page_title: Hippolyte Bouchard
section_title: The beginning of the campaign
hierarchical_section_title: Hippolyte Bouchard / Campaign with La Argentina / The beginning of the campaign
caption_attribution_description: English: A copy of the letter of marque issued to corsair Hippolyte de Bouchard on June 27, 1817 by the Argentine government, authorizing him to prey on Spanish commerce.
context_page_description: Hippolyte Bouchard, or Hipólito Bouchard, was a French-born 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 Irish-Argentine Admiral William Brown. During his overseas voyage he blockaded the port of Manila. In Hawaii, he recovered an Argentine privateer which had been seized by mutineers. He also met the local ruler, King Kamehameha I. His forces occupied Monterey, California, then a Spanish colony, raised the Argentine flag and held the town for six days. After raiding Monterey, he plundered Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. Toward the end of the voyage Bouchard raided Spanish ports in Central America. His second homeland remembers him as a hero and patriot; several places are named in his honour.
context_section_description: Bouchard decided to stay with the frigate Consecuencia for his next campaign. In concert with Vicente Echevarría the ship's name was changed to La Argentina. Preparing the ship was not an easy task, as it was very heavy and some 100 metres (330 feet) long. Echevarría acquired 34 artillery pieces and hired experienced carpenters to mount them in place. Upon Bouchard's request, the Argentine State gave him 4 bronze cannons and 12 iron cannons, 128 guns, and 1,700 cannonballs, but he was unable to requisition small arms such as boarding guns or sabers (even cavalry sabers). Even more difficult was finding the 180 men he needed for a crew, especially given Bouchard's reputation as ill-tempered (which dogged him after the conflicts in the Pacific). Most of the sailors he did enlist were foreigners, though some were from the provinces of Corrientes and Entre Ríos.
  On 25 June, with La Argentina still in port, a sailor struck one of his superiors, an act of insubordination. When Bouchard discovered this he ordered the sailor's arrest, provoking general unrest. One of the fellow sailors attacked Commander Sommers, who killed him in self-defense. This did not prevent other members of the crew from barricading themselves inside the ship, which led to their being forcibly removed by the marine infantry, led by Sommers. Two crewmen were killed in the conflict, and four others were wounded. Following the altercation Echevarría sent a letter to Supreme Director Juan Martín de Pueyrredón explaining that the incident was the result of the crew having been stuck in Buenos Aires for an extended period, and that chances of further outbreaks would be lessened once the ship put to sea. Two days later La Argentina headed to Ensenada de Barragán, which started rumors flying that Bouchard had deserted the service. In reality, the frigate disembarked under the authority of a general order which required that ships that were subjected to loading delays and such but were otherwise seaworthy leave the harbor in order that they not be caught at anchor should the Spanish attempt an invasion.
  On 27 June Bouchard obtained the Argentine corsair patent (a "letter of marque") that authorized him to prey on Spanish commerce, the countries of Spain and Argentina being in a state of war at the time.
  On 9 July 1817 (the first anniversary of the signing of the Argentine Declaration of Independence) Bouchard set out from Ensenada de Barragán in command of La Argentina on a two-year voyage, intending to travel across the Atlantic to the African coast in order to circumnavigate around the Cape of Good Hope and engage a fleet of ships operated by the Company of the Philippines that had sailed from Spain to India. However, a fire broke out on 19 July which the crew had to fight for hours until it was extinguished. Consequently, when the ship subsequently arrived in the Indian Ocean it headed northeast to Madagascar, where it laid up at Tamatave (on the east of the island) for a period of two months while repairs were effected. Once in Tamatave, a British officer requested Bouchard's assistance in preventing four slaver ships (three British and one French) from leaving the island, whereupon Bouchard offered the use of all his available troops. The La Argentina seized the slavers' food supplies and recruited five French sailors prior to departing Madagascar with the intent of launching attacks on the Spanish merchant vessels that sailed in the region. Much of the crew was soon afflicted with scurvy, which required that ship's operations be conducted by those few sailors who had escaped illness. On 18 October La Argentina encountered an American frigate that passed on the news that the Company of the Philippines had ended trade with India three years prior.
caption: A portion of the "letter of marque" issued to Bouchard by the Argentine government.
exif: {}