18th C Indian Ocean Voyages

The Voyage of the Auguste (1751-1752)

The Auguste was a merchant vessel owned by the French East India Company. It was built at Lorient in 1745. It had 20 cannons, a crew of 170, and a cargo capacity of 900 tonnes. Under the command of Captain Charles Nouël Des Antons, the Auguste travelled from Lorient to the Mascarene Islands and the Bay of Bengal in 1750 and 1751 before making its way back to Europe. Before returning to France, however, the ship crossed the Atlantic to stop at the Baie de Tous les Saints (Baia de Todo-os-Santos) in Brazil.

The ship was in Brazil for over a month, from 6 August to 20 September 1751. At this time numerous crew members died or deserted, so they were forced to hire new labourers. One of these was Manuel Joséph. In the rôle of the Auguste, Joseph is described as a nègre, earning a relatively high wage of 26 livres as a sailor.

On 25 January 1752, Manuel Joseph disembarked from the Auguste at Lorient, France.

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