Louis Feuillée
Encyclopedia
Louis Éconches Feuillée (sometimes spelled Feuillet) (1660, Mane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
- April 18, 1732) was a French
member of the Order of the Minims
, explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist.
Feuillée was educated at the Minim convent of Mane
, in Provence
. He had been born in Mane
, near Forcalquier
, in 1660. He was taught astronomy
and cartography
by Jean Mathieu de Chazelles
, and Charles Plumier
, who had described some 6,000 species of plants during a voyage to the Caribbean
, taught him botany
.
He attracted the attention of members of the Academy of Sciences
and in 1699 was sent by order of the king on a voyage to the Levant
with Giovanni Domenico Cassini
to determine the geographical positions of a number of seaports and other cities. The success of the undertaking led him to make a similar journey to the Antilles
in 1703. He left Marseilles on February 5, 1703, and arrived at Martinique
on April 11.
A severe sickness was the cause of considerable delay, but in September of the following year he began a cruise along the northern coast of South America, making observations at numerous ports.
In the Antilles, he collected new species of flora and drew a map of Martinique
; he also explored the Venezuela
n coast. He returned to France
in June 1706. his work won recognition from the Government, and he immediately began preparations for a more extended voyage along the western coast of South America to continue his observations. He received the title of "Royal Mathematician" from Louis XIV of France
, and armed with letters from the ministry, set sail from Marseilles on December 14, 1707.
In 1707, he voyaged to what is now Argentina
, rounded Cape Horn
at the end of 1708 after a tempestuous voyage, and arrived at Concepción, Chile
on January 20, 1708. He remained in that city for a month, conducting astronomic, botanical, and zoological surveys and at the end of February traveled to Valparaíso
. He then traveled to Peru
and returned to France in August 1711, where he published a complete inventory of his observations in three volumes (1714–1725). Louis XIV granted him a pension and built an observatory for him at the convent on the Michaelmas Plain at Marseilles.
The Spanish colonies of Central and South America seemed to have received many visits by French scientists during this period. These men served both as unofficial "scientific advisors" –but also as spies. Between 1735 and 1744, scientists like Louis Godin
, Charles Marie de La Condamine
, and Pierre Bouguer
would take part in similar expeditions.
, the Río de la Plata
, the Sebald Islands (Falkland Islands
), the bay of Coquimbo
, Arica
, Lima
, the roads of Callao
, and the town of Pisco
. He sketched panoramic views of many South American places. He also provided a description of Fragaria chiloensis
, the Concepción strawberry
: "Several fruits, like pears, apples, strawberries, etc. were ripe. For dessert we were served some strawberries of a marvellous taste, whose size equalled that of our largest nuts. Their color is a pale white. They are prepared in the same manner as we fix them in Europe, and, although they have neither the color nor the taste of ours, they do not lack excellence."http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/book/bokfour.htm Feuillée did not include a specimen of this strawberry in the botanical collection he returned to Brest
. Four months after Feuillée returned to France, Louis XIV dispatched the engineer Amédée-François Frézier
to South America to report on Spanish fortifications there. Frézier became the first to bring back specimens of Fragaria chiloensis of this New World
fruit to the Old World
. Frézier also disagreed with Feuillée in regard 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.
Upon his departure, with a hydrometer
of his own invention, Feuillée demonstrated that the Mediterranean was saltier than the Atlantic, indicating that the freshwater of the Amazon
had flowed far into the Atlantic. He drew a new map of South America
. His work made it possible to position more exactly the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the conical continent of South America. He also discovered in the southern Milky Way
three dark nebula
s of absorbing dust. In terms of botany
, Feuillée studied the fuchsia
, the nasturtium
, the oxalis
, the alstromeria, the papaya
, the cherimoya
, and the solanum
.
He discovered, one century before Alexander von Humboldt
, the existence of the large circular current skirting the Chilean and Peruvian coasts (now called the Humboldt Current
).
He also noted the reverse order of the seasons south of the Equator
, as compared with their sequence in the Northern Hemisphere
.
and determined the position of the meridian
at Hierro.
He died at Marseilles.
:
"The monster which is shown in the figure appeared in Buenos Aires on August 26. The contrast of three resemblances which it had, that of a child, a horse, and a calf, surprised all who saw it. I asked the person who showed it to me if I could examine it in order to describe it faithfully, but he never allowed me to do this. I examined it from quite close and drew its principal traits without his noticing. As soon as I returned to my room, having all the information about the monster vividly in my memory, it furnished what was missing from the drawing. I completed it and represented it in its natural color."http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/library/monster.html
Mane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Mane is a commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.It lies near Forcalquier. It was the birthplace of Louis Feuillée. A Minim convent was situated here. The ancient Pont sur Laye is close by the town....
- April 18, 1732) was a French
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...
member of the Order of the Minims
Minim (religious order)
The Minims are members of a Roman Catholic religious order of friars founded by Saint Francis of Paola in fifteenth-century Italy...
, explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist.
Feuillée was educated at the Minim convent of Mane
Mane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Mane is a commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.It lies near Forcalquier. It was the birthplace of Louis Feuillée. A Minim convent was situated here. The ancient Pont sur Laye is close by the town....
, in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. He had been born in Mane
Mane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Mane is a commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.It lies near Forcalquier. It was the birthplace of Louis Feuillée. A Minim convent was situated here. The ancient Pont sur Laye is close by the town....
, near Forcalquier
Forcalquier
Forcalquier is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.Forcalquier is located between the Lure and Luberon mountain ranges, about south of Sisteron and west of the Durance river...
, in 1660. He was taught astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
by Jean Mathieu de Chazelles
Jean Mathieu de Chazelles
Jean Mathieu de Chazelles , French hydrographer, was born in Lyon.He was nominated professor of hydrography at Marseilles in 1685, and in that capacity carried out various coast surveys. In 1693 he was engaged to publish a second volume of the Neptune français, which was to, include the hydrography...
, and Charles Plumier
Charles Plumier
Charles Plumier was a French botanist, after whom the Frangipani genus Plumeria is named. Plumier is considered one of the most important of the botanical explorers of his time...
, who had described some 6,000 species of plants during a voyage to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, taught him botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
.
He attracted the attention of members of the Academy of Sciences
Academy of Sciences
An Academy of Sciences is a national academy or another learned society dedicated to sciences.In non-English speaking countries, the range of academic fields of the members of a national Academy of Science often includes fields which would not normally be classed as "science" in English...
and in 1699 was sent by order of the king on a voyage to the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
with Giovanni Domenico Cassini
Giovanni Domenico Cassini
This article is about the Italian-born astronomer. For his French-born great-grandson, see Jean-Dominique Cassini.Giovanni Domenico Cassini was an Italian/French mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and astrologer...
to determine the geographical positions of a number of seaports and other cities. The success of the undertaking led him to make a similar journey to the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
in 1703. He left Marseilles on February 5, 1703, and arrived at Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
on April 11.
A severe sickness was the cause of considerable delay, but in September of the following year he began a cruise along the northern coast of South America, making observations at numerous ports.
In the Antilles, he collected new species of flora and drew a map of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
; he also explored the Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n coast. He returned to France
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...
in June 1706. his work won recognition from the Government, and he immediately began preparations for a more extended voyage along the western coast of South America to continue his observations. He received the title of "Royal Mathematician" from Louis XIV of France
Louis 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...
, and armed with letters from the ministry, set sail from Marseilles on December 14, 1707.
In 1707, he voyaged to what is now Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, rounded 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...
at the end of 1708 after a tempestuous voyage, and arrived at 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 January 20, 1708. He remained in that city for a month, conducting astronomic, botanical, and zoological surveys and at the end of February traveled to Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
. He then traveled to 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....
and returned to France in August 1711, where he published a complete inventory of his observations in three volumes (1714–1725). Louis XIV granted him a pension and built an observatory for him at the convent on the Michaelmas Plain at Marseilles.
The Spanish colonies of Central and South America seemed to have received many visits by French scientists during this period. These men served both as unofficial "scientific advisors" –but also as spies. Between 1735 and 1744, scientists like Louis Godin
Louis Godin
Louis Godin was a French astronomer and member of the French Academy of Sciences. He worked in Peru, Spain, Portugal and France.-Biography:...
, Charles Marie de La Condamine
Charles Marie de La Condamine
Charles Marie de La Condamine was a French explorer, geographer, and mathematician. He spent ten years in present-day Ecuador measuring the length of a degree latitude at the equator and preparing the first map of the Amazon region based on astronomical observations.-Biography:Charles Marie de La...
, and Pierre Bouguer
Pierre Bouguer
Pierre Bouguer was a French mathematician, geophysicist, geodesist, and astronomer. He is also known as "the father of naval architecture"....
would take part in similar expeditions.
South American discoveries
During this South American voyage, he had described and mapped the islands of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
, the Sebald Islands (Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
), the bay of Coquimbo
Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo lies in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The commune spans an area around the...
, Arica
Arica
Arica is a city in northern Chile. "Arica" may also refer to:Places* Arica and Parinacota Region, Chile* Arica Airport , Chile* Arica, Amazonas, town in Colombia* Rio Aricá-açu, tributary of the Cuiabá River south of Cuiabá, BrazilOther...
, Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, the roads of Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
, and the town of Pisco
Pisco
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored grape brandy produced in winemaking regions of Chile and Peru. Pisco was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain...
. He sketched panoramic views of many South American places. He also provided a description 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 Concepción 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...
: "Several fruits, like pears, apples, strawberries, etc. were ripe. For dessert we were served some strawberries of a marvellous taste, whose size equalled that of our largest nuts. Their color is a pale white. They are prepared in the same manner as we fix them in Europe, and, although they have neither the color nor the taste of ours, they do not lack excellence."http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/book/bokfour.htm Feuillée did not include a specimen of this strawberry in the botanical collection he returned to 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...
. Four months after Feuillée returned to France, Louis XIV dispatched the engineer Amédée-François Frézier
Amédée-François Frézier
Amédée-François Frézier 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.-Family...
to South America to report on Spanish fortifications there. Frézier became the first to bring back specimens of Fragaria chiloensis of 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 World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
. Frézier also disagreed with Feuillée in regard 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.
Upon his departure, with a hydrometer
Hydrometer
A hydrometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity of liquids; that is, the ratio of the density of the liquid to the density of water....
of his own invention, Feuillée demonstrated that the Mediterranean was saltier than the Atlantic, indicating that the freshwater of the Amazon
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
had flowed far into the Atlantic. He drew a new map of 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...
. His work made it possible to position more exactly the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the conical continent of South America. He also discovered in the southern Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
three dark nebula
Nebula
A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...
s of absorbing dust. In terms of botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, Feuillée studied the fuchsia
Fuchsia
Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in 1703 by the French Minim monk and botanist, Charles Plumier...
, the nasturtium
Nasturtium
Tropaeolum , commonly known as Nasturtium literally "nose-twister" or "nose-tweaker"), is a genus of roughly 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants and the only genus in the family Tropaeolaceae...
, the oxalis
Oxalis
Oxalis is by far the largest genus in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae: of the approximately 900 known species in the Oxalidaceae, 800 belong here...
, the alstromeria, the papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
, the cherimoya
Cherimoya
The Cherimoya is the fruit of the species Annona cherimola, which is native to the Andes. Today they are grown throughout South and Central America.-Description:...
, and the solanum
Solanum
Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon or Cyphomandra are...
.
He discovered, one century before Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
, the existence of the large circular current skirting the Chilean and Peruvian coasts (now called the Humboldt Current
Humboldt Current
The Humboldt Current , also known as the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north-westward along the west coast of South America from the southern tip of Chile to northern Peru. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and can extend...
).
He also noted the reverse order of the seasons south of the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
, as compared with their sequence in the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
.
Other voyages
In 1724, on his fourth and last voyage, he travelled to the Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and determined the position of the meridian
Meridian (geography)
A meridian is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations along it with a given longitude. The position of a point along the meridian is given by its latitude. Each meridian is perpendicular to all circles of latitude...
at Hierro.
He died at Marseilles.
Feuillée's monster
Feuillée scientifically described many South American plants for the first time. He also described a monster born of a ewe that he was permitted to see in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
:
"The monster which is shown in the figure appeared in Buenos Aires on August 26. The contrast of three resemblances which it had, that of a child, a horse, and a calf, surprised all who saw it. I asked the person who showed it to me if I could examine it in order to describe it faithfully, but he never allowed me to do this. I examined it from quite close and drew its principal traits without his noticing. As soon as I returned to my room, having all the information about the monster vividly in my memory, it furnished what was missing from the drawing. I completed it and represented it in its natural color."http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/library/monster.html
Works
- Journal des observations physiques, mathématiques, et botaniques (Paris, 1714).
- Suite du Journal (Paris, 1725).
Named after Feuillée
- The genus of plant Feuillea or FevilleaFevilleaFevillea is a genus of the plant family Cucurbitaceae and the only genus of the subtribe Fevilleinae. Some references suggest that there is only one member of this genus, Fevillea cordifolia...
is named after him. - The lunar crater FeuilléeFeuillée (crater)Feuillée is a small lunar impact crater in the eastern part of the Mare Imbrium. It lies less than a half crater diameter to the northwest of Beer, and the two formations form a nearly matched pair. To the west is the small but prominent crater Timocharis....
is named after him.
External links
Feuillée Biographie sommaire des Géographes, Hydrographes et Cartographes Louis Feuillée at the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...