Num 1 accomplishment: Jean Francois de Surville was a great explorer because a century after Abel Tasman, de Surville and Captain Cook, were both the first Europeans to navigate New Zealand waters. The St. Jean Baptiste first sighted the coastline of Hokianga on the 12th December 1769. He then rounded North Cape on 17 December.
There he was trapped in a storm which had blown james Cook. Both navigators missed each other by possibly just 20 to 25 miles at sea. Him and his crew then went to the east coast, where they lost sight of any land. He didn’t want to go back to the Solomon Islands as he didn’t want to get in even worst relations with the natives. He followed Tasman’s chart and went to the northern part of New Zealand. With more of his crew dying he was forced to set anchor.
There he lost one of his last anchors due to bad weather. Jean Francois had a cliff at the coast of New zealand named after him, It was named Cliff surville, it was posibally called this as a recognition for his achievements. The anchor was found and is now in the museum on the cliff. Before all that, he primarily set sail on the 2 June 1769 to the Strait of Malacca, Terengganu, and the northern part of the Philippines. This suggest that he was successful in discovering a part of the coast. Additionally, he was smart as he made good decisions into the whereabouts he was heading to. Therefore he was a good navigator and good captain. Num 1 setback/ failure: However, he had some setbacks.
Before going to New Zealand his first plan was to trade in India, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands. They sailed to the Solomon Islands on the 7 october at Choiseul Islands to get some supplies as the crew was sick from scurvy . He set anchor for a week in Santa Ysabel, there his crew was attacked by a group of islanders. They fought, many people were killed, in the end 20 to 30 natives killed.
With that they were forced to leave, Jean Francois was then unable to finish his course to Port Praslin . As a consequence Jean Francois had to leave without any provisions. He couldn’t find a safe place to land and many of his crew died. Jean Francois continued eastwards, surveying the coast. This made a major contribution to the eventual European discovery of this island group. The horrible conditions of his crew forced him to set further exploration and g= had to go to New Zealand to find provisions. He then sailed close to New Caledonia which was undiscovered, but was driven off by the current and missed it with no luck.
He perhaps didn’t work well with the natives which made him unable to save his crew and continue his journey. This illustrates that he was a loyal and brave captain because he wanted to help the dying. . Furthermore, he was very unlucky with navigation which meant that he missed an opportunity of discovering something big. Num 2 accomplishment: He joined the French navy in 1740 during the Austrian succession when he was 23 years of age. He also fought in the seven year war.
During the war he was captured twice, once in 1750. When he got back he married a woman called a Marie and had two children who also surged in the war where both became officers. In 1759 he got captured again, when he escaped from capture, injured he was awarded the cross of Saint Louis. This cross was a reward given to exceptional officers. This was considered a predecessor of the Legion of Honor.
After the loss of the seven year war Jean francois sailed off to find new hope in his 650 ton ship the St. Jean Baptiste . In 1769 he hoped to find resources and trade in South America before the British got there. As he fought in two wars this shows his experience in battle and his bravery. Even though he got captured he continued to serve his country. After the war was over here did not just try to find a normal job, he set sail and tried to help his county in a different way.
Therefore Jean francois is a brave noble soldier and explorer who served his country well.