 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor of Réunion | |
| In office 1735 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 February 1699 |
| Died | 10 November 1753 |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | French Navy |
Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais (11 February 1699 – 10 November 1753) was aFrench Navy officer and colonial administrator who was employed by theFrench Indies Company.
La Bourdonnais entered the service of theFrench Indies Company as a lieutenant. In 1724, he was promoted to captain, and he displayed such bravery in the capture ofMahé on theMalabar Coast that the name of the town was supposedly added to his own as a result of this; however, an alternative account suggests that the town adopted his name, rather than the other way around. For two years, he was in the service of the Portuguese Viceroy, but in 1735 he returned to French service as governor of theIsle de France (present-dayMauritius) and the Île de Bourbon (present-dayRéunion). His first five years' administration of the islands was vigorous and successful.[1] He significantly increased the enslaved African population inIsle de France (Mauritius), which grew from only 638 in 1735 by around 1,300 annually. Labourdonnais also brought 70 slaves for his own estate.[2][3]
A visit to France in 1740 was interrupted by the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain, and La Bourdonnais was put at the head of a fleet in Indian waters.[1] In 1744, he assembled a squadron of 3,342 men, including 720 slaves, and led a military expedition from Isle de France to Madras in India. His victory increased the rivalry with Governor of Pondicherry,Joseph François Dupleix. Soon Labourdonnais was accused of receiving money from the BritishEast India Company and in 1746 he was forced to return to France to face trial and was jailed at theBastille for 3 years. He was replaced by Pierre Félix Barthelemy David, the son of a director of theFrench East India Company.[4] He was tried in 1751 and acquitted, but his health was broken by the imprisonment and by chagrin at the loss of his property. To the last he made accusations against Dupleix.[1]
In 1742, his name was given to the main island (Mahé Island) of the Seychelles archipelago by French explorerLazare Picault. In 1806 the FrenchGeneral Decaen founded and named the historic port village ofMahébourg in homage to Mahé de La Bourdonnais. Close to the village ofMapou, in Rivière du Rempart District, there is an estate namedDomaine de Labourdonnais with its manor house known asLe Château de Labourdonnais, built in 1856, and now converted into a museum.[5] A statue of La Bourdonnais was erected at Place D'Armes in Port Louis on 30 August 1859 during a ceremony.[6] InCurepipe a school calledLycée La Bourdonnais was founded in 1953, where the curriculum is modelled on practices in France.[7] There is another statue of La Bourdonnais in the port ofSaint-Malo, France.[8] InSaint-Denis, Réunion a statue of La Bourdonnais was also erected, and a suburb is namedCité Labourdonnais. However the statue and suburb in Reunion island have been the target of anti-slavery protesters since 2020.[9][10]
In March and April 1738, two of Labourdonnais' children died, and in May 1738 his wife also died onIsle de France (Mauritius). His daughter Montlezun Pardiac continued to live onIsle de France (Mauritius) and received an annual pension of 3,000 Louis following a vote in the National Assembly in August 1798. His grandson was the strong chess playerLouis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais. In December 1827, a lead-lined coffin containing the remains of Labourdonnais' wife and child was discovered during repairs of a government building near theJardin de la Compagnie.[11]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "La Bourdonnais, Bertrand François, Count Mahé de".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 6.
Media related toFrançois Mahé de La Bourdonnais at Wikimedia Commons