Fascinating research and insight into scientific exploration voyages of the 19th century.
Jean Fornasiero and John West-Sooby, emeritus professors at the University of Adelaide, have been researching and publishing on Nicolas Baudin’s voyages from France to Australia and related topics, for many years. In this edition they have brought together the work of a dozen other researchers on the age of scientific exploration and how it was conducted, the Baudin expedition itself, and the reports of François Péron, who wrote about the expedition following Baudin’s death.
It is not always appreciated that by the late 18th to early 19th century, European nations sending sea voyages to far-flung lands were almost as interested in furthering scientific knowledge as they were in opportunities for trade or colonisation. Thus, it was common practice to include scientists and artists in all such voyages to facilitate the collection and recording of specimens for further study.
This anthology contributes to the reassessment of Baudin’s voyage—the conflicts between him and the scientists, and Péron’s account of the voyage. It examines the personal and professional differences between the two men who, while having many aims in common, came to scientific exploration from different perspectives. Baudin had ambitions to be seen as a great scientific navigator and had been favourably compared to Captain Cook, which Péron had once agreed with. However, tensions arose as the scientists became worried Baudin would attempt to “steal their glory as collectors and aspiring scholars (page 3).” Thus the captain was kept in the dark about their discoveries.
In writing an account of a scientific voyage in the 19th century, authors had to undertake a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, it needed to be scientifically rigorous, to enhance the author’s reputation, yet on the other hand it also had to appeal to a general audience. The authors assert Péron was not above claiming others’ discoveries as his own and altering details to show himself in a more favourable light.
Baudin’s premature death on the return voyage left Péron and the young scientists eager to make a name for themselves, to write the history of the expedition. Baudin was much maligned in Péron’s version of events, and new research and archival material in this edition continues the rehabilitation of the captain’s role in the expedition. The analysis presented through these essays provides the reader with a different perspective on the journals of scientific explorations by examining the motivations of the writers and the politics of the time in which they were writing.
The book has fascinating archival material detailing discoveries plus a comprehensive bibliography and index, exemplifying the very high standard readers have come to expect from Wakefield Press.
Reviewed by Jan Kershaw
This review is the opinion of the reviewer and not necessarily of Glam Adelaide.
Distributed by: Wakefield Press
Released: November 2021
RRP: $39.95
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