“Full of admiration and of respect as I am for the memory of that great man, he will always be in my eyes the first of navigators.  It is he who has determined the precise position of these islands, who has explored their shores, who has made known the manners, customs and religion of the inhabitants, and who has paid with his blood for all the light which we have to-day concerning these peoples.  I would call him the Christopher Columbus of these countries, of the coast of Alaska, and of nearly all the isles of the South Seas.  Chance might enable the most ignorant man to discover islands, but it belongs only to great men like him to leave nothing more to be done regarding the coasts they have found.  Navigators, philosophers, physicians, all find in his Voyages interesting and useful things which were the object of his concern.  All men, especially all navigators, owe a tribute of praise to his memory.  How could one neglect to pay it at the moment of coming upon the group of islands where he finished so unfortunately his career?”

We can well understand that a lad whose head was full of thoughts of voyaging and adventure, was not, as a schoolboy, very tame and easy to manage.  He is described as having been ardent, impetuous, and rather stubborn.  But there is more than one kind of stubbornness.  There is the stupid stubbornness of the mule, and the fixed, firm will of the intelligent being.  We can perceive quite well what is meant in this case.  On the other hand, he was affectionate, quick and clever.  He longed for the sea; and his father, observing his decided inclination, allowed him to choose the profession he desired.

It may well have seemed to the parents of Laperouse at this time that fine prospects lay before a gallant young gentleman who should enter the Marine.  There was for the moment peace between France and England.  A truce had been made by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748.  But everybody knew that there would be war again soon.  Both countries were struggling for the mastery in India and in North America.  The sense of rivalry was strong.  Jealousies were fierce on both sides.  In India, the French power was wielded, and ever more and more extended, by the brilliant Governor Dupleix; whilst in the British possessions the rising influence was that of the dashing, audacious Clive.  In North America the French were scheming to push their dominion down the Ohio-Mississippi Valley from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, in the rear of the line of British colonies planted on the seaboard from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida.  The colonists were determined to prevent them; and a young man named George Washington, who afterwards became very famous, first rose into prominence in a series of tough struggles to thwart the French designs.  The points of collision between the two nations were so sharp, feeling on either side was so bitter, the contending interests were so incapable of being reconciled, that it was plain to all that another great war was bound to break out, and that sea power would play a very important part in the issue.  The young Laperouse wanted to go to sea, and his father wanted him to distinguish himself and confer lustre on his name.  The choice of a calling for him, therefore, suited all the parties concerned.