The Voyage made by M. de Bougainville to the Southern Islands of John Davis, commonly called by the French the Malouines, and by the English the Falkland Islands, is neither a Voyage of Discovery, nor a South Sea Navigation; but having some affinity to the latter, a brief account of it is inserted here.

On the establishment of peace between Great Britain and France in 1762, after what has been called the Seven Years War, M. de Bougainville, a Chevalier of the Order of Saint Louis and Colonel of Infantry, formed the project of a settlement on the Malouines, in the hope that it would be an inducement to the French East India Company to direct their Chinabound ships to navigate by the South Sea, making the Malouine Settlement serve them for a place of refreshment. This was a revival of Lozier Bouvet's scheme. M. de Bougainville communicated his project to the French Ministry, who so far approved it as to allow him to build two vessels at his own expence for carrying it into execution.

The vessels were built and equipped at St. Malo in the summer of 1763; the largest was a Ship mounting 24 guns, and having a crew of 100 men; she was named the Aigle, and commanded by le Sieur Ducloz Guyot of St. Malo.