Background
Deslandes was born into an important family in Pondichérailway
Deslandes was born into an important family in Pondichérailway
Deslandes has been viewed as an important precursor of the Encylopédistes. He was the son of André Boureau-Deslandes (born in Tours) and grandson of François Martin (1634-1706), the founder and first governor of Pondichérailway His father André Boureau-Deslandes played a major role in the diplomatic relations between France and Siam, then in India where he became Director General of Commerce in Bengal.
On his return to France, he was sent to Saint-Domingue as an officer in the Navy of the kings of France and Spain, and inspector-general of "l"Assiente".
He was ennobled by letters in 1703 and died at Léogane in 1707. They had eight children of which six survived, including two who became clergymen.
Deslandes" father brought François Martin"s Memoirs back to France as books of manuscripts, and they were later published in three volumes.
Prussian Academy of Sciences]
He was appointed Commissioner of the Portuguese of Brest in 1716, was a corresponding member from Louisiana Rochelle of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.