Stefano Marchand (13 July 1755 – 1793) was a French merchant, whose journal of travels in the Pacific circa 1790-1792 was published in 1798 in Paris by Fleurieu. Stefano was born in the then French colony of

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, and died in the then French colony of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. In his youth, he had traveled on merchant trade ships to the Antilles and India. On his return from Bengal in 1788, he met a captain Portlocke in

St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

who described his profitable trade in furs in the American Northwest. In December 1790, he was entrusted by a

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

shipping group, Casa Baux, to travel on the vessel ''Solido'' to the American Northwest to trade for animal pelts. The first leg of his journey took him on June 12, 1791, past the

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific ...

, from there traveling northwest, he claimed discovery of various islands previously visited by

Captain Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

. His lengthy stays meant he only reached in August 7 to reach Cape of Edgecombe (near present-day Kruzof Island, Alaska). He proceeded north to Tchin Kitanae bay (also called Nordfolk Bay, now Sitka Sound), where he traded for otter pelts. He then moved to

Nootka Sound Nootka Sound () is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of ...

and proceeded south along the coast. He left America on 8 September and made his way to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

. On 4 October he visited Oitaiti (

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

), and on 3 November reached

Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

. However, Chinese authorities had prohibited the trading of fur at the port. He returned to France, stopping at Mauritius. He returned to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on 14 August 1792. While his trip was an economic failure, he was feted by the Revolutionary authorities for his travels. His diaries were published as ''Viaggio a torno al mundi negli 1790, 1791, e 1792 di Stefano Marchand''.Dizionario biografico universale
Volume 3, by Felice Scifoni, David Passigli, publisher, Florence (1844); page 910.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchand Stefano 1755 births 1793 deaths French merchants 18th-century French explorers French explorers of the Pacific 18th-century French writers Fur traders