Amédée-François Frézier
Encyclopedia
Amédée-François Frézier (1682 – October 26, 1773) was a French
military engineer, mathematician, spy, and explorer who is best remembered for bringing back five specimens of Fragaria chiloensis
, the beach strawberry, from an assignment in South America
, thus introducing this New World
fruit to the Old.
word for strawberry
http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/book/bokfour.htm. A story relates the surname is derived from the fact that Julius de Berry, a citizen of Auvers
, was knighted by Charles the Simple
in 916 for a timely gift of ripe strawberries.http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/book/bokfour.htm The Emperor gave the Fraise family (the surname was corrupted as "Frazer") three "fraises" or stalked strawberries for their coat of arms
.
Members of the Frazer family emigrated to Scotland
as members of the retinue of the French ambassador, who had been sent by Henry I of France
as a gesture of friendship to Malcolm III of Scotland
, the vanquisher of Macbeth
. For the services against the invading Danes, King Máel Coluim (Malcolm) rewarded the Frazers with grants of land and a coat of arms – which contained the original crest of three strawberries (see Clan Fraser
).
Édouard Frazer returned to France from Edinburgh
around 1500 to escape Scottish political troubles, taking refuge in Amsterdam
. The son of Édouard was Charles-Simon, who settled in France. Charles-Simon's descendants later settled in Savoy
.
, Savoy, in 1682. Frézier's father, Pierre-Louis Frézier, a distinguished attorney of law
, professor, and advisor to the Duke of Savoy at Chambéry, intended his son to follow him in the law
. However, Frézier resisted this career path and was sent instead to study science
and theology
at Paris
. His thesis was entitled Treatise on Navigation and the Elements of Astronomy. After completing his scientific studies, Frézier traveled to Italy
where he studied art and architecture –interests he later applied to his study of fortresses and defense structures. He returned to France around 1700 and accepted a lieutenant
ship in an infantry
regiment.
– and pyrotechnics
in general - rather than their military uses. Frézier surveyed earlier works on the subject. As Frézier included also instructions for the manufacture of decorative fireworks, the book became a standard text for fireworks makers.
Frezier’s Treatise on Fireworks earned its author a transfer to the military intelligence
corps, as military engineer
for Saint-Malo
.
and Peru
.
Frézier was a lieutenant-colonel of the French Army Intelligence Corps when on January 7, 1712 he was dispatched to South America, four months after the return from the same continent of Louis Feuillée
. The goal of Frezier's reconnaissance mission seems to have included making hydrographical observations, correcting existing charts, and taking exact plans of the most important ports and fortresses along the coasts. Frézier ended up disagreeing with Feuillée in regards to the latter's measurement of the latitudes and longitudes of the South American coast and of the principal ports of Chile and Peru. Frézier actually pointed out several mistakes in Feuillée's Relation, which led to a bitter feud between the two travelers.
Sailing aboard the St. Joseph, an armed merchant ship, for about five months, he arrived in Concepción, Chile
, on June 16, 1712 after rounding Cape Horn
.
Passing himself off as a trader or merchant captain so that he could visit the fortifications as a tourist. Frézier ingratiated himself with the Spanish Governors, and based in Concepción, sketched maps of the ports that showed the best approaches for attack, where ammunition was stored and the routes of escape, estimated the strength of the Spanish colonial governments, the state of these colonies' natives
, and examined the Spanish gold
and silver
mines
. He also reported on the operations of the Church, the physical geography
and flora and fauna of the area, as well as its agricultural
products – such as the species of strawberry that he would subsequently introduce to Europe. About the beach strawberry, Frézier wrote: "They there cultivate entire fields of a type of strawberry differing from ours by their rounder leaves, being fleshier and having strong runners. Its fruit are usually as large as a whole walnut, and sometimes as a small egg. They are of a whitish-red colour and a little less delicate to the taste than our woodland strawberries."
in 1717 as A Voyage to the South-Sea, And along the Coasts of Chili and Peru, In the Years 1712, 1713, and 1714, which included a supplement by Edmund Halley. A Dutch translation appeared in Amsterdam in 1718 and a German translation appeared in Hamburg in 1718.
Additional works included his Réponse au P. Feuillée, which was added to the Paris edition of 1832. Frézier also published a Lettre concernant l'histoire des tremblements de terre de Lima ("Letter concerning the history of earthquake
s in Lima") (1755).
, who awarded Frézier with 1,000 écu
s from the royal treasury.
In 1719, Frézier returned to the New World as Engineer-in-Chief to Hispaniola
(Santo Domingo) on a two-year assignment to fortify the island. He made a map of the island, and also a plan of the City of Santo Domingo
. He suffered from malaria
there, but was only allowed to return to Europe in 1728.
On his return, he received the cross of St. Louis. He was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences
in 1752.
and then to Landau
, where he built twenty-six defense structures.
Frézier wrote a work that applied the theories of architecture to practical engineering, called La Théorie et la Pratique de la Coupe des Pierres et des Bois pour la Construction des Voûtes et autre Parties des Bâtimens Civils & Militaires, ou Traité de Stéréotomie à l'Usage de l'Architecture (Doulsseker; Paris: L.H. Guerin, 1737-38-39) (The theory and practice of cutting stones and wood for the construction of vaults and other parts of civil and military buildings, or treatise on stereotomy
in architectural usage). This work was the standard text on the subject of stone cutting, outlining the principles of three-dimensional
geometry
. Frézier illustrates complicated intersections between forms such as sphere
s and cone
s. He also examines actual building problems, and analyzes complex vaults
.http://www.polybiblio.com/jahill/HillBibl-Selections382.0.html http://arts.jrank.org/pages/9896/Stereotomy.html
He also married, and was commissioned as a captain. In 1739, he was named Director of Fortifications for the whole of Brittany
.
In 1764, he retired from service, but still maintained an interest in various subjects, including desalinization, architecture, navigation
, and landing methods for the Isles Lucayes (the Bahamas
). It is said he made himself read at least six hours a day, especially books on travel and history.
He died at Brest
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
military engineer, mathematician, spy, and explorer who is best remembered for bringing back five specimens of Fragaria chiloensis
Fragaria chiloensis
Fragaria chiloensis, the beach strawberry, Chilean strawberry, or coastal strawberry, is one of two species of strawberry that were hybridized to create the modern garden strawberry . It is noted for its large berries. Its natural range is the Pacific Ocean coasts of North and South America, and...
, the beach strawberry, from an assignment in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, thus introducing this New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
fruit to the Old.
Family history
Interestingly, as described by G.M. Darrow, Frézier's ancient surname was derived from fraise, the FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/book/bokfour.htm. A story relates the surname is derived from the fact that Julius de Berry, a citizen of Auvers
Auvers
Auvers may refer to the following communes in France:* Auvers, Haute-Loire* Auvers, Manche* Auvers-le-Hamon, in the Sarthe département* Auvers-Saint-Georges, in the Essonne département* Auvers-sous-Montfaucon, in the Sarthe département...
, was knighted by Charles the Simple
Charles the Simple
Charles III , called the Simple or the Straightforward , was the undisputed King of France from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919/23...
in 916 for a timely gift of ripe strawberries.http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/book/bokfour.htm The Emperor gave the Fraise family (the surname was corrupted as "Frazer") three "fraises" or stalked strawberries for their coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
.
Members of the Frazer family emigrated to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
as members of the retinue of the French ambassador, who had been sent by Henry I of France
Henry I of France
Henry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
as a gesture of friendship to Malcolm III of Scotland
Malcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
, the vanquisher of Macbeth
Macbeth of Scotland
Mac Bethad mac Findlaích was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death...
. For the services against the invading Danes, King Máel Coluim (Malcolm) rewarded the Frazers with grants of land and a coat of arms – which contained the original crest of three strawberries (see Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser is a Scottish clan of French origin. The Clan has been strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. Since its founding, the Clan has dominated local politics and been active in every major military conflict...
).
Édouard Frazer returned to France from Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
around 1500 to escape Scottish political troubles, taking refuge in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. The son of Édouard was Charles-Simon, who settled in France. Charles-Simon's descendants later settled in Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
.
Youth and education
Amédée-François Frézier was born at ChambéryChambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, Savoy, in 1682. Frézier's father, Pierre-Louis Frézier, a distinguished attorney of law
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, professor, and advisor to the Duke of Savoy at Chambéry, intended his son to follow him in the law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. However, Frézier resisted this career path and was sent instead to study science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. His thesis was entitled Treatise on Navigation and the Elements of Astronomy. After completing his scientific studies, Frézier traveled to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
where he studied art and architecture –interests he later applied to his study of fortresses and defense structures. He returned to France around 1700 and accepted a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
ship in an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment.
Treatise on Fireworks
Frézier's post gave him enough leisure time to publish his Traité des feux d’artifice pour le spectacle (1706, revised 1747) (Treatise on Fireworks). In this treatise, Frézier studied the recreational and ceremonial uses of fireworksFireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
– and pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
in general - rather than their military uses. Frézier surveyed earlier works on the subject. As Frézier included also instructions for the manufacture of decorative fireworks, the book became a standard text for fireworks makers.
Frezier’s Treatise on Fireworks earned its author a transfer to the military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
corps, as military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
for Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
.
Work in South America
Frézier’s superior officers, impressed by his competence, recommended that Frézier be the one to receive the assignment of studying the defense fortifications of ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Frézier was a lieutenant-colonel of the French Army Intelligence Corps when on January 7, 1712 he was dispatched to South America, four months after the return from the same continent of Louis Feuillée
Louis Feuillée
Louis Éconches Feuillée was a French member of the Order of the Minims, explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist....
. The goal of Frezier's reconnaissance mission seems to have included making hydrographical observations, correcting existing charts, and taking exact plans of the most important ports and fortresses along the coasts. Frézier ended up disagreeing with Feuillée in regards to the latter's measurement of the latitudes and longitudes of the South American coast and of the principal ports of Chile and Peru. Frézier actually pointed out several mistakes in Feuillée's Relation, which led to a bitter feud between the two travelers.
Sailing aboard the St. Joseph, an armed merchant ship, for about five months, he arrived in Concepción, Chile
Concepción, Chile
Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...
, on June 16, 1712 after rounding Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
Passing himself off as a trader or merchant captain so that he could visit the fortifications as a tourist. Frézier ingratiated himself with the Spanish Governors, and based in Concepción, sketched maps of the ports that showed the best approaches for attack, where ammunition was stored and the routes of escape, estimated the strength of the Spanish colonial governments, the state of these colonies' natives
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, and examined the Spanish gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. He also reported on the operations of the Church, the physical geography
Physical geography
Physical geography is one of the two major subfields of geography. Physical geography is that branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the...
and flora and fauna of the area, as well as its agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
products – such as the species of strawberry that he would subsequently introduce to Europe. About the beach strawberry, Frézier wrote: "They there cultivate entire fields of a type of strawberry differing from ours by their rounder leaves, being fleshier and having strong runners. Its fruit are usually as large as a whole walnut, and sometimes as a small egg. They are of a whitish-red colour and a little less delicate to the taste than our woodland strawberries."
Relation du voyage de la Mer du Sud
All of this was valuable information, which was immediately translated into other major European languages after its first appearance in French as Relation du voyage de la mer du Sud, aux côtes du Chili, du Pérou et de Brésil, fait pendant les années 1712, 1713, et 1714. Frézier's account of his travels in South America was published in Paris in 1714 (2d ed., enlarged, 1732). It was published in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1717 as A Voyage to the South-Sea, And along the Coasts of Chili and Peru, In the Years 1712, 1713, and 1714, which included a supplement by Edmund Halley. A Dutch translation appeared in Amsterdam in 1718 and a German translation appeared in Hamburg in 1718.
Additional works included his Réponse au P. Feuillée, which was added to the Paris edition of 1832. Frézier also published a Lettre concernant l'histoire des tremblements de terre de Lima ("Letter concerning the history of earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s in Lima") (1755).
Awards and return to the New World
Frézier left Concepción on February 19, 1714 and reached Marseilles on August 17. Upon his return, he was allowed to present his maps to King Louis XIVLouis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, who awarded Frézier with 1,000 écu
ECU
ECU may refer to:Automotive terms* Electronic control unit, a generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle...
s from the royal treasury.
In 1719, Frézier returned to the New World as Engineer-in-Chief to Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
(Santo Domingo) on a two-year assignment to fortify the island. He made a map of the island, and also a plan of the City of Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
. He suffered from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
there, but was only allowed to return to Europe in 1728.
On his return, he received the cross of St. Louis. He was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
in 1752.
Work in Europe
Upon his return to Europe, Frézier was sent to PhilippsburgPhilippsburg
Philippsburg is a town in Germany, in the district of Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg.-History:Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim".The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718...
and then to Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
, where he built twenty-six defense structures.
Frézier wrote a work that applied the theories of architecture to practical engineering, called La Théorie et la Pratique de la Coupe des Pierres et des Bois pour la Construction des Voûtes et autre Parties des Bâtimens Civils & Militaires, ou Traité de Stéréotomie à l'Usage de l'Architecture (Doulsseker; Paris: L.H. Guerin, 1737-38-39) (The theory and practice of cutting stones and wood for the construction of vaults and other parts of civil and military buildings, or treatise on stereotomy
Stereotomy
Stereotomy is the penultimate album by The Alan Parsons Project.Although generally considered better musically than its predecessor, Vulture Culture, it was not as successful commercially, perhaps due to much fewer vocals from Eric Woolfson...
in architectural usage). This work was the standard text on the subject of stone cutting, outlining the principles of three-dimensional
Coordinate space
In mathematics, specifically in linear algebra, the coordinate space, Fn, is the prototypical example of an n-dimensional vector space over a field F. It can be defined as the product space of F over a finite index set.-Definition:...
geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
. Frézier illustrates complicated intersections between forms such as sphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
s and cone
Cone (geometry)
A cone is an n-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a base to a point called the apex or vertex. Formally, it is the solid figure formed by the locus of all straight line segments that join the apex to the base...
s. He also examines actual building problems, and analyzes complex vaults
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
.http://www.polybiblio.com/jahill/HillBibl-Selections382.0.html http://arts.jrank.org/pages/9896/Stereotomy.html
He also married, and was commissioned as a captain. In 1739, he was named Director of Fortifications for the whole of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
In 1764, he retired from service, but still maintained an interest in various subjects, including desalinization, architecture, navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
, and landing methods for the Isles Lucayes (the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
). It is said he made himself read at least six hours a day, especially books on travel and history.
He died at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
.