as triangular trade. In 1747, Surville was given command of Bagatelle and a letter of marque, which entitled him to sail as a privateer for France. While on one of his sorties on Bagatelle, he was again captured by the Royal Navy and taken to England as a prisoner of war. Released in 1748, Surville returned to the French East India Company as a first lieutenant aboard Duc de Béthune, a 40-gun merchantman that traversed the trading route to China. Returning to France in 1750, he married Marie Jouaneaulx at Nantes. The couple had two sons, who later joined the French Army. He spent the next few years on trading voyages around the French ports in the Indian Ocean and during this time, acquired a farm on the island of Réunion. By 1753, Surville was commander of Renommée and had made the acquaintance of Marion Dufresne, who would later become known for his voyages to the Pacific. During the Seven Years' War, which began in August 1756, Surville returned to active duty with the French Navy and sailed with the Comte d'Aché's naval fleet in the Indian Ocean as commander of Duc de Orleans. He was looked upon favourably by his superiors for his seamanship and leadership, and was made an "officer of the blue", a title used for non-aristocratic officers. Surville was present at the Battle of Cuddalore in 1758 and was wounded the following year at the Battle of Pondicherry. He was awarded the Cross of Saint Louis for his conduct during the fighting. He ended the Seven Years' War as commander of La Fortuné, a 64-gun warship. While transporting soldiers back to France, he encountered bad weather off the coast of South Africa. The ship developed leaks and was wrecked near Cape Town. Surville was able to get all the crew and passengers safely to shore and on to Cape Town. This delayed his return to France until early 1764. French India Surville resumed service with the French East India Company in 1765 and later that year commanded Duc de Praslin on its voyage transporting the new governor of Pondicherry, Jean Law de Lauriston, to India. Afterwards, together with Lauriston and Jean-Baptiste Chevalier, the governor of Chandernagore – which, like Pondicherry, was a French settlement on the east coast of India – Surville set up a venture to pursue trading in the Indian Ocean. Returning to France