OTD in 1788, Australia has its first traffic jam. The French ships enter #BotanyBay , while the British ships race for the exit, to the surprise of #JFGLaperouse . Gov #ArthurPhillip wants the #FirstFleet in #PortJackson & safely anchored in #SydneyCove before sunset.
#AustraliaDay
OTD in 1787 two squadrons are racing to #BotanyBay . Britain’s #FirstFleet is 600 miles SW of Cape Leeuwin. France’s ships under #JFGLaperouse are traversing the Tonga archipelago.
Will the absolute monarchy or the democratic, constitutional monarchy shape the southwest Pacific?
OTD in 1759 England’s naval victory at #QuiberonBay scuppered French plans for an invasion of the British Isles. The French ship FORMIDABLE was captured and 300 men killed. Luckily her 18-year-old Garde #JFGLaperouse survived, was briefly a prisoner of the English & then paroled.
OTD in 1788 the French sight the coast at #BrokenBay . Obeying his new orders, #JFGLaperouse turns south for #BotanyBay . At 3pm he passes #SydneyHeads but ignores the temptation to enter #PortJackson , passing up France’s chance to occupy #SydneyHarbour
#CaptainCook ’s decoy worked!
OTD in 1786 #JFGLaperouse and his men - the first non-Spanish visitors to #California since #FrancisDrake - leave the #SpanishMission at #Monterey after a nine-day sojourn. Now the BOUSSOLE and ASTROLABE commence their three-month crossing of the Pacific Ocean to #Macao in China.
With his 11 ships secure in #SydneyHarbour , #ArthurPhillip & friends raised a glass in thanks for a safe voyage & for beating their European neighbours
“It was a near-run thing”
There were songs, but no proclamation on the 26th.
#AustraliaDay #LouisXVI #JFGLaperouse #AncienRégime
OTD in 1787 the #FirstFleet arrives at #CapeTown for a month, taking on supplies, wine and livestock, including horses. Commodore #ArthurPhillip seeks intelligence from a ship’s captain from #Denmark , who met #JFGLaperouse ’s French expedition nine months earlier at #Macao , #China
OTD in 1788 at his camp in #BotanyBay , Commodore #JFGLaperouse welcomed 2 visitors from Sydney, Lieuts. Philip King & William Dawes. They delivered a letter of welcome from Gov #ArthurPhillip , promising a vice-regal reception ASAP. Laperouse invited them to dine & stay the night.
OTD in 1788, the French ships cross Longitude 180⁰ & return to the Eastern Hemisphere. After his brief digression, #JFGLaperouse adopts #LouisXVI ’s new itinerary, arranged after Paris learnt of Britain’s #BotanyBay Campaign: on leaving Kamchatka, Laperouse must sail to Australia
OTD in 1787, #JFGLaperouse is nearing today’s #AmericanSamoa . He’d left Russia with new orders from Paris to go to #BotanyBay . Instead of sailing directly south, he made a detour to search for 2 mythical treasure islands. Failing to find them, he turned south across the #Equator
OTD in 1785, after spying in the French port of #Brest , #JPJonesNavy informs #ThomasJefferson that #LouisXVI has ordered #JFGLaperouse to plant #FrenchColonies in #Australia during his #Pacific voyage. This news is transmitted to #SirJosephBanks the following year
#foundingdocAus
OTD c in 1751 #JohnLedyard was born. When #ThomasJefferson learnt that #LouisXVI had ordered #JFGLaperouse to put #Frenchcolonies in Australia, Ledyard was the go-between who told #SirJosephBanks . The next day, Britain decided to send the #FirstFleet to Australia
#DecisionDay1786
OTD in 1741 #JFGLaperouse was born in France. In 1788, his Pacific expedition reached Australia 5 days after the #FirstFleet . He spent 6 weeks at #BotanyBay , surveying the area and socializing with the English. Departing 10 March, his 200 men were shipwrecked on #Vanikoro Island.
Happy b’day #ententecordiale
In Feb 1788, #ArthurPhillip sent horses to #BotanyBay to bring the French envoys to #Sydney for a musical feast
#JFGLaperouse wrote: Des Européens sont tous compatriotes à cette distance de leurs pays
France in Australia 🇫🇷 🇪🇺 Weight of the Past in Franco-British Relations FrancoBritishSociety
