in 1766, Surville gained the approval of the French East India Company for his commercial plans. Needing a ship for his venture, he supervised the construction of Saint Jean-Baptiste, a large merchantman armed with 36 guns, at Port-Louis. He sailed her to India in June 1767. Over the next several months, Surville made a series of trading voyages along the Indian coast. He also served as deputy governor of Pondicherry. By late 1768, the French East India Company was undergoing severe financial difficulties, and its monopoly on trade in the East Indies was threatened with revocation. Surville and his business associates recognised that this would represent new opportunities for their syndicate and were planning a commercial expedition to the Philippines. At about this time, they became aware of rumours of a recent British discovery of land in the South Pacific, believed to be the fabulously wealthy island of Davis Land. These rumours were based on HMS Dolphin's reports of Tahiti. Davis Land represented a potentially important trading possibility for Surville's syndicate, but it was also necessary to establish a French foothold in the South Pacific before the British did, lest they be locked out of the region. Consequently, it was decided that Surville would mount an expedition to the South Pacific. The plan was for Surville to sail Saint Jean-Baptiste to Malacca, and then on to the South China Sea and the Philippines. He was then to traverse the north and south latitudes of the Pacific, searching for Davis Land. The latter objective was to be kept secret, even from the officers of the expedition. On his return, Surville was to stop at Manila and Batavia. To avoid British suspicion as to the purpose of the expedition, the official destinations of the Saint Jean-Baptiste were Manila and Canton. After more than two months of preparation, Surville departed from Chandernagore aboard Saint Jean-Baptiste on 3 March 1769, carrying a mixture of trading goods as cargo. These goods, if not able to be traded to the Jewish merchants believed to live on Davis Land, were to be sold at Manila on the expedition's return voyage, to improve its profitability. Also on board were several charts and narratives of voyages to the Pacific, including an account of Abel Tasman's 1642 journey to New Zealand. After visits to French settlements along the Indian coast to pick up provisions, Surville made his last stop at