In the 18th century, French navy ships did not open their crews to women. Jeanne Baret nevertheless embarked, under a male identity, on the Bougainville expedition. She accompanies the botanist Philibert Commerson and participates in the work on plants.
His journey does not resemble the clean, continuous circle of a line drawn on a map. It includes stages, a long stay in the Indian Ocean and a subsequent return to France. It is the whole course that makes her the first woman known to have completed a world tour.
The formula can give the impression of a sports record prepared in advance. Above all, it covers a life faced with a ban. To travel the world, Jeanne Baret had first to disappear in the eyes of those who decided who could board.
What we know
The world tour is the result of several stages; it should not be confused with the entire Bougainville expedition.
To go to the source
References consulted on September 20, 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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