157 The 'noble savage'
In the eighteenth century voyages of discovery became more scientific. In 1766 Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811) was the first French captain on a voyage around the world, with an artist, an astronomer, and the royal botanist on board. The botanist had brought along Jeanne Baret (1740-1816) to assist him. As the first woman to sail around the world, she travelled disguised as a man and was ‘exposed’ only by the Tahitians. Bougainville’s Voyage autour du monde became the foundation for the myth of the ‘noble savage.’
Date:
1772
Catalog record:
AB F 1568
Number:
157 
