François Pyrard de Laval | Timeline

François Pyrard de Laval (ca. 1578 - ca. 1623) was a french navigator who is remembered for a personal written account of his adventures in the Maldives Islands from 1602 to 1607, which was part of a ten-year sojourn (1601-1611) in South Asia, et al. He was a native of Laval, and was a cousin to theologian Pierre Pyrard (1581-1667). (Intro from Wikipedia)

Main picture: There is no picture or portrait of François Pyrard de Laval. For illustration purposes, we used an image of François Ravaillac, the murderer of King Henry IV in 1610 

January(?) 1(?), 1578 - Laval, France - François Pyrard is born
May 18, 1601 - Saint-Malo - Pyrard sets sail to the Indies aboard the  "Corbin" =(START)
May 21, 1601 - Pyrard sights 9 dutch ships. An incident follows, when during the exchange of salutes, a druken dutch cannonner puts a hole in the French sail
June 3, 1601 - Off Canary Islands - The Canary Islands are sighted
June 12, 1601 - Cape Verde Islands - Pyrard passes through the Cape Verde Islands. Leaves the area on 13th
July 14, 1601 - Off the Coast of Guinea - Pyrard passes off the Coast of Guinea and sees Van Spilbergen's two ships
August 24, 1601 - Line of the Equator - Pyrard crosses the line of the Equator
August 30, 1601 - Annobon Island - Pyrard anchors in Annobón. Despite the portuguese killing one crewmember and asking for ransom for 5 others, the french manage to stay and take provisions
October 16, 1601 - Annobon Island - Pyrard departs from Annobón
December 27, 1601 - Cape of Good Hope - Pyrard rounds the Cape of Good Hope
January 10(?), 1602 - "In front of Madagascar" - Violent storm that lasts 4 days. The 2 ships loose sight of each other
February 18, 1602 - Saint-Augustin Bay, SW Madagascar - The "Corbin" and the "Croissant" find each other. 41 dead due to disease and storms
May 15, 1602 - Saint-Augustin Bay, SW Madagascar - After long repairs and taking care of the sick, Pyrard departs Madagascar
May 23, 1602 - Comoros Islands - Pyrard anchors in the Comoros Islands, "so that the sick take healthier air"
June 7, 1602 - Comoros Islands - With favorable wind, Pyrard sets sail again
July 1, 1602 - Off the Maldives - The "Croissant" looses its lifeboat
July 2, 1602 - Off the Maldives - Reports of rocks (reefs) around the Maldives islands. Sets course eastward to Île-Rodrigues (near Mauritius)
July 3, 1602 - Baa Atoll, Maldives - The "Corbin" runs aground on a reef and sinks during the night, due to the captain's lack of experience and the fact that the whole crew was drunk. The "Croissant" sails to Sumatra
July 5(?), 1602 - Malé - Pyrard is arrested and taken to Malé before the local King
February 5, 1607 - Malé - Pyrard makes a promess to visit Santiago de Compostela, if he ever sees christian land again
February 7, 1607 - Malé - 2 days after his promisse, Malé is attacked by Bengal pirates. The king is killed and Pyrard taken by the pirates
March 5, 1607 - Chartican, Bengal (Chittagong?) - Arrival in Bengal
June 1(?), 1607 - Calicut - Pyrard arrives in Calicut
February 1(?), 1608 - Calicut - Two jesuits advice Pyrard to seek the portuguese in Cochin
March 1(?), 1608 - Cochin - Arrival in Cochin by force after being seized by the portuguese
June 1(?), 1608 - Goa - Transfered to Goa thanks to the efforts of a jesuit priest. Serves the portuguese in the next two years
January 30, 1610 - Cochin - Pyrard leaves India aboard the "Nossa Senhora de Jesus", in a portuguese galleon fleet
February 8, 1610 - between Cochin and Diego Garcia - The fleet spots a dutch flotilla
March 15, 1610 - Rodrigues Island, E of Mauritius - The galleons are forced to stop at Rodrigues Island(*) due to heavy storms. (*) Discovered in 1538 by the portuguese Diogo Rodrigues.
April 8, 1610 - Cape of Good Hope - The Cape of Good Hope is sighted as it becomes bitterly cold, with much snow and frost
April 9, 1610 - Off Cape of Good Hope - The ships needed just 6 hours more to cross the Cape, however, they are unbelievably unlucky and are caught by a strong gale and thrown away from it.  Riots aboard
May 30, 1610 - Off Cape of Good Hope - During almost 2 months, the crew decides to face the sea and the contrary winds with their shattered ships instead of facing a certain death in a shipwreck in the violent coast of Natal, trying to return to India
May 31, 1610 - Cape of Good Hope - After so many storms and the ships in awful state, a favouring wind rises and they cross the Cape. The crew rejoices and sings a mass with a "Te Deum"
June 5, 1610 - W of South Africa - A resolution is taken to sail for St.Helena Island first for refreshment and refitting the ships. With the risk of meeting the dutch at that island, it is decided to remount the heavy iron cannons that were put below during the storms
June 25, 1610 - Santa Helena Island - The ship stops at St. Helena Island, finding a letter in the chapel left by the other 3 ships
July 14, 1610 - Santa Helena Island - After 10 days refitting the carrack, which almost sunk in an accident at weighing anchor, the portuguese and Pyrard sets sail to Salvador, Brazil, a shorter voyage than to Portugal.
August 8, 1610 - Coast of Bahia, Brazil - The carrack arrives in the coast of Brazil, at the entrance of the "Bay of Todos os Santos" near Salvador
August 11, 1610 - Salvador, Brazil - The portuguese carrack arrives in Salvador, Brazil
October 7, 1610 - Salvador, Brazil - After Pyrard meets and befriends two naturalized portuguese flemish brothers, he departs to Europe on their Dunkirk ship
November 3, 1610 - Pernambuco, Brazil - Pyrard doubles the Cape of St. Augustine, in great peril, because of shallows and reefs, and reach the city of Pernambuco
December 5, 1610 - Line of the Equator - Pyrard crosses the line of the Equator
January 5, 1611 - Azores Islands - Pyrard sights three islands of the Azores Archipelago - Corvo, Flores and Terceira. The crew starts feeling the cold again
January 15, 1611 - Berlengas Islands, Coast of Portugal - The Coast of Portugal is sighted. Due to contrary winds, Pyrard doesn't sail to Lisbon as planned
January 20, 1611 - Baiona, Galicia, Spain - Pyrard reaches Galicia after almost sinking
February(?) 1(?), 1611 - Santiago de Compostela - Paying his promise in Santiago de Compostela
February 13, 1611 - A Coruña - Pyrard departs to France in a small boat
February 15, 1611 - La Rochelle - 36 hours later, Pyrard arrives in La Rochelle
February 16, 1611 - Laval - Pyrard returns to Laval
December 24, 1611 - Paris - Pyrard was in Paris at this time. Publication of "The Voyage of François Pyrard of Laval to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas, and Brazil"
January(?) 1(?), 1623 - Paris - François Pyrard dies, aged 45 =(END)