18th C Indian Ocean Voyages

The Voyage of the Utile (1753-1774)

The Utile was a small frigate owned by the French East India Company. It was built at the Lorient Dockyard in 1748. It had 4 cannons, a crew of 46, and a cargo capacity of 200 tonnes. Under the command of Captain Charles-Antoine Estoupan de Villeneuve, the Utile travelled from Île de France to Lorient between August 1753 and January 1754.

On 11 August 1753, nearly ten months after the Mascarin was condemned, Manuel Joseph embarked on the Utile from Île de France to return to Lorient. He was hired as a sailor for the same wage as on the Mascarin, 17 livres. There is no record of any stops along the way. The ship arrived at Lorient by 16 January 1754.

Less than two months after he arrived at Lorient, Joseph was back at sea on the Prince de Conti.

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