Carte Generale des Decouvertes Faites en 1787 Dans Les Mers de Chine

Coastal map of east Asia highlighting the tracks of the French explorer, La Perouse.

The impact of the voyages of Captain James Cook on global politics and exploration cannot be overestimated. Among other things, it prompted the French to promote a Pacific voyage of discovery of their own, and in 1785, Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (often shorted to La Perouse) departed Brest to circumnavigate the globe.

After extensive sailing throughout the Pacific and along the coastlines of California, Asia, Russia, and Australia, the expedition was sadly lost with all hands near the Solomon Islands. Fortunately for posterity, much of the observations of La Perouse had been sent back to France via European intermediaries along the trip, and in 1797 they were published for the first time in “The voyage of La Pérouse around the world.”

That is the origin of this map, which tracks the progress of the voyage between April and September of 1787. After spending almost a year in the Philippines, La Perouse departed Manilla (see bottom of the sheet) and sailed his way up the coast of Asia. Stops are noted near Formosa, Korea, Japan, and China. By September, the ships had arrived at ports in the Kamchatka Peninsula.

It was here, while resting and enjoying the hospitality of the Russians, that La Perouse sent back many of his logs, reports, and letters. They were carried by Barthélemy de Lesseps across Asia and Europe to Paris in an epic transcontinental journey that took over a year.