Pierre Bergeron: A Forgotten Editor of French Travel Literature

Abstract

One effect of overseas expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was the immediate popularity of travel literature. The French, though not among the initial leaders in voyages of colonization, had always shown a great interest in the writings of travelers returning from the Middle East and East Indies.! It was not surprising therefore, that the Columbus letter appeared in French in 1493 or that the translations of works of Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English voyages commanded an eager audience. In spite of the continued publication within of travel accounts of foreigners and of those few Frenchmen who participated in overseas expeditions, one still could not find any Frenchmen's names included among the list of the well known editors of travel materials, i.e., Gian Battista Ramusio, Richard Eden, Richard Hakluyt, Samuel Purchas, and Theodor de Bry.2 Traditionally, the seventeenth-century savant and librarian, Melchisedech Thevenot, claims the honor of being France's first editor of travel narratives. As the author of the Relations de divers Voyages Curieux (1663), Thevenot announced his intention of giving France the English voyages of Hakluyt and Purchas ... .3 Though Thevenot produced a poor imitation of the Principal Navigations and the Hakluytus Posthumus, his assertion and its general acceptance by scholars have meant that others before his time have not been seriously considered as editors of French travel literature. Actually, Pierre Bergeron, who lived more than fifty years earlier than Thevenot, had the same plans and, in fact, was responsible for the publication of numerous travel sources. Yet, Bergeron has remained a neglected figure in the history of French geographical literature. Occasionally, one can find a brief mention of his name, but even then the infonnation is frequently misleading and generally incorrect.5 Bergeron became convinced