- Louis Tromelin
Louis-François-Marie-Nicolas Le Goarant de Tromelin was a nineteenth-century French Naval captain, sent to the
Pacific Ocean on political and military missions, and credited with the discovery of Phoenix Island (Rawaki) in the Phoenix group andFais Island in the Carolines. He was born on January 11th 1786, inMorbihan ,Gavrin , and died in 1867.Naval service
Tromelin joined the navy in 1800, and served on various ships during
Napoleonic wars , before gaining command of thecorvette "Bayonnaise" in 1826 and on 21 December sailed fromToulon forSouth America , via theHawaiian Islands , where he was to report on the political situation and ease the plight of French missionaries. He visited various islands of the Pacific en route, and returned to Toulon 19 March, 1829.Dunmore, p 250]Attaining the rank of
rear admiral , Tomelin returned to the Pacific in 1846 as commander of theFrench navy in the Pacific. In August 1849, he occupied the fort ofHonolulu .Island 'discoveries'
Phoenix Island
While aboard the
corvette "Bayonnaise", Tromelin came across came across Sydney Island andPhoenix Island , probably in 1828Maude, p 131] , although some sources state 1823 [Sharp, p 210] and 1826 [Quanchi & Robson, p xviii-xix] . Placing the island at 3°42'S, 189°17'E, Tromelin claimed it was already reported on Norie's map.. A "Phenix", plus unnamed islands at similar coordinates feature inJeremiah N. Reynolds 's 1828 report to the American Navy, but the source of the name (and discoverer) remains contentious.Fais Island
Tromelin is sometimes credited for the discovery of
Fais Island , although that honour might also belong to Francisco de Castro, whose sixteenth century journey to thePhilippines took him through theCaroline Islands . [Dunmore, pp 52 & 250]Notes
References
* Dunmore, John (1992); "Who's Who in Pacific Navigation", Australia:Melbourne University Press, ISBN 052284488X
* Maude, H.E., (1968) "Of Islands and Men: Studies in Pacific History", Melbourne:Oxford University Press
* Sharp, Andrew (1960); "The Discovery of the Pacific Islands", Oxford:Oxford University Press,
* Quanchi, Max & Robson, John, (2005); "Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands", USA: Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0810853957
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