#OTD in 1854, Admiral Auguste Febvrier-Despointes officially took possession of New Caledonia. Today, this island in the South Pacific is still part of the French Republic, represented by two députés in the National Assembly. The name New Caledonia was given to the island by Captain James Cook, who was the first European to sight the island, on September 4, 1774. From 1840, European nations became more interested in New Caledonia. First because of sandelwood, later on to capture slaves for the sugarcane plantations in Fiji and Australia. Visiting the island was, however, not without danger as the crew of the American ship Cutter found out in 1849. They were all eaten by the local Pouma clan, as cannibalism was a local specialty. In the latter half of the 19th century, the French mainly used the island as a penal colony, but the government also tried to promote colonization by honest citizens, as is illustrated by one of our recent acquisitions. La colonisation Française en Nouvelle-Calédonie et dépendances by Charles Lemire, published in 1878/9 is an extremely detailed guide book for French colonists travelling to and/or living on New Caledonia or the surrounding islands. A 73-page Itinéraire kilométrique bound at the end gives an extremely detailed itinerary for an 1100 kilometre walk around the perimeter of New Caledonia. Among the illustrations are this view and map of the islands capital city, #Noumea. More information at Asher Rare Books: asherbooks/G7GE1LYNZ8OA_v.html
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:49:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015