Introducing THE SECRET OF JEANNE BARET by Helen Strahinich A novel based on a true story

250 years ago, a French girl named Jeanne Baret disguised herself as a boy and signed up as botanist's assistant aboard an exploration ship with 200 crewmen bound for the South Pacific.

The route of the Bougainville Expedition would bring the crew around the world.

Here’s another illustration of the route.

The commander of the expedition was Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a brilliant scientist, mathematician, soldier, navigator, diplomat, and friend of King Louis XV. As a young man, he was considered very dashing and glamorous.

A later portrait

The Expedition included a total of approximately 400 men sailing on two ships, the frigate Boudeuse and the supply ship Étoile, on which Jeanne Baret sailed. (This image of the Boudeuse was painted after the expedition.)

Another frigate from the same time period shows details of this type of ship.

The Étoile sailed from Rochefort, France on February 1, 1767 The Étoile sailed from Rochefort, France on February 1, 1767. This map shows France a few years before the expedition set sail. (On the map, follow the N in “ATLANTIC" to the mainland; that's the approximate location of Rochefort.)    

Joseph Vernet created this painting Joseph Vernet created this painting. It shows Rochefort Port around the time of the Bougainville Expedition.

The building on the right is the Corderie Royale, a rope factory The building on the right is the Corderie Royale, a rope factory. Tall ships, like the frigate Boudeuse, required over 25 miles of rope for its rigging.

The Bougainville Expedition took place during an eventful time in world history. Just a few years before the expedition, France had fought (and lost) the French-Indian War (1756─1763) in North America.

At the conclusion of the war, France lost her territory in North America.

Just a few years after the expedition, the Revolutionary War began Just a few years after the expedition, the Revolutionary War began. On July 4, 1776, the American colonies officially declared their independence from Great Britain. (The signing of the Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull )

The Bougainville Expedition was the first French effort to sail around the world. France hoped to regain some glory lost during her wars with England. A secret goal was to establish colonial outposts in the South Pacific.

France also hoped to find and examine plants and animals of unexplored regions.

Exploration of North and South America had brought new crops, like potatoes, tomatoes, and corn, to Europe. A goal of the Bougainville Expedition was to discover food crops, medicines, and also beautiful flowers for French gardens. (Gardening was popular then as it is now.)

Another purpose of the voyage was to investigate new ways to figure longitude. Scientists had not yet learned how to accurately calculate the distance east and west of a home base. As a result, many ships were lost—or wrecked at sea.

They also hoped to discover what turned out to be a fictitious southern continent, Terra Australis Incognita, a long-standing, popular myth.

Jeanne Baret served as assistant to the Royal Botanist, Philibert Commerson. Commerson was a famous botanist, known for his intelligence, curiosity, and "insane" love of plants. Commerson and Baret catalogued thousands of plant specimens during the voyage.

The bougainvillea, named in honor of Captain de Bougainville, turned out to be Commerson's most-famous find.

A drawing of the bougainvillea by Commerson

The expedition stopped at many exotic locations during a period of nearly two years; for example: Montevideo (in South America, in present-day Uruguay).

This painting shows a scene, recounted in the novel, during a panther hunt in Montevideo. The Boudeuse is in the background.

Another stop: Rio de Janeiro (in South America, in present-day Brazil)

A photograph of Rio de Janiero

The ships passed through the Strait of Magellan (between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the southern end of South America).

This drawing depicts the dwellings of the poor Fuegans at the southern-most tip of South America.

Another stop: Tahiti (a drawing by Commerson of the South Pacific Island) 

In France, people were fascinated by the explorers’ descriptions of Tahiti. This work is based upon those descriptions – and sheer imagination.

Another stop: Batavia, Isle of Java

(Batavia by Andries Beeckman)

After a stopover to collect plants on the Isle de France, off the east coast of Africa, Jeanne Baret traveled back to France, becoming THE FIRST WOMAN EVER TO CIRCLE THE EARTH.