Jean-François-Marie de Surville
| Jean-François-Marie de Surville | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 January 1717 Port-Louis, Brittany, France |
| Died | 8 April 1770 (aged 53) Chilca, Peru |
| Cause of death | Drowned |
| Nationality | France |
| Known for | Explorer of the Pacific |
Jean-François-Marie de Surville (18 January 1717 – 8 April 1770) was a French merchant captain with the French East Indies Company. He also served with the French Navy and fought in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. In 1769, he commanded an expedition into the Pacific and explored the seas around the Solomon Islands and New Zealand. He drowned off the coast of Peru on 8 April 1770 while seeking help for the crew of his ship, the St. Jean Baptiste.
Born on 18 January 1717, Jean-François-Marie de Surville was the son of a government official at Port-Louis in Brittany. At the age of ten, he left home and joined the French East India Company, a commercial enterprise established several years previously to trade in the East Indies. With the company, he sailed on trading voyages around India and China. He joined the French Navy following the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1740 and fought in that conflict, during which he was twice captured. He also participated in the Seven Years' War. In 1759, he was awarded the Cross of St. Louis.
Following the defeat of France in the Seven Years' War and the collapse of the French East India Company in India, Surville set sail in his 650 ton ship, the St. Jean Baptiste from 1769 hoping to seek new markets and opportunities in Tahiti, South America and the rumoured fabulously wealthy island of "Davis Land" before the British could lay claim.
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