LE MASCARIN and MARQUIS DE CASTRIES

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The TAAF stamp depicts the landing on the Crozet group and the two ships which took part in the expedition MASCARIN and MARQUES DE CASTRIES.

Le MASCARIN built in 1767 as an East Indiaman.for the French Compagnie Francaise des Indes Orientales.
Most probably built in Bordeaux
Launched as the GRAND COUREUR.
500 ton.
Armament 2 guns
11 September 1767 sailed from Bordeaux under command of Captain Pierre Sabatery with a crew of 47 to Lorient where she arrived on 14 September 1767.
After arrival renamed in MASCARIN.
Tonnage 600 ton.
Armament 22 guns.
1769 She sailed from Lorient under command of Captain Jean-Jacques Omerat with 113 crew for a voyage via Madeira to Madagascar and the Mascareignes.
After arrival in Ile de France (Mauritius) laid up.

Le MARQUIS DE CASTRIES.
1771 She sailed from Lorient as Le BRUNY on a voyage for La Compagnie des Indes et Lorient under command of Captain François Edouard Maugendre. At that time was she owned by Arnous Fréres.
Tonnage 500 ton. She was a flute.
Armed with 16 guns.
05 June1771 arrived at Ile de France.
06 June 1771 bought for 59,000 Livres by a syndicate in Ile de France and renamed MARQUIS DE CASTRIES, it is than given that she was 700 ton armed with 24 guns.

The intention was to use Le MASCARIN together with MARQUIS DE CASTRIES for a discovery voyage in the Southern Oceans under command of Marc-Joseph Mario Dufresne (1724-1772).
He had a plan to return the Tahitian Ahu-toru who spent 11 months in Paris back to his homeland and a voyage of exploration in the South Pacific
Ahu-toru sailed from Lorient on board the BRISSON to Ile de France where Dufresne a former captain of the French East India Company was living as harbour master of Port Louis.

Both ships were ready to sail by October 1771, at that time Ahu-toru the Tahitian had already spent 10 months in Port Louis where at that time a smallpox epidemic was raging.
18 October 1771 both ships sailed from Port Louis, Ile de France. The Le MASCARIN under command of Marion Dufresne, second in command Julien Crozet and the MARQUIS DE CASTRIES under command of Ambroise Bernard Marie le Jar du Clesmeur first to Bourbon and then to Madagascar, where the two ships anchored on the road of Fort Dauphin.
Two day after arrival Ahu-toru died of smallpox. His dead removed the official basis of the expedition.
09 November the two ships left Fort Dauphin bound for Capetown where they arrived on 2 December.
At the Cape Dufresne completed the loading of stores and equipment not available at Port Louis of the two vessels and on sailing he had on board for 18 months supplies.
28 December 1771 the two ships left Capetown for a voyage with a course to the south east with the prevailing westerly winds.
13 January 1772 at four in de morning land was sighted which was named Terre de l’Espérance and Ile de la Caverne, renamed later by Captain Cook in Marion Island and Prince Edward Island.
14 January the two ships collided the Le MASCARIN was hit in the forepart near the mizzen rigging by MARQUIS DE CASTRIES which cut away with her bower anchor the quarter gallery, a part of the gallery and the lower rigging of the Le MASCARIN.
When the two ships parted the bowsprit broke from the MARRQUIS DE CASTRIES and her foremast fell.
One man on the top of the mast was crushed. Both captains laid the blame on the collision on the other vessel.
Not more possible to land on this group of islands while it got more important to reach a port where suitable timber was available for better repairs of the two ships, they sailed away from these islands.

24 January 1772 she discovered the Arid Group and Dufresne could take possession of this island. He ordered Crozet to land in a small boat to place a bottle on the largest island with the possession documents inside. The island was named Possession Island.
Who actually carried out this symbolic act is not clear. Crozet stated that he placed the bottle but an other officer of the ship with the name Jean Roux gives in his journal:
At eleven o’clock, having noticed a cove where one could land Marion (Dufresne) sent me there in the dinghy to deposit a bottle in which was the taking of possession in the King’s name. Since the weather was fine, I landed easily; climbed on the rocks, where I deposited the bottle in a place from which the wind not could dislodge it; there was a hole between the rocks into which it fitted; as there was no soil I could not put it anywhere else.

They left from these islands on an easterly course bound for Van Diemen Land, 3 March land was sighted and they anchored on 6 March what is now known as Blackman’s Bay. The bay provided ample supplies of fish but not timber nor any drinking water. After three days Dufresne decided to sail to New Zealand.
27 March the two ships arrived in New Zealand waters trying to find a safe anchorage where she could find fresh water and timbers, after many attempts she reached the Bay of Islands and anchored in the bay on 4 May. At that time the Bay of Island was heavily populated with Maoris, at least 24 villages were counted.
Three camps were established on shore, a sick camp a store camp and a masting camp near some kauri trees which the French could cut down for masts. The French were first very welcomed by the Maori people.
12 June Dufresne went ashore with a party to go fishing in a neighbouring cove but he did not return, when the next day also an other party disappeared the officers and crews on both ships get worried.
Later when one of that crew was seen swimming toward the ships the truth was learned and that the boat was ambushed and the crew killed.
Du Clesmeur sent his longboat to discover Dufresne fate, when they found Dufresne boat beached surrounded by a large number of Maoris which were wearing all kinds of French clothing they were sure that boat was also ambushed and the crew killed and eaten included Dufresne.
First the men in the camps had to be saved, and all the men in these camps were rescued.
During the skirmish what followed many Maoris were killed and some villages burned.

More info on their stay in New Zealand is given on: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-M ... dy-d5.html

Still the two ships were not ready, but to stay longer was impossible and Crozet and Du Clesmeur hurried the preparations as best they could.
Finally on 12 July a bottle was buried on Marions Island (Moturua Island) containing the Act of Possession and the expedition set sail.
Sailing via the Tonga group where they did not land they reached on the 26th July Guam, at that time there were 200 cases of scurvy on board the two vessels, she got all the help from the Spanish as possible and after the crew health had improved the two ships set sail in mid-November.

After arrival in the Philippines the expedition really ended.
The MACARIN had sprung a leak and needed extensive repairs and the MARQUIS DE CASTRIES required a full overhaul.
The MARQUIS DE CASTRIES was first ready and sailed in mid-February 1773 bound for Ile de France (Mauritius) reaching Port Louis on 8 April.
The MASCARIN sailed from the Philippines on 9 March and arrived in Ile de France 8 May.
Both ships had suffered considerably from desertions in the Philippines.
The expedition itself had few results of importance.
After arrival the two ships returned to the King, the cargo was not sold and crew and repairs had to be paid, a heavy deficit remained.

The MARQUES DE CASTRIES was later sold for 44.000 Livres, the fate of the two ships is not known.

France 1972 0,90f sg1948, scott
French Southern and Antarctic Territories 1972 100f sg78, scottC26 1973 120f sg85, scottC29
New Zealand 1972 8c sg981, scott?
TAAF 2022 1.10Euro sgMS?. Scott 672 see also: viewtopic.php?t=18151

Source: http://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense ... t/armement French Explores in the Pacific by John Dunmore. http://marc-joseph-marion-du-fresne.co.tv/ and many other websites.