Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 35. (1982)
LY-TIO-FANE, Madeleine: Contacts between Schönbrunn and the Jardin du Roi at Isle de France (Mauritius) in the 18th Century. An Episode in the Career of Nicolas Thomas Baudin
Contacts between Schönbrunn and the Jardin du Roi 105 could request to sail under the Spanish flag, as he had done previously; or else he could sell the ship to the Company of the Philippines. But the course which had the greatest appeal to him was the return to the French navy. So on the 4th June, Baudin sent a letter to the French Consul in Malaga requesting his re-integration in the grade correspondent to that he held in the Austrian ‘navy’. Protesting his attachment to the new Constitution, he declared himself ready to serve even as a subaltern should the authorities decide to employ him, as a sacrifice for his country’s sake and in an attempt to follow the example set by members of his family who occupied the notable positions on the Isle of Ré from the moment the Nation had been free to choose its representatives53). Meanwhile tension mounted on board. Yielding to the psychosis so prevalent at the time, the Austrian nationals, fearing capture by the French revolutionaries, spied on the captain whose behaviour seemed ambiguous. The position of Andrian-Werburg was, to say the least, open to conjecture. Whether he had been planted on ‘La Jardiniere’ as a watchman by the Genoese merchants cannot be proved, but it is certain that as the climate of insecurity heightened on board, he became the agent of the Imperial Ambassador in Spain, Kageneck. The first act in this unsavoury drama was the theft by the conspirators of Baudin’s draft of his letter to the French consul in Malaga, copy of which was sent to Kageneck accompanied by a recital, embellished by vicious comments, of the involved procedure employed by Baudin in fitting out ‘La Jardiniere’54). This denunciation elicited an order in July from the Imperial Ambassador forbidding Baudin to leave Malaga until further instructions had been received from the Court5S). The upkeep of the ship in Malaga proving too onerous, and the French Ambassador having rejected his request for re-integration in the navy56), Baudin determined to travel to Madrid to plead his cause. He must have travelled there in August, for in a letter of the 25th August to Kageneck, Andrian- Werburg indicated that Baudin had just returned, very pleased with the success he had obtained at the Court, and was making preparations to sail immediately: ‘Le Capitaine Baudin est arrivé hier le soir, il m’a fait lire toute la correspondance et les débats entre Votre Excellence et lui. II erőit vous avoir convaincu de votre törd [!]. Le Comte d’Aranda doit lui avoir dit plusieurs [!] choses consolentes, tout le corp diplomatique doit avoir embrassé sa cause, et en peu de mots il a l’air d’avoir gagné le procés. D’abord ä son arrivé il a donné la commission de prendre une vigtaine de matelots, il a ordonné pour 4 mille piastres de provisions, il est fermement resolu de partir, si Votre Excellence sur la lettre qu’il va vous éerire aujourd’hui ne lui donne point de réponse satisfaisante. II va vous faire ces deux propositions ou de prendre le 53) Copy of Baudin’s letter to the French Consul in Malaga, 4th June 1792: ibid. 154 fol. 5r-6v. 54) Andrian-Werburg to Kageneck, 23rd June 1792: ibid. fol. 3r-4r. 55) Baudin to Kageneck, 25th August 1792: ibid. fol. 137rv. 56) From an undated letter written by Baudin (vide note 49): Archives Nationales Vincennes Marine CC7 126 no 52.
