Bruni's souvenirs in the castle | ©Anecdotrip.com / CC-BY-NC-SALost in the sea with La Pérouse
Marquis and sailor
In 1737, Antoine-Raymond-Joseph Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was born in the castle. A famous sailor!
The bailiff de Suffren used his connections to get him into the Navy. Antoine took part in the American war of Independence and became admiral just before the French Revolution.
La Pérouse, Pacific...
And in 1791, Louis XVI put him in charge of seeking another famous sailor… La Pérouse! This one was lost, somewhere in the Pacific... So Antoine’s crew scoured the seas, but found nothing.
We must wait 1826: an English captain, Dillon, found his tracks in Vanikoro. His boats? Found 2 years later… Don’t worry, Antoine: your name would go down in history, with a canal in Australia and an archipelago in Papua New Guinea!
Blood on the family
Antoine brought a little fame on the Bruni family. But his nephew Jean-Baptiste brought blood… with the murder of his wife in Aix-en-Provence in 1784…
Chocked, Antoine handed his resignation. But the minister of Navy refused: no matter what his family done, France could not do without his bravery and his loyalty!