François Pyrard
François Pyrard de Laval (* 1578 in Laval , † 1621 in Paris ) was a French navigator who is known for his record of the island world of the Maldives .
On July 2, 1602, Pyrard and a handful of sailors were shipwrecked on the Baa Atoll (Maldives). The group was captured by locals and spent five years as involuntary guests in Malé . During this time, Pyrard learned Dhivehi . Because of this knowledge of the language, he was the first European to study and understand local customs.
In February 1607, Pyrard's group managed to escape using the chaos caused by a raid on Bengal . Back in France, he wrote a three-volume work on his involuntary stay and the society of the Maldives with the title Voyage de François Pyrard de Laval: contenant sa navigation aux Indes orientales, Maldives, Moluques, et au Bresil, et les divers accidens qui lui sont arrivez en ce Voyage pendant son séjour de dix ans dans ces Pais. (Paris, undated)
Web links
- Literature by and about François Pyrard in the SUDOC catalog (Association of French University Libraries)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pyrard, François |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Poyrard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French navigator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1578 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Laval |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1621 |
| Place of death | Paris |