Nauscopie, the ‘mysterious’ art of detecting the movements of ships hundreds of miles away from land, was practised at the Isle de France in the 1780s…
By ANAND MOHEEPUTH
The man who mastered Nauscopie was Etienne Bottineau. Born in Anjou, France, in 1738, he was trained as a marine Engineer with the French East India Company. He was shifted in 1765 to the Isle de France where he served in the engineering corps at Port Louis.
Whilst at the Isle de France, Bottineau perfected his studies of what he called a “new science”, that is, “Nauscopie”, which he claimed, was his “invention”.
“The clear sky”, he wrote, “and the pure atmosphere at certain periods of the day were favourable to my studies…..”
Bottineau never revealed the secret of his ‘supernatural power’ although the French Governor of Isle de France, Souillac, tried to lure him with a reward of 10,000 livres and a yearly pension of 1200 livres, an offer that failed to bite, most probably because he had another end in view.
Years of rigorous observations of the atmospheric phenomena put him on the track to determine with precision the number of ships sailing in the region. From 1778 to 1782, he announced, based on a report compiled by the Naval and Military Commander at Port Louis, the arrivals of 575 vessels, many of them up to four days before they could become visible on the horizon.
‘’It appeared to me”, wrote Bottineau, “that a vessel approaching land would produce a certain effect upon the atmosphere and cause the approach to be discovered by a practised eye even before the vessel itself was visible…”
“I had not been more than six months upon this island”, recorded Bottineau, ”when I became confident that my discovery was certain and that was all the more to acquire more experience and then Nauscopie would become a real science”.
“The officers”, he said, “attributed my success to a particular power of vision I possessed. But then again, they were quite puzzled on reflecting that although they used glasses, I never employed any”.
Bottineau’s correct estimates in many instances impressed the local population. Still many were skeptical going to the extent of accusing him of indulging in “sorcellerie”.
One who despised Bottineau was Governor Guiran de La Brillanne (1778-1779).
Over a land dispute Bottineau was engaged in with one M.Dupare, La Brillanne expelled him to Madagascar where he was forced into slavery.
It was not until François de Souillac assumed the governorship of the Isle de France (1779-1787) that Bottineau was back.
Souillac, in contrast, held Bottineau in high esteem. He tested for several months all of Bottineau’s announcements recording in an official register all the details for dispatch to the Minister of Marine.
According to Historian Mike Dash, in his essay ‘Naval Gazing – The Enigma of Etienne Bottineau’, Souillac wrote a letter dated 18 April 1784 to the Minister of Marine, Maréchal de Castries in the following terms: “However incredible this discovery may appear, myself and the great many officers, naval and military, must bear testimony to the announcements made by M.Bottineau”.
Confirming Bottineau’s predictions, Souillac wrote: “he sees in nature signs that indicate the presence of vessels, as we assert that fire exists in places where we see smoke…”.
Souillac further wrote in his testimonial: “We cannot treat him as an imposter, or a visionary. We have had ocular demonstrations for so many years and in no instance has any vessel reached the island, the approach of which he has not predicted”.
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Bottineau sailed back to France in 1784 in order to announce to de Castries of his startling discovery and expecting his career in the Navy where he started to be resurrected. His attempts to seek an audience with the Minister of marine were thwarted by the French officials and so much by the Parisian elitist society. The pro-government press floated like an ill-wind Bottineau’s reputation as one of a “charlatan” dedicated to witchcraft. For example, the Editor of the ‘Mercure de France’’, Abbé Fontenay, poured ridicule writing , “ it was not ships at sea but castles in the air that he was seeing…”
A disheartened Bottineau regretted “the world will probably be deprived for sometime of an art that would have done honour to the 18th century”.
Bottineau died in India in 1802. But at the Isle de France, he had many enthusiastic Nauscopie supporters. One of them was Feuillafé, a resident of Pamplemousses. Feuillafé’s sensational announcements in 1810, when the Anglo-French hostility had broken out, that he could see enemy’s war vessels approaching the island, landed him in trouble. Governor Decaen ordered his arrest for creating in the island a wave of panic. Feuillafé was released after the British took control of the island. And Nauscopie was henceforth consigned to oblivion.
« Confirming Bottineau’s predictions, Souillac wrote: “he sees in nature signs that indicate the presence of vessels, as we assert that fire exists in places where we see smoke…”.
Souillac further wrote in his testimonial: “We cannot treat him as an imposter, or a visionary. We have had ocular demonstrations for so many years and in no instance has any vessel reached the island, the approach of which
he has not predicted”.