Voyage of the Astrolabe: Exploration and Scientific Discoveries

'Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe execute par ordre du roi, pendant les annees 1826-1827-1828-1829' by Dumont D'Urville (Jules Sebastian Cesar) [1790-1842] 22 volumes (various sizes), comprising engraved plates, maps, charts and extensive text descriptions and explanations. The Astrolabe, named in honour of one of the ships of La Perouse, sailed from Toulon on 22 April 1826, towards the Pacific, for a circumnavigation of the world that was destined to last nearly three years. Dumont D'Urville skirted the coast of southern Australia, carried out new relief maps of the South Island of New Zealand, reached the archipelagos of Tonga and Fiji, executed the first relief maps of the Loyalty Islands (part of French New Caledonia) and explored the coast of New Guinea. He identified the site of La Perouse's shipwreck in Vanikoro (in the archipelago of the Solomon Islands) and collected remains of his boats. The voyage continued with the mapping of part of the Caroline Islands and the Moluccas. The Astrolabe returned to Marseille on 25 March 1829, with an impressive load of hydrographical papers and collections of zoological, botanical and mineralogical reports, which were destined to strongly influence the scientific analysis of those regions. Following this expedition, he invented the terms Malaisia, Micronesia and Melanesia, distinguishing these Pacific cultures and island groups from Polynesia. In addition to their comprehensive hydrological work, the Astrolabe scientists made extensive scientific observations and vast collections of natural history. The outstanding results of the expedition were published between 1830 and 1835.