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The book is the product of a travelogue as the author sets sail from his native France on a voyage which took him via the Indian Ocean islands now known as Mauritius and Réunion between 1768-1771. This collection of his letters covers many aspects of the journey, from the conditions aboard ship to the plants, animals and peoples he encountered. The account is interspersed with harsh criticism of European colonialism and the cruelties of the island slave trade. The book is full of rich detail and the author expresses on paper all that he saw and experienced. The seafaring information, the fishes, the local inhabitants, their customs, rituals, religion, their land, its produce are all described. His novel Paul et Virginie (1788), a tale of youthful innocence Unspoilt by Western society, takes place on Mauritius. First published in 1773, the present work is known to have accompanied Darwin on his famous voyage aboard the Beagle. It is reissued here in the English translation that appeared in 1800.
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ISBN : 9788121242066
Pages : 360
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