Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars

Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars (August 3, 1793 – March 16, 1864) was a French naval officer important in France's anexation of French Polynesia.

He was born at the castle of La Fessardière, near Saumur. His uncle Aristide Aubert Dupetit-Thouars was of the heroes of the Battle of the Nile. He joined the French Navy in 1804, where he was a young hand in the Boulogne fleet.

He was promoted to Captain (Capitaine de frégate) in 1824. He frequently travelled to Algeria, and had a decisive role in the conquest of Algiers, where he established the attack plans. During the battle, he commanded the 20-gun Le Griffon. He was later put in charge of the Southern Seas command, in the Pacific Ocean. In 1834 he played a key role in protecting French shipping interests against the Peruvians.

He became "Capitaine de vaisseau" on 6 January 1834, and accomplished a circumnavigation between 1836 and 1839 on La Venus.



He was made Rear-Admiral (Contre-amiral) on 12 July 1841, in charge of the Pacific Naval Division. His mission was to take possession of the Marquesas Islands. In Tahiti, he entered into a confrontation with Queen Pōmare IV and the English missionary and Consul George Pritchard (1796–1883), and finally expelled him and established a French protectorate over the territory. He was initially denounced for his actions by the French government, which feared a conflict with Great Britain. Relations between France and Great Britain soured considerably during the reign of Louis-Philippe, due to this "Pritchard Affair".

Dupetit Thouars became a Vice-Admiral (Vice-amiral) in 1846, and retired in 1858. He died in Paris in 1864.

He had no children, but adopted the son of his sister, known as Abel Nicolas Bergasse Dupetit Thouars, who also became an Admiral, and played an important role during the Boshin War in Japan. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation   A.Thouars    when citing a botanical name.

Family

 * Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars (1758–1831) was a famous botanist.
 * Aristide Aubert du Petit Thouars (1760–1798) was a French Navy officer, and a hero of the Battle of the Nile.
 * Abel-Nicolas Bergasse Dupetit Thouars (1832–1890) was a French Navy admiral who participated to the Boshin War in Japan.