Armand Guy Simon de Coëtnempren de Kersaint (1742-1793).

Relation de la prise de Demerari, Essequibo, et de la Berbice ; de 4 frégates, 1 cutter & 1 goëlette, & 11 bâtimens marchands, dans le même continent […] Extrait de la Gazette de la Martinique.

s. l., s. n., [1782?].

4°. 4 pp. With a woodcut of the royal arms of France on the title page and a woodcut at the end.

Unbound.

               Rare contemporary account of the French recapture of the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice on the coast of Suriname during the American Revolutionary War. In January 1782, commanding a division of five vessels led by the frigate Iphigénie, Kersaint seized the settlements, supported by four frigates, one cutter, one schooner, and eleven merchant ships, restoring territories that had fallen to the British the previous year.

The author, Armand de Kersaint (1742–1793), was a distinguished French naval officer and political writer who later became an admiral and prominent revolutionary figure. A supporter of the French Revolution, he served as president of the Assembly of the Electors of Paris in 1789, administrator of the Département de la Seine, and deputy to both the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. After protesting the condemnation of Louis XVI, he resigned his seat and was eventually guillotined during the Terror.

Rarity: Apparently unrecorded in this edition. Not found in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Sabin, or other major bibliographical databases consulted. A different edition is known with the imprint: “À Toulouse : chez J.G. Besian, [1782].” We locate a single institutional copy of that edition at the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Toulouse (Resp Pf pl B 454/45).

Condition: Two old folds, browned along the fold, mainly on the blank part of the final page. Otherwise in good condition.