Vue D’un Cimetiere Chinois, Pres d…

After the dramatic defeat of the first French Empire and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1815, the newly restored Bourbon King Louis XVIII ordered a number of voyages of exploration and discovery in an attempt to regain French prestige. One of these was to be led by Louis de Freycinet who had been the commander of the Casuarina on the ill-fated Baudin expedition. The ship chosen for this expedition was named Uranie in honour of the muse of astronomy and geography. Freycinet proposed to undertake numerous measurements in various fields of science and to explore the islands in the Pacific. The voyage was a great success having resulted in the discovery of hundreds of new species of mammals, birds, marine life, plants as well as having recorded many aspects of the Pacific islands. These exquisitely engraved prints constitute a unique documentation of exotic unknown lands and their inhabitants.