A French naturalist and explorer, and a nephew of the botanist Pierre Poivre, Pierre Sonnerat (18 August 1748 - 31 March 1814) (read ‘Sonnerat’ as ‘Sonnera’) travelled to the Philippines and Moluccas between 1769 and 1772, and India and China between 1774 and 1781. Describing his experiences, he wrote the books Voyage a la Nouvelle-Guinée (1776) and Voyage aux Indes orientales et a la Chine fait depuis 1774 jusqu’a 1781 (1782). Picking up from his uncle, he described plants, which today bear his name shortened as ‘Sonn.’ at the end. The biological name of the grey jungle fowl (Gallus sonneratii) and one mangrove plant Sonneratia (S. apetala in southern India) celebrate his contributions to biology.
Sonnerat was a forthright person. He was outspoken against the racism that prevailed in the Europe of his time. During his visits to Asia he marvelled at the rich Indian culture. In his book, Sonnerat writes: “Ancient India gave to the world its religions and philosophies: Egypt and Greece owe India their wisdom and it is known that Pythagoras went to India to study….”.
The first volume of his two-volume book Voyage aux Indes orientales et a la Chine includes extensive descriptions of the then Indian culture and social systems. Sonnerat admired the Indian social system he saw. He spent considerable time studying and discussing the faith of the Hindus. He was an accomplished artist as well and his book is amply illustrated with drawings made by him. World artists rate Sonnerat’s drawings of the Hindu deities ‘fascinating’. Sonnerat was also a committed ornithologist and bird collector, and his book describes and depicts many species he was the first to determine.
Different authors refer to Sonnerat differently: some refer to him as a zoologist, some as a naturalist, some others as a philosopher, a few others as an explorer, and one another refers to him as a naval officer.
Sonnerat became the chief administrator of Yanam in 1790. While at Yanam, he enjoyed the sonority and the musical tone of the Telugu language. Sonnerat was involved in business along with other traders. His commercial involvement brought serious consequences to his administrative post. Petitions were lodged with the Chévalier de Fresne, Governor in Pondichéry against him referring to his business links. On June 5, 1790 a Frenchman, de Mars, lodged a complaint on Sonnerat, by when Pondichéry under the influence of the French Revolution had already formed the first representative committee. But no action was taken in favour of de Mars either by the Governor or by the representative committee. The French citizens in Yanam were, obviously, not interested in the affairs of Pondichéry.
(The author is a senior lecturer in Ecological Agriculture at Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales, Australia)