Pierre-Olivier Malherbe (1569–1616) was a French explorer from the city of
Vitré.
Biography
Pierre-Olivier Malherbe went on 27-year world tour, and returned to France in 1609. He has a claim to being the first French circumnavigator.
[''Asia in the Making of Europe'' p.393](_blank)
/ref> He visited China, and in India had an encounter with Akbar.
Upon his return, Pierre-Olivier Malherbe met several times with the French king Henry IV, to tell him about the gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
and silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
of the East Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...
. He explained about the routes to reach these places, and offered to lead an expedition for the king.
Pierre-Olivier Malherbe may have been the author of a Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
dictionary, which was added to François Martin de Vitré's work ''La Description du premier voyage fait aux Indes orientales par les Français en l'an 1603'' in 1609.
He is mentioned in the 1629 ''Traité de navigation et des voyages de découvertes et conquêtes, principalement des François'' by geographer Pierre Bergeron.
In Paris, he also met with the Dutch linguist Erpenius, who was preparing the first Latin–Arab Dictionary.
See also
* France-Asia relations
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malherbe, Pierre-Olivier
1569 births
1616 deaths
People from Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine
French explorers
French expatriates in China
Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine
Explorers of India
French expatriates in India
Explorers of China