Nicolas baudin french explorers map

French explorer (1754–1803)

Nicolas Thomas Baudin (French:[nikɔlabodɛ̃]; 17 February 1754 – 16 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific.

He carried a few corms of Gros Michel banana from Southeast Asia, depositing them at a botanical garden on the Caribbean island of Martinique.

Nicolas Baudin - Wikipedia

Biography

Early career

Born a commoner in Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré on 17 February 1754, Nicolas Baudin joined the merchant navy as an apprentice (pilotin) at the age of 15; he was then "of average height with brown hair". He then joined the French East India Company at the age of 20 on Flamand.

He returned from India on L'Étoile and arrived at Lorient.

At the beginning of 1778, he was to set sail from Nantes on Lion as second lieutenant. It was a ship equipped by his uncle, Jean Peltier Dudoyer, at the request of the Americ Napoleon > Flinders & Baudin DISY