I discover the life and work of Count Louis-Antoine de Bougainville * (° 1729- † 1811), a Royal Navy officer who grew up in an environment passionate about mathematics, geography and natural sciences.

He will become one of the most famous French sailors and explorers. As commander-in-chief, he led from 1766 to 1769 the first official French tour of the world. "Voyage around the world" like the travel journal he wrote during the expedition will give rise to a first version published in 1771, (250 years in 2021) revealing very interesting information on the new territories visited with details on populations, fauna and flora.

When he left Brest on December 5, 1766 aboard La Boudeuse, Bougainville was responsible for carrying out a political mission on behalf of the Crown of France. While many territories are still unexplored, the great powers of Spain, England and France are teaming up to obtain primacy on a geopolitical level, obviously with economic issues involved.

At that time, the strategic location of the Falklands Islands strategic location of the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn which made it possible to control access to the southern seas arousing envy.

The British were claiming their rights to these islands, arguing that their explorers had been the first to discover this land, which they had named Falkland.

The furious Spaniards claimed that these islands were part of South America and were rightfully theirs.

In short, the rag is burning on the international political scene. After long discussions, France, which had set its sights on these islands, finally agreed to hand over the Falklands to Spain and charged Bougainville with this restitution.

The unacknowledged objective of the mission entrusted to Bougainville went well beyond the diplomatic component with a clear expansionist connotation.

In the name of King Louis XV, Bougainville was to ensure control of new maritime routes and conquer unknown lands.

At the end of 1766, when the English admiralty launched Samuel Wallis and Philip Carteret on a new expedition in the Pacific Ocean, Bougainville followed suit.

L'Étoile will leave after La Boudeuse, having repairs to perform which will delay it a lot. Bougainville embarks aboard a defective frigate La Boudeuse Followed by the flute L'Étoile, a building with the main role of food reserve.

Three hundred men in total are on board, including the Prince born of Orange and Nassau, the cartographer Charles Routier de Romainville, the astronomer Pierre-Antoine Véron and the naturalist Philibert Commerson * (1727 - † 1773) accompanied by his servant Barret * said Jean de Bonnefoi, who was later to be discovered to be a woman.

Jeanne Barret will subsequently become the first woman to sail around the world.

Captivated, subjugated by the life of Jeanne Barret, I fly 250 years later in the footsteps of Bougainville, taking part of the same journey, by plane, boat, bus. I never part with my brushes during my travels, they are a real passport to sharing with others, whatever the language. I am therefore ready for this world tour which began on August 20, 2019.

The first stone laid for the trip begins in July to pay homage to Jeanne Barret and to flower her grave with tropical plants in the old cemetery of Saint-Antoine-de-Breuilh in Périgord. It was not without regret that I left without meeting Nicolle Maguet and Sophie Miquel, in the hope of being able to do so on my return. After this meditation, I went to Rochefort to visit the Royal Maritime Command and its Corderie. Not far away, I could feel the emotion of the exact place from which L'Étoile started. Surprised, L'Hermione's replica was about to leave port that day.

Rochefort has a world-class municipal structure "Le Conservatoire du Bégonia", located in the street judiciously named Charles Plumier (° 1646- † 1704), botanist of great renown to whom the creation of the name of the genus is attributed. This one has an unequivocal etymology: homage to the administrator Michel Bégon [of La Picardière] (° 1667- † 1747) having been in office in this city, moreover keen on botany.