Genus Bougainvillea
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For Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (1729–1811), French admiral and explorer. He joined the army in 1753 and took part in the Seven Year War with Britain (1754–1756), obtaining the rank of colonel. In 1763 the French tried to colonise the ‘Isles Malouines’ (Falkland Islands/Malvinas). Bougainville made three expeditions to the island, landing 130 settlers, but when the Spanish government claimed the islands were theirs, for political reasons, the French withdrew. In 1766, Louis XV gave Bougainville permission to circumnavigate the world, the first Frenchman to do so, a three year journey he described in his Voyage autour du monde. Between 1779 and 1782 Bougainville saw active service during the American War of Independence, which led to Britain’s defeat. He obtained the rank of viceadmiral (1791), was made a senator by Napoleon (1799), was given the Légion d’honneur (1804), and was made the comte de Bougainville by Napoleon (1808).