On 16 March 1769 Louis-Antoine de Bougainville’s expedition of two ships completes first French circumnavigation of the world arriving in Saint-Malo, France , and part of the crew was the first woman to circumnavigate the world, Jeanne Baré.

Disguised as a man and going under the name  Jean Baret, Jeanne Baré enlisted as valet and assistant to the expedition’s naturalist, Philibert Commerçon, shortly before Bougainville’s ships sailed from France. According to Bougainville’s account, she was an expert botanist.

Jeanne was Philibert’s housekeeper. His wife died in childbirth and at some point the relationship between them became sexual. It is thought that the son she had was his although she refused to name him as the father.

This was the great era of plant collecting. In addition to the manual labour Jeanne performed in collecting plants, stones, and shells, she also helped Philibert organize and catalogue their specimens and notes in the weeks that followed, as the ships entered the Pacific. Jeanne continued as Philibert’s assistant and helping him in all ways. Sadly he died in Mauritius in February 1773. Before leaving for the expedition he had name Jeanne in his will.

After his death Jeanne established herself independently in Port Louis where she ran a tavern. Then, on 17 May 1774, she married Jean Dubernat, a non-commissioned officer in the French Army . Returning to France she settled with Dubernat in his native village of Saint-Aulaye, Dordogne where they bought property with Jeanne’s wealth and lived with both Dubernat’s and Jeanne’s nieces and nephews.

Jeanne Barret was one of the 10 inspirational French women celebrated as golden statues rising out of the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.