Boudeuse, under Antoine de Bougainville, departed from Nantes on 15 November 1766 for the first French circumnavigation of the globe, along with the Étoile.

The French took Weazel to the Antilles where they disarmed her by taking all her guns for Admiral d'Estaing's squadron.

On 28 January 1799, Boudeuse, under the command of Lieutenant Calaman, sailed from Toulon to Malta.

Boudeuse was loaded with essential supplies for the beleaguered French garrison in Malta which at the time was under a blockade.

The French garrison under the command of General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois had withdrawn to the fortified cities found around the Grand Harbour basin following an armed insurrection by the Maltese back in September 1798.

Under the cover of inclement weather, Boudeuse managed to run the blockade and on 4 February 1799 she entered the French-controlled Grand Harbour and moored under the Lower Barracca.