La Bourdonnais, Bertrand FranCois, comte MahE de, French History, Biographies

Related Category: French History, Biographies

La Bourdonnais, Bertrand FranCois, comte MahE de[bertrAN´ frANswA´, kONt mAA´ du lA boordOnA´] Pronunciation Key, 1699–1753, French naval officer. He entered the service of the French India Company and in 1724 distinguished himself in the capture of MahE (named in his honor). Governor of Ile de France and Ile de Bourbon (later Mauritius and REunion; 1735–46), he was placed (1740) in command of the French fleet in India. He relieved MahE (1741), and after the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain captured (1746) Madras, but he quarreled with Joseph FranCois Dupleix and was removed (1746) from his governorship. On his return to France he was imprisoned (1748) in the Bastille on charges of poor administration and embezzlement. In 1751 he was tried and acquitted, largely through pressure of popular opinion.

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