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The Navigators: Baudin arrives at Ile de France

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The Navigators: Baudin arrives at Ile de France

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  3–4


Discover a surprise that waits for Nicolas Baudin on his voyage to explore 'New Holland'.

Baudin visits Ile de France (Island of France), a French colony in the Indian Ocean. Baudin and his crew are desperate for rest and fresh supplies here. Imagine their distress when they find trouble instead.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Have you ever been on a very long trip to visit friends or relatives? How were you welcomed? Baudin and his crew have been at sea for months. They are about to land at the last French colony before their long ocean voyage to New Holland. What kind of welcome would they expect here? How would they need to prepare for the long ocean voyage ahead?
  2. 2.How did the residents of Ile de France react to the arrival of Baudin and his ships? Why was the Intendant (the leader of the colony) suspicious of the visitors? How did each leader (Baudin and the Intendant) try to get his own way?
  3. 3.Baudin and the Intendant each had different points of view. What if they had reached an agreement instead of fighting? How would things be different for the next part of Baudin's voyage? Explain to someone why you think this. Give evidence from the video clip.
  4. 4.Where do you think the slaves on Ile de France came from? Do some research to find out if your guess is correct. Why do you think a law was passed in France to stop slavery around this time? What do you think about this law? Discuss slavery with someone in your family. Write or record a message to the Intendant to explain what you think and why.



Date of broadcast: 23 Feb 2010


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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