DUQUESNE (Abraham) - Lot 93

DUQUESNE (Abraham) Born in Dieppe. 1610-1688. Lieutenant-General of the French naval army. A staunch Protestant, he refused Louis XIV's request to abjure Calvinism. When the Edict of Nantes was revoked (1685), he was one of the few Protestants not to be proscribed. Signed "Duquesne". S.l., "Routte et randès vous des vaisseaux de l'armée navalle du Roy allant de Toulon à Messine", December 15, 1675. 3 pages in-folio A document of great interest. This document was signed and dated by Duquesne, in charge of defending Sicily from the Spanish, two days before his departure for the Lipari islands, where he was to meet his adversary Ruyter (battle of Stromboli, thanks to which Duquesne lost Messina). This document indicates the maritime routes to be followed according to the influence of the winds, ...starting from Toulon or the isles of Hières, they will sail straight to Cape Corsica (...). After rounding Cape Corsica, they will sail between Laplanouze and Corsica... around Cape Corsica and the Gulf of Fayence, if the wind is too strong, they will stop at the Magdalen Islands, ...which will only be done in the last extremity... But if the wind is favorable, they would have to continue their route as far as the island of Lustrigo called Ustica. Duquesne also points out another route, in case the winds don't allow us to follow the first one. Colbert called Duquesne "the man in the kingdom with the best understanding of navigation".