Portal:Argentina/Selected article/31



Hippolyte de Bouchard, or Hipólito de Bouchard (1780 - 1837), was a French and Argentine sailor and corsair who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru. During his first campaign as an Argentine corsair he attacked the Spanish colonies of Chile and Peru, under the command of the Argentine-Irish Admiral William Brown. He was the first Argentine to circumnavigate the world. During his voyage around the world he blockaded the port of Manila and recovered, in Hawaii, an Argentine privateer which had been seized by mutineers, where he also met the local ruler, King Kamehameha I. His forces occupied Monterey, California, then a Spanish colony, raising the Argentine flag there and claiming for his country, for a short time, a small portion of the future State of California. After raiding Monterey, he plundered Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. Toward the end of the voyage Bouchard raided the Spanish ports in Central America. Therefore, in his second homeland he is remembered as a hero and patriot; several places are named in his honour...

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