Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais


Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais was a French naval officer and administrator, in the service of the French East India Company.

Biography

La Bourdonnais entered the service of the French East India Company as a lieutenant. In 1724, he was promoted to captain, and displayed such bravery in the capture of Mahé on the Malabar Coast that the name of the town was added to his own; although an alternative account suggests that the town adopted his name, rather than the other way around. For two years he was in the service of the Portuguese Viceroy, but in 1735 he returned to French service as governor of the Isle de France and the Île de Bourbon. His first five years' administration of the islands was vigorous and successful.
His grandson was Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais.

Autobiography