French corvette Géographe
serpente-class corvette of the French Navy launched in 1800. From 1807 she served as a powder hulk in the Caudran district at Lorient.
Géographe (French pronunciation: [ʒeɔɡʁaf]) was a 20-gun Serpente-class corvette of the French Navy. She was named Uranie in 1797, and renamed Galatée in 1799, still on her building site. Her builder refused to launch her, as he had not been paid to that time. Finally launched in June 1800, she was renamed Géographe on 23 August 1800.
On 19 October 1800, under captain Nicolas Baudin, she departed Le Havre with Naturaliste for an exploration of Australia. She carried a number of scholars, painters, and designers, as well as Anselme Riedlé, the gardener, who had already accompanied Baudin on a previous expedition, and Charles Alexander Lesueur, an artist. The two vessels reached Tenerife on 13 November. They then crossed the equator on 11 December and arrived at Isle de France (Mauritius), on 16 March 1801.
For some 18 months Naturaliste and Géographe explored the less-known regions of New Holland (Australia), and Van Diemen's Land. On 30 May Baudin made his first major discovery.
The public source identifies “French corvette Géographe” as serpente-class corvette of the French Navy launched in 1800. From 1807 she served as a powder hulk in the Caudran district at Lorient. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around French, corvette and Géographe.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “French corvette Géographe”, the useful work is to connect “serpente-class corvette of the French Navy launched in 1800. From 1807 she served as a powder hulk in the Caudran district at Lorient” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 11, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3223459. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1797, 1799, 1800 and 1801.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “French corvette Géographe”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow French corvette Géographe primary sources, French corvette Géographe archive and French research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “French corvette Géographe”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “French corvette Géographe” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.