ABSTRACT
He joined the navy in 1764, and his early career was spent as a ‘pilot’, the equivalent of a ‘Master’ in the RN. Between 1788 and 1791, while based in Senegal, he surveyed the Bissau Archipelago. In 1792, as a result of the removal of many of the old officer corps, he was promoted to lieutenant de vaisseau, and returned to France in command of the Espoir, 14, on anti-piracy duties. Until then, this had been his sole experience in command, but in early 1793 he became a capitaine de vaisseau, and nine months later contre-amiral.
