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Marquis Du Bouzet, Letters to his Mother
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Marquis Eugène du Bouzet was a French naval officer, explorer and colonial administrator; he took part in two circumnavigations - the 1824-1826 expedition of "Thétis" and "Espérance" under command of Hyacinthe de Bougainville; and Jules Dumont-Durville's expedition on "Astrolabe" and "Zélée" in 1838-1840. Du Bouzet was the second in command on the "Zélée" and was in the first boat which landed on the newly discovered Adelie Land (Antarctica). For over ten years he served in the South Pacific on several occasions: in 1841-1843 as the captain of the "Allier" and later "Aube," visiting New Zealand and Tahiti, and solving diplomatic issues on the Wallis and Futuna Islands; in 1847-1849 as the captain of corvette "Brillante" he protected French missionaries in New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti and the Marquesas. In 1854-1858 he was the Governor of French Polynesia and the commander of the Naval subdivision, making a great input in the development of Noumea (New Caledonia). In the rank of Rear Admiral he returned to France and later commanded French naval forces in Algeria and Brazil.
Collection comprises 62 ALsS by Marquis Du Bouzet to his mother, written while on service in the French Navy in the Mediterranean and describing the events of the Greek War of Independence including the Battle of Navarino (1827), the Morea Expedition (1828-1831), the mediation of Turkey-Greece negotiations, a meeting with Egyptian Commander Pasha Ibrahim, and others; with mentions of the circumnavigation on the frigate "Thétis" in 1824-1826 under command of Hyacinthe de Bougainville, in which Du Bouzet took part.
Acquired with matching funds provided by the Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund, in 2019 (AM 2019-120).
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The collection was processed by Kalliopi Balatsouka in 2019. Finding written by Kalliopi Balatsouka in July 2021.
No materials were removed from the collection during 2019 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.
People
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Kalliopi Balatsouka
- Finding Aid Date
- 2021
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Collection Inventory
Consists of long letters written by Marquis Du Bouzet to his mother, on folios of paper. The contents of the letters were written on both sides of the leaves (verso and recto). The recto of the second leaf of the original folio was wrapped around the first leaf, formimg a protective enclosure, was sealed with sealing wax and adressed to the recipient. The return address was written just above the wax seal, while the recipient's address was written on the opposite side of the folded packet. There is also the post office stamp over the recipient's address. All letters were unfolded during the organization and preservation of the collection.
Letters were arranged in chronological order.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of letters written by Marquis Du Bouzet to his mother during 1829-1831.
Letters were organized in chronological order.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of typescript biographical notes of Eugène du Bouzet and the Guenson de Bonneuil family.
Consists of a modern slipcase with gold lettering spine, "Amiral du Bouzet, 1826-1830.