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HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council
Grant numbers Grant agreement No. 833143
Abstract
In the early 18th century, the Iberian and French crowns signed the treaty "L'Union des Couronnes" (1700–1713), allowing French fleets unrestricted access to the Southern Pacific ports. This agreement was pivotal in safeguarding the Spanish American dominions against possible British or Dutch attacks. As a result, French captains could trade crops, food, and other essential goods with the inhabitants of Peru and Chile. However, these sailors smuggled various European and Asian products beyond the legal limits, even navigating off the port of Canton. This led to a parallel commercial route between Spanish America and China during this period, which was monopolised by the Manila Galleon (1565–1815).
This paper examines the trail of Jean Boislore, the captain of the vessel L’Éclair, which navigated the abovementioned route between 1712-1713 and was captured in Manila in 1714. The investigation has three primary objectives: firstly, to uncover the illicit networks woven in Chilean and Peruvian ports during Captain Boislore’s expedition; secondly, to scrutinise the methods French merchants employed to identify the Chinese products in demand in the viceroyalty of Peru; and lastly, to explore the aftermath of increased seizures of French vessels in the Pacific waters.
References
This research was supported by and contributes to the ERC AdG project TRANSPACIFIC which has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant agreement No. 833143).
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