Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars
| Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars | |
|---|---|
Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars
|
|
| Born |
3 August 1793 La Fessardière, near Saumur, France |
| Died | 16 March 1864 (aged 70) Paris, France |
| Allegiance |
 France
|
| Service/branch |
.svg){kind=small} French Navy
|
| Years of service | 1804–1858 |
| Rank | Vice-Admiral |
Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars (3 August 1793 – 16 March 1864) was a French naval officer important in France's annexation of French Polynesia.
He was born at the castle of La Fessardière, near Saumur. His uncle Aristide Aubert Dupetit-Thouars was of the heroes of the Battle of the Nile. He joined the French Navy in 1804, where he was a young hand in the Boulogne fleet.
Between 1823-25 he sailed Inconstant to Brazil, and remained her captain on the Brazil station. He was promoted to Commander (Capitaine de frégate) in 1824.
Dupetit Thouars frequently travelled to Algeria, and had a decisive role in the conquest of Algiers, where he established the attack plans. During the battle, he commanded the 20-gun Griffon.
He was later put in charge of the Southern Seas command, in the Pacific Ocean. In 1834 he played a key role in protecting French shipping interests against the Peruvians.
He became "Capitaine de vaisseau" on 6 January 1834, and accomplished a circumnavigation between 1836 and 1839 on Vénus.
He was made Rear-Admiral (French: Contre-amiral) on 12 July 1841, in charge of the Pacific Naval Division. His mission was to take possession of the Marquesas Islands. In Tahiti, he entered into a confrontation with Queen Pōmare IV and the English missionary and Consul George Pritchard (1796–1883), and finally expelled him and established a French protectorate over the territory. He was initially denounced for his actions by the French government, which feared a conflict with Great Britain. Relations between France and Great Britain soured considerably during the reign of Louis-Philippe, due to this "Pritchard Affair".
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