Читать книгу The Terrestrial Macroinvertebrates of the Sub-Antarctic Iles Kerguelen and Ile de la Possession - Maurice Hulle - Страница 23

The belief in a southern land as a counterbalance and necessary symmetry of the northern hemisphere is ancient. Eighteenth-Century scholars pushed to discover this southern continent and provoked some great exploratory expeditions. Commercial companies such as the “Compagnie des Indes” also encouraged these expeditions to search for havens other than Île de France (Mauritius) on the way to India, as well as to the Atlantic. Jean-Baptiste Bouvet-Lozier, Marc-Joseph Marion-Dufresne and Julien Crozet were captains of the “Compagnie des Indes”, while Louis-Antoine de Bougainville and Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen were officers in the service of the King of France.

The French sub-Antarctic islands were discovered in 1772 during these expeditions: the Îles Crozet by Marc-Joseph Marion-Dufresne and Julien Crozet, who landed on Île de la Possession at Crique du Navire and the Îles Kerguelen by Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen (this is Charles de Boisguehenneuc, the second captain, who took possession of the island at Anse du Gros-Ventre).

All these islands were revisited four years later by James Cook who spent Christmas 1776 in Port-Christmas in the North of Kerguelen. On this occasion, they described Kerguelen’s cabbage, Pringlea antiscorbutica, thus producing what was probably the first scientific publication concerning these islands. Cook published his voyage in 1784, which made the positions and descriptions of the islands known and led very quickly, as early as 1792, to the first American whaling and sealing expeditions (Delépine 1995).

The 19th Century was one of intensive exploitation of marine mammals and seabirds, with more than 1,200,000 sea lions slaughtered for their oil, as well as whales, sea furs and penguins (Basberg and Headland 2008). The number of ships was extremely important: up to 700 per year according to James Clark Ross, who visited the islands in 1840 (Ross 1847).

France again took possession of the Îles Kerguelen in 1893 and therefore had to ensure a permanent presence on the islands. The country gave a concession to René Emile Bossière and his brother Henry Bossière for 50 years. The two brothers developed several projects such as a whaling factory in Port-Jeanne-d’Arc (1908–1926) and a sheep farm in Port-Couvreux (a first period in 1913 but stopped by World War I and a second period between 1922 and 1931). On this occasion, they introduced forage plants along with a predatory insect, Merizodus soledadinus. The French state also took possession of the Îles Crozet in 1931.

Several military ships frequented the southern islands during World War II. Some wrecks and cemeteries still bear witness to this.

The first permanent bases were installed in 1950 on the Îles Kerguelen (Port-aux-Français, Grande Terre) and 1963 on Île de la Possession (Base Alfred-Faure). These bases regularly host between 25 and 50 people in base Alfred-Faure and from 50 to 100 in Port-aux-Français. Bases are refueled by boat four times a year and are also visited by fishing boats several times a year. Boat is the only means of access. In addition to the technical, military and scientific staff, it brings 60 tourists every year who enjoy the trip but who do not stay on the islands except during the stopovers.