barbinais

Updated: June 8, 2025

There is little of interest to be noted in connexion with the stay at Bourbon beyond the steady increase of the population and of trade which had taken place during the century preceding the arrival of the French expedition in 1717. According to Gentil de Barbinais, there were living in the island only 900 free people, amongst whom were no more than six white families, and 1100 slaves.

Jules Verne - Celebrated Travels and Travellers: Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century