, to improve her neglected education. Other notable students included Emilie* and Stéphanie de Beauharnais*.
Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle
The history of the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle dates to the 17th century. Originally named the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants, it was established in May 1635 by Louis XIII in Paris as a training ground for future doctors and apothecaries.
In the 18th century, the garden was instrumental in acclimatizing exotic species brought back from various voyages. Antoine de Jussieu*, for instance, successfully adapted the Java coffee tree in its greenhouses , which paved the way for its exportation and cultivation in the former French colonies in America.
Buffon* conducted much of his research at the Royal Garden. It was there that he wrote his landmark work, Natural History, which comprised 36 volumes published between 1749 and 1788. To aid him in his work, Buffon gathered a team of renowned scientists, including Lamarck*, Dolomieu*, Thouin*, Desfontaine*, and others whose names appear in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet .
During the French Revolution, the parisian institution gained autonomy and by decree was officially established as the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle in 1793. The new institution was led by a director and focused on research and public education. Teaching was divided into twelve professorships, each headed by esteemed professors like Cuvier (comparative anatomy), Fourcroy (chemistry), Jussieu, Desfontaines, and others listed in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet.
The Museum also played a crucial role in the preparation of Baudin's voyage, and in 1794, it opened the Menagerie, where a decade later, animals from the expedition were housed.
Nomenclature
The nomenclatures of the d'Entrecasteaux and Baudin expeditions list the places (capes, points, islands, reefs, mountains, watercourses, bays, plateaus, etc.) discovered and surveyed during these voyages.
By including these places in the official atlases and publications of the voyages, their geographical recognition gave way to a conception of discovery as a symbolic act of intellectual ownership, materialized by the right of the discoverer—exercised under the authority of their country—to assign its name.
New Holland
New Holland (Dutch: Nieuw-Holland, French: Nouvelle Hollande) is a historical Dutch/European name for mainland Australia.
The d’Entrecasteaux and the Baudin expeditions used this appellation (‘New Holland’) as well as the more general term Terres australes to designate Australia.
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War (1688-1697), also known as the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition that mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy), the Dutch Republic, England, Spain, Savoy, Sweden, and Portugal. Although not the first European war to extend to overseas colonies, the events of the Nine Years' War had far-reaching consequences in places as distant as the Americas, India, and West Africa.
The nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet recalls the names of French navy officers who fought against the British or the Dutch in sea battles during this conflict.
Peace of Amiens / Paix d’Amiens (March 23, 1802 - May 18, 1803)
On March 25, 1802, the peace treaty of Amiens was signed by Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I, and Lord Cornwallis, British Minister Plenipotentiary, between the French Republic, the King of Spain and India, and the Dutch Republic, on the one hand, and the King of England and Ireland, on the other. The Peace of Amiens put a temporary end (eighteen months), to ten years of war between France and England.
This treaty stipulates (art. 1) as follows: ‘The contracting parties will take the greatest care to maintain perfect harmony between themselves and their states, without allowing, on either side, or committing any kind of hostility by land, or by sea, for whatever cause and under whatever pretext it may be.’
England undertook to return to France and its allies, Spain and Holland, their respective colonies. France, for its part, withdrew its troops from Naples and the Roman States.
Polytechnique
Polytechnique is a French engineering school that was established in 1794 under the name ‘École centrale des travaux publics’ to address the shortage of engineers and senior managers in France. The school was renamed École Polytechnique one year later, on September 1, 1795. It recruited students from across France through a competitive examination and had prestigious lecturers and professors such as Monge*, Laplace*, and Prony*, Berthollet*, Vauquelin*, Fourcroy*, and Lagrange*, encompassed in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet.
In 1796, a decree appointed three to five admission examiners, including Laplace, who were responsible for selecting mathematically gifted candidates during tours throughout France. At the time, the École Polytechnique was a civilian institution and the students were non-residential. Graduates of the Polytechnique would attend Ecoles d’application (engineering schools of instruction) to learn practical engineering skills. Among Baudin’s crew, Boullanger* and Faure* studied in the school of the ‘ingénieurs géographes’ specialised in surveying and geographical expertise, Maurouard* and Hyacinthe de Bougainville* in that of the military navy, and Bailly* in the school of ‘arts et manufactures’.
About fifty students and a dozen teachers and staff of the Polytechnique and these schools accompanied General Bonaparte to Egypt, where their scientific surveys contributed to the publication of the Description d'Égypte. The Polytechnique was highly valued by Napoleon Bonaparte, who considered it to be ‘his goose that lays the golden eggs’ due to the large number of officers in his army and leaders of his administration who had graduated from it.
In 1804, Napoleon gave the Polytechnique military status and a motto: ‘Pour la Patrie, les Sciences et la Gloire’.
Since the end of 2013, Polytechnique has had a new logo that includes the letter ‘X,’ the school's nickname since the mid-19th century. It derives from both the crossed gun barrels of the school’s coat of arms, and the use of the ‘X’ symbol in polynomial algebra.
Further reading: Belhoste, B. (2003) La formation d'une technocratie L'Ecole polytechnique et ses élèves de la Révolution au Second Empire. Belin, Paris.
Premier Empire (First French Empire)
On May 18, 1804, the Consulat was transformed into a hereditary empire. The coronation and consecration ceremony took place at Notre-Dame de Paris on December 2, 1804. In exchange for the French bishops' adherence to the Concordat between the French state and the Catholic Church, and their submission to the Pope, the pope Pius VII agreed to preside over the ceremony. However, contrary to tradition, Napoléon insisted on crowning himself and also placing the crown on Empress Josephine, leaving Pope Pius VII to merely bless the crown.
The regime was built on the model of a monarchy and established through the senatus-consultum of 28 Floréal Year XII (May 18, 1804), also known as the Constitution of Year XII. The senatus-consultum entrusted the government of the Republic to the First Consul Bonaparte, who was given the title of Emperor of the French Napoléon I. The imperial succession was proclaimed as hereditary applying to the direct, natural, and legitimate descendants of Napoléon Bonaparte. The new regime was formalized with Napoléon I's coronation at Notre-Dame de Paris on December 2, 1804, and with the establishment of a court system, including great dignitaries, civil and military officers, eighteen marshals, and a nobility of the Empire, many of whose names are remembered in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet.
It ended in 1815 with the Restauration.
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1754/1756–1763) was a global conflict involving most of the major European powers and many smaller European states, as well as nations in Asia and the Americas. The most powerful belligerents in each of the opposing alliances were Great Britain and France, both seeking to establish global dominance at the expense of the other power. Along with Spain, France fought Great Britain both in Europe and overseas with land-based armies and naval forces, while Britain's ally Prussia sought territorial expansion in Europe and consolidation of its power. The conflict originated from unresolved issues left by the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), with Prussia seeking greater influence in the German states and Austria aiming to regain Silesia, captured by Prussia in the previous war and to contain Prussian influence. The long-standing colonial rivalries pitting Britain against France and Spain in North America and the West Indies were also fought on a grand scale, with France emerging from the conflict extremely weakened.
Société des Observateurs de l’Homme
In 1799, the Idéologues—scholars (primarily naturalists, physicians, philosophers, writers, historians, linguists, orientalists, and archaeologists) who had embraced the Revolution—found a fitting base in the Société des Observateurs de l’Homme. The Société had a particular focus on the emerging field of anthropology and expressed interest in the potential anthropological contributions of the Baudin expedition. Several savants and officers from the voyage, including the two captains, Baudin and Hamelin, as well as Péron, were among its correspondents. The Society was dissolved in 1804 by Bonaparte due to its republican ideals.
Terreur
The period during the French Revolution (1793-1794) when exceptional measures were taken to arrest and execute perceived or actual opponents to the ruling revolutionary government (the Montagnards).
Van Diemen’s Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name given by the Dutch to the island of Tasmania, in honor of Antonio van Diemen, the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies who had sent Abel Tasman to explore the region in 1642.
The name of the island was officially changed by the British to Tasmania on January 1, 1856.
War of the Austrian Succession
In 1740, the death of Emperor Charles VI and the accession of his daughter Maria Theresa triggered the War of the Austrian Succession. Related princes claimed all or part of the empire, contesting the right of a woman to rule. France entered the war in 1741 by allying itself with Prussia against the Austrians, British, and Dutch. The final period was marked by French victories. The war ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Louis XV returned his conquests to Austria, to the general surprise and dismay of his people, declaring that he had concluded peace ‘as a king and not as a merchant.’ Prussia was the great winner of the conflict, having enlarged its kingdom at the expense of Austria. Empress Maria Theresa reluctantly accepted it. The conflict resumed in 1756, triggering the Seven Years' War. Names of French personalities such as Dupleix, the governor of Pondicherry and of the French establishments in India, who had long collected strategic information on the English trading post's defense capabilities and prepared an attack plan, are remembered in the nomenclature of Péron and Freycinet
Navigation, seamanship, sails, anchoring and boats
A first structured survey of the seafaring vocabulary used in the English-language logbooks of the expeditions. The corpus consists principally of Matthew Flinders's published narrative, *A Voyage to Terra Australis* (London, 1814), and the log of the *Investigator*. Spellings and abbreviations are kept where they are characteristic of the log — *wr.*, *fms.*, *T.Gt.*
The cross-references to the French glossary are a proposal, under review.
- Bear away
- Bring to
- Course
- Haul to the wind
- Heave to, hove to
- Keep on her course
- Make all sail
- Make sail
- Stand off and on
- Steer, steered
- Tack, tacked
- Veering ship
- Weathered the breakers
- Working
- All sail
- Bent, unbent
- Boused home
- Close reefs
- Double-reefed
- Fore top-sail, F.T. sail
- Fore-top-mast studding sails
- Fore-top-mast studding-sail boom
- Fore and mizen top-sails
- Handed
- Jib
- Let out a reef, out reefs
- Loosed sails
- Main sail, M. sail
- Main top-sail
- Mizen staysail
- Mizen top-sail
- Reef
- Set
- Spanker
- Stay-sails
- Studding sails, studg. sails
- Took in
- Top-gallant sails, T.Gt. sails
- Top-sail sheets
- Topsails
- Treble-reefed
- Trimmed
- Boom
- Cable
- Carried away
- Dead-eyes
- Fore-top-sail tie
- Masts
- Mizzen mast, mz. mast
- Points and ropebands
- Rigging
- Rope
- Set up rigging
- Spare top masts
- Splinter netting
- Stay
- Studding-sail boom
- Timber heads
- Working up junk
- Yards
- Anchor, anchors
- Anchorage
- Anchored
- Anchoring ground
- Dropped a stream anchor
- Ride from the land
- Stream anchor
- Weighed anchor
- Boat, boats
- Brig
- Cutter
- Gig
- Raft
- Whale boat
- Answer a signal
- Cleared for action
- Cleared hawse
- Exercised great guns
- Exercised marines at small arms
- Fired a shot
- Hoisted the pendant and ensign
- Made the private signal
- Piped hammocks down, up
- Took the guard per signal
Sailing, course-keeping and manoeuvres
Bear away
Alter course away from the wind.
French logbooks Abattre, Arriver, Laisser arriver
Bring to
Bring a vessel to a halt or near-halt.
Course
The direction steered.
French logbooks Route
Haul to the wind
Bring the ship closer to the wind.
French logbooks Au plus près, Serrer le vent, Tenir le vent
Heave to, hove to
Reduce way and hold the ship in a controlled position.
French logbooks Mettre en panne
Keep on her course
Continue on the existing heading.
Make all sail
Set as much sail as practicable.
French logbooks Forcer de voile
Make sail
Increase the amount of sail carried.
Stand off and on
Work back and forth offshore, usually under adverse conditions.
Steer, steered
Direct the ship's heading.
French logbooks Cingler, Gouverner
Tack, tacked
Turn the bow through the wind to change tack.
French logbooks Bord, Bordée, Prendre les amures, Virer de bord, Virer vent devant
Veering ship
Turn the vessel's head away from the wind.
French logbooks Virer lof pour lof ou virer vent arrière
Weathered the breakers
Passed to windward of breaking seas or a reef.
Working
Manoeuvring, especially beating against the wind.
French logbooks Louvoyer
Flinders's narrative supplies clear examples of *haul to the wind*, *tacked*, *stood off and on* and *bore away*, while the log repeatedly records changes of sail under changing winds.
Sails and sail-handling
All sail
Every sail the ship is able to carry.
Bent, unbent
Attached or detached a sail from its yard, stay or spar.
French logbooks Dégréer, Déverger
Boused home
Hauled a sail or its tack taut into its proper position.
French logbooks Amurer
Close reefs
Reduce a sail to its smallest reefed area.
French logbooks Voile au bas ris
Double-reefed
Carrying two reefs, the sail reduced twice.
Fore top-sail, F.T. sail
The topsail of the foremast, abbreviated in the log.
Fore-top-mast studding sails
Light sails set outboard of the fore topsail in fair winds.
Fore-top-mast studding-sail boom
The spar run out along the yard to spread those sails.
Fore and mizen top-sails
The topsails of the foremast and of the mizzen, taken together.
Handed
Furled or gathered a sail.
French logbooks Carguer, Serrer une voile
Jib
Triangular headsail set on a stay forward of the foremast.
French logbooks Foc
Let out a reef, out reefs
Released reefing to carry more canvas.
French logbooks Larguer les ris
Loosed sails
Released sails for setting.
Main sail, M. sail
The principal square sail of the mainmast.
Main top-sail
The topsail of the mainmast.
Mizen staysail
Triangular sail set on a stay of the mizzen mast.
Mizen top-sail
The topsail of the mizzen mast.
French logbooks Perroquet de fougue
Reef
Reduce the exposed area of a sail by tying up part of it.
French logbooks Prendre un ris
Set
Spread a sail for use.
Spanker
The fore-and-aft sail set abaft the mizzen mast.
French logbooks Brigantine
Stay-sails
Triangular sails bent to the stays between the masts.
French logbooks Grande voile d'étai, Voiles d'étai
Studding sails, studg. sails
Light sails set outboard of the square sails, in fair weather only.
French logbooks Bonnettes
Took in
Reduced or furled sail.
Top-gallant sails, T.Gt. sails
The sails set above the topsails; the first to be taken in as the wind rises.
French logbooks Perroquet
Top-sail sheets
The ropes hauling down the lower corners of a topsail.
Topsails
The sails set above the courses, the ship's working canvas.
French logbooks Hunier
Treble-reefed
Carrying three reefs, the sail reduced to little more than a strip.
Trimmed
Adjusted sails to the wind.
French logbooks Border
The log records setting and taking in top-gallant sails, studding sails, jibs, spankers and staysails; it also records repairs to damaged sails and the repeated use of reefs.
Rigging, spars, ropes and maintenance
Boom
A spar extending the foot of a sail beyond the hull or the yard.
Cable
The heavy rope, later chain, by which the ship rides to her anchor.
French logbooks Câble
Carried away
Lost or broke a spar, sail or rope through the force of wind or sea.
Dead-eyes
Rounded blocks, pierced with three holes, used to set up the shrouds taut.
Fore-top-sail tie
The rope by which the fore topsail yard is hoisted.
French logbooks Drisse
Masts
The upright spars carrying the sails.
Mizzen mast, mz. mast
The aftermost of the three masts.
Points and ropebands
Short lines: the first for reefing a sail, the second for bending it to its yard.
Rigging
The whole of the ropes — standing, which holds the masts, and running, which works the sails.
Rope
Cordage in general; aboard ship each rope bears its own name and office.
French logbooks Amarre
Set up rigging
Set taut and secure the standing rigging.
Spare top masts
Replacement topmasts carried aboard against the loss of one.
Splinter netting
Netting rigged over the deck to catch the splinters thrown up in action.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — Netting rigged over the deck against splinters, in action.
Stay
A standing rope supporting a mast from forward.
French logbooks Étai
Studding-sail boom
The spar run out to spread a studding sail.
Timber heads
The tops of the frames, rising above the deck, to which ropes are belayed.
Working up junk
Unpicking old rope to make oakum or other serviceable material.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — Unpicking old cordage to make oakum.
Yards
The spars crossing the masts, from which the square sails hang.
French logbooks Vergue
The log mentions inspecting « the rigging, the masts and yards », repairing defects, coiling ropes for night manoeuvres, and working up junk.
Anchoring and mooring
Anchor, anchors
The ground tackle by which the ship holds to the bottom.
Anchorage
A place where a ship may lie at anchor.
French logbooks Mouillage
Anchored
Lying to an anchor.
French logbooks Mouiller
Anchoring ground
The nature of the bottom and the hold it offers — the first thing a surveyor records.
Dropped a stream anchor
Let go the stream anchor, to steady the ship or to haul her off.
French logbooks Élonger une ancre
Ride from the land
Lie at anchor away from the shore.
French logbooks Évitage
Stream anchor
A lighter anchor, used for a temporary hold or to warp the ship.
French logbooks Ancre à jet
Weighed anchor
Raised the anchor to get under way.
French logbooks Appareiller, Déplanter, Déraper, Virer sur l'ancre
Flinders distinguishes between an anchorage, the nature of the bottom and the safety of the anchoring ground; he also describes a stream anchor dropped when a vessel grounded in a strong tide.
Boats and small craft
Boat, boats
The ship's small craft, used for sounding, watering and landing.
French logbooks Grand canot, Chaloupe
Brig
A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both masts.
Cutter
A ship's boat pulling several oars; also a small single-masted vessel.
French logbooks Canot
Gig
A light, narrow boat, fast under oars, kept for the commander's use.
French logbooks Petit canot
Raft
A makeshift float, built when no boat remains.
Whale boat
A long, light, double-ended boat, handy in a surf.
The published narrative describes a brig and a whale boat used for coastal exploration, while the shipwreck narrative refers to the small gig and to an improvised raft carrying water, provisions, a sextant and log books.
Commands, signals and routine actions
Answer a signal
Acknowledge a signal made by another ship.
Cleared for action
Struck down the bulkheads and cleared the decks for battle.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — Clearing the ship for battle — the Investigator is a man-of-war.
Cleared hawse
Freed crossed anchor cables.
Exercised great guns
Drilled the people at the cannon.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — Gun drill, entered in the log as a matter of routine.
Exercised marines at small arms
Drilled the marines at musketry.
Fired a shot
Fired a gun, to signal or to bring another vessel to.
Hoisted the pendant and ensign
Showed the ship's colours.
Made the private signal
Showed the recognition signal agreed between ships of the same service.
Piped hammocks down, up
The boatswain's call to sling the hammocks at night, to stow them at dawn.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — The boatswain's call governs turning in and turning out.
Took the guard per signal
Assumed the duty of guard ship on the signal to do so.
Signalling, sail evolution, gunnery drill and the daily discipline of hammocks, decks and watches belonged to one and the same operational routine.
Observation and hydrography
Depths, bearings, coordinates, instruments and weather, as the English logbooks record them.
The cross-references to the French glossary are a proposal, under review.
- Bank
- Bottom
- Breakers
- Fathom, fathoms, fms.
- Grounded, took the ground
- Muddy flats
- No bottom
- Quick sand
- Reef
- Rock
- Sand bank
- Shoal
- Soft bottom
- Sounding, soundings
- Sounding ahead
- Tried for soundings
- Amplitude
- Bearing, bearings
- Bore
- Cardinal and intercardinal directions
- Chain of longitude
- Departure
- Dip of the needle
- Distance
- Fixed points in the survey
- Latitude
- Longitude
- Meridian
- Parallel
- Position
- Situation
- Variation
- Astronomical observation
- Barometer, marine barometer
- Chart
- Compass needle
- Ephemerides
- Log board
- Log book
- Quadrant
- Sextant
- Thermometer
- Time-keeper, time-keepers
- Watch
- Breeze, breezes
- Calm, nearly calm
- Cloudy
- Drizzling rain
- Fine weather
- Fresh breezes
- Gale
- Haze, hazy
- High sea
- Light airs
- Light breezes
- Moderate breezes
- Rain
- Sea
- Shower
- Spitting rain
- Squall, squally
- Swell
- Variable winds
- Windward, leeward
Soundings, depth, seabed and hazards
Bank
A raised patch of the sea bed, shoaling the water above it.
Bottom
The sea bed, and the nature of it — sand, mud, coral, rock.
Breakers
Seas breaking over a shoal or a reef, and betraying it from afar.
Fathom, fathoms, fms.
Six feet; the unit in which depth is sounded. About 1.83 m (1 m 83 cm).
French logbooks Brasse
Grounded, took the ground
Touched the bottom, whether by accident or design.
Muddy flats
Shallows of soft mud, uncovering at low water.
No bottom
No seabed reached with the available sounding line.
Quick sand
Sand so loose that an anchor will not hold in it.
Reef
A ridge of rock or coral lying at or near the surface.
French logbooks Prendre un ris
Rock
An isolated danger, whether showing or sunken.
Sand bank
A bank of sand, and one that shifts.
Shoal
Shallow water; as a verb, to grow shallower.
Soft bottom
A bottom of mud or ooze, easy on a ship that takes the ground.
Sounding, soundings
The measurement of depth by lead and line, and the depths so found.
French logbooks Sonde et sondage
Sounding ahead
Sounding from a boat sent ahead, when the ship stands into unknown water.
Tried for soundings
Cast the lead without finding bottom.
The distinction between a measured depth and « no bottom » recurs throughout the log, which records attempts at 85, 120 and 190 fathoms.
Bearings, directions and position
Amplitude
An observation of the sun at rising or setting, used to find the variation of the compass.
French logbooks Azimut
Bearing, bearings
The direction of an object from the ship, by compass.
French logbooks Relèvement
Bore
Lay in a stated direction from the observer.
Cardinal and intercardinal directions
N., S., E., W., and their combinations — N.N.E., N.W. by W., S.S.W.
Chain of longitude
A series of linked determinations, each carried forward from the last.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — A chain of linked longitudes, Flinders's method of carrying the meridian.
Departure
The position or reckoning from which navigation proceeds.
French logbooks Estime
Dip of the needle
The inclination of the magnetic needle below the horizontal.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — The inclination of the magnetic needle, measured by Flinders.
Distance
The run between two points, estimated or measured.
Fixed points in the survey
The points whose position is established, and on which the rest of the survey hangs.
Latitude
The distance north or south of the equator, found by observation of the sun or a star.
French logbooks Coordonnées géographiques, Latitude
Longitude
The distance east or west of a meridian, the harder of the two to establish.
French logbooks Longitude
Meridian
A great circle passing through the poles; by extension, the moment of the sun's passage.
Parallel
A circle of equal latitude.
Position
The place of the ship, by latitude and longitude.
Situation
The place of a coast or a danger, as the survey reports it.
Variation
The variation of the magnetic needle, or of the compass.
French logbooks Déclinaison magnétique, ou variation
Flinders computes longitude from his timekeepers and latitude from bearings, and elsewhere compares longitudes drawn from lunar distances, from survey and from astronomical observation.
Instruments and observational records
Astronomical observation
Observation of the heavenly bodies, by which position is fixed.
French logbooks Astronome
Barometer, marine barometer
The instrument for measuring the pressure of the air, hung to ride the ship's motion.
French logbooks Baromètre, thermomètre et hygromètre
Chart
The sea map, on which the survey is laid down.
Compass needle
The magnetised needle of the compass, subject to variation and to the iron of the ship.
French logbooks Compas de variation
Ephemerides
Tables of the predicted places of the heavenly bodies, without which longitude cannot be worked.
Log board
The board on which the reckoning is chalked, before being entered in the book.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — The board on which the reckoning is kept before being entered in the book.
Log book
The daily record of course, distance, weather and occurrence.
Quadrant
An instrument for measuring altitudes, superseded aboard by the sextant.
Sextant
The instrument for measuring angles between heavenly bodies, or between shore marks.
French logbooks Cercle de réflexion
Thermometer
The instrument for measuring temperature, of the air and of the sea.
Time-keeper, time-keepers
The marine chronometer, which carries the time of a known meridian and so yields longitude.
French logbooks Montre marine, Variation de la montre
Watch
Both a division of shipboard duty and, in context, a timepiece.
The standing orders of the *Investigator* require the thermometer to be entered every watch, the sea-water temperature at noon, and the marine barometer at daylight and at noon; the ship's noon position is to be fixed by astronomical observation whenever possible.
Meteorology and sea-state
Breeze, breezes
Wind of moderate force; the log grades it light, moderate, fresh, strong.
Calm, nearly calm
No wind, or too little to give the ship steerage way.
Cloudy
Overcast; a state that forbids the noon observation.
Drizzling rain
Fine, persistent rain.
Fine weather
Clear and settled — the weather in which a survey advances.
Fresh breezes
A working wind, strong enough to reduce sail but not to endanger.
Gale
Wind strong enough to compel the ship to lie to or run before it.
Haze, hazy
A thickening of the air that hides the land and stops the bearings.
High sea
A heavy, running sea.
Light airs
Wind barely perceptible, scarcely filling the sails.
Light breezes
Wind gentle but steady.
Moderate breezes
Wind of middling force, the ship carrying her ordinary sail.
Rain
Rain, noted for its own sake and because it renews the water casks.
Sea
The state of the sea, as distinct from the wind that raises it.
Shower
A brief fall of rain.
Spitting rain
Rain falling in scattered drops.
Squall, squally
A sudden increase of wind, often with rain, requiring sail to be taken in at once.
French logbooks Grain
Swell
A long undulation, running from a distant wind and outlasting it.
Variable winds
Wind shifting in direction, and trying to a ship working to windward.
Windward, leeward
Toward the wind, and away from it — the two sides of every question at sea.
French logbooks Au vent, Sous le vent
The recurring formulae of the journal — « fresh breezes and cloudy », « strong breezes and squally », « light airs », « a high swell » — are terse operational weather reports rather than description.
Science, health and shipboard life
Natural history, medicine, victualling, ranks and duties.
The cross-references to the French glossary are a proposal, under review.
Natural history and scientific work
Albatross
The great oceanic bird of the southern seas, noted and often taken.
Botanising
The work of collecting and describing plants ashore.
Botanist, botanists
The naturalists charged with the plants — aboard the Investigator, Robert Brown.
French logbooks Botaniste, Naturaliste
Botany
The study of plants, a principal object of the voyage.
Coral
The rock built by polyps, both a subject of study and a danger to the ship.
Eucalyptus
The gum tree, the dominant timber of the Australian coast.
Fire wood
Wood cut ashore for the galley — a chief reason for landing.
Fish
The catch, recorded both as food and as natural history.
Geological terms
*Coral*, *ironstone*, *quartz*, *sand stone*.
French logbooks Minéralogiste
Natural history
The collecting and description of plants, animals and minerals.
French logbooks Histoire naturelle
Oceanic birds
The birds of the open sea, whose appearance often announces the land.
Pintado birds
The Cape petrel, so called for its chequered plumage.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — The Cape petrel, named for its chequered plumage.
Shearwaters
Long-winged sea birds, met in great flocks off the southern coast.
Sooty petrels
The short-tailed shearwater, whose rookeries astonished the expedition.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — The short-tailed shearwater, whose rookeries astonished the expedition.
Turtle
Taken ashore or afloat, and a welcome fresh meat.
Vegetation, wood
The cover of a coast, noted as a sign of soil, of water, and of timber.
The published narrative brings together botanical work, geological observation, birds and fish, and the practical search for timber and fresh water.
Health, hygiene, illness and death
Aired with stoves
Dried the lower decks with stoves — a measure against damp and sickness.
Cleaned below
Washed and scraped the lower decks.
Committed the body … to the deep
The formula of burial at sea.
Deceased
Died; the log names the man and the day.
Dysentery
The flux, one of the chief killers of a ship's company.
Mustered the ship's company
Assembled the crew, to count them and to see them clean.
Patients
The men under the surgeon's hands.
French logbooks Chirurgien ou officier de santé
Saw them clean
Inspected the people for cleanliness, a duty of the officer of the watch.
Sick list
The roll of men unfit for duty, and the measure of a ship's health.
Usual ceremony
The rites accompanying a burial at sea.
The log records the death of a serjeant of marines from dysentery, the size of the sick list, the regular cleaning and airing of the ship, and the burial at sea.
Food, drink, water and stores
Beer
Small beer, issued while it lasted, before the water became the only drink.
Biscuit
Ship's bread, baked hard to keep.
Carpenters' stores
Timber, nails and tools for the repair of hull and spars.
Cask of water
The unit in which water is stowed, struck down and expended.
Fresh beef
Meat taken aboard in port, and the relief of a salt diet.
Provisions
The victuals of the ship, reckoned in months of consumption.
French logbooks Conserves et salaisons, Ravitaillement, Vivres
Sour krout
The spelling used in the log for sauerkraut.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — The Royal Navy's antiscorbutic regime; the French made no use of it.
Spruce beer
Beer brewed from spruce or a substitute, held to prevent scurvy.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — Spruce beer, brewed in port against the scurvy.
Sweet wort
Unfermented malt infusion, issued as an antiscorbutic.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — Unfermented malt infusion, issued as an antiscorbutic.
Vinegar
Used to sweeten the air below as much as to season the food.
Water
The governing store: its quantity decides how long a coast can be surveyed.
Watered, water supply
Filled the casks ashore; the search for water shapes every landing.
French logbooks Aiguade
Sour krout, vinegar, spruce beer and sweet wort belong to the preventive dietary regime of the *Investigator*; the log also records the receipt of fresh beef, beer and water.
Ranks, functions and shipboard roles
Admiral, Vice Admiral
Flag officers, commanding a fleet or a division of one.
After guard
The men stationed aft, working the after sails and the braces.
Boatswain
The warrant officer answerable for rigging, cordage, boats and the calling of the watch.
Boatswain's mate
His assistant, who passes the call and sees the order obeyed.
Captain
The commander of the ship; also the rank.
Captains of the tops
The seamen answerable for the work aloft at each masthead.
Carpenter
The warrant officer answerable for the hull, the masts and the pumps.
French logbooks Calfat
Carpenter's mate
His assistant.
Commander
The rank between lieutenant and captain.
Commissioned officer
An officer holding the King's commission, as against a warrant.
Helmsman
The man at the wheel.
Hydrographer
The officer of the Admiralty charged with charts and surveys.
French logbooks Hydrographie, Géographe ou ingénieur-géographe
Lieutenant
A commissioned officer, keeping a watch and commanding in the captain's absence.
Marine, marines
The soldiers embarked, for guard, discipline and landing parties.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — A detachment of soldiers embarked; the French corvettes carried none.
Master's mate
An assistant to the master, who is answerable for the navigation.
Mate of the watch
The officer's assistant during a watch.
Midshipman
A young gentleman training for a commission.
French logbooks Aspirant
Officer of the watch
The officer having charge of the deck, and of the ship, during his watch.
Petty officer
A rating with authority over others, but without warrant or commission.
Quartermaster
A petty officer of the helm, the conn and the stowage of the hold.
Sailmaker
The man answerable for the making and repair of the sails.
Seaman, seamen
The trained hands, as distinct from landsmen and boys.
Serjeant of marines
The senior non-commissioned officer of the marine detachment.
French logbooks no counterpart recorded — The senior non-commissioned officer of that detachment.
Ship's company
The whole of the crew.
Watch below
The half of the company off duty, and at rest.
The orders set out the duties of the officer of the watch, the helmsman, the quartermaster, the boatswain, the carpenter, the mates, the midshipmen, the captains of the tops, the after guard and the petty officers.