Monterey in 1786: The Journals of Jean Francois de La Perouse. (book reviews)

Jean Francois de La Perouse came to the New World at the request of the French government to conduct an expedition of inquiry along the West Coast of North America. With scientific, geographic, and commercial interests in mind, La Perouse arrived in Monterey, California, in 1786, the first foreign vessels to anchor in Spain's newest colonies. The crew of his two ships, L'Astrolabe and La Boussole, spent ten days in coastal Monterey where specialists gathered specimens, sketched the surroundings, and observed native Californians in the dawn of Spanish colonization.

Two years later ...

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