[5] 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.

[4][Note 1] 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.

[8] 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.

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.

[14][15] 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.

[18] 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.

[19] 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.

[17] After visits to French settlements along the Indian coast to pick up provisions,[20] Surville made his last stop at Pondicherry,[21] where he added some grenadiers to the expedition's complement.

Surville promptly left,[25] sailing to Terengganu on the Malay Peninsula and then to the islands of the Bashi Channel, between Taiwan and the Philippines, where he stocked up on water and food.

[27] To the surprise of the majority of the expedition, Surville then sailed to the southeast, away from the ship's official destination of Canton, in accordance with his secret instructions to locate Davis Land.

To avoid missing landfall due to errors in longitude,[34] he first sailed southwest across the Coral Sea,[35] before turning eastwards at the latitude of northern New Zealand.

On 16 December, the ship rounded North Cape and, heading south, passed through the area that James Cook's Endeavour had traversed one or two days earlier.

[34] Māori in canoes went out to Saint Jean-Baptiste and engaged in some trading for fresh fish, allaying fears of the crew who were aware Tasman had experienced a hostile welcome on his arrival in New Zealand.

[40] Over the next several days, the fresh food gathered or traded from the Māori helped the majority of the sick among the expedition to recover from their scurvy.

[41] It is likely that Father Paul-Antoine Léonard de Villefeix, the chaplain on Saint Jean-Baptiste, conducted the first Christian service in New Zealand and may have celebrated mass on Christmas Day 1769.

The bodies of those who died from scurvy in the bay were thrown overboard, which would have contaminated the fishery, leading to the Māori (if they were aware) placing a rāhui or temporary prohibition on fishing in the area.

[46] Surville, distressed by the loss of the anchors and the yawl, which jeopardised plans for further exploration of the area,[45] went ashore with a party of two officers and some sailors to fish on 30 December.

[47] The following day, 31 December, an officer spotted the yawl ashore on Tokerau Beach surrounded by Māori, and an armed party set off from Saint Jean-Baptiste to retrieve it.

Their chief, Ranginui,[Note 3] approached Surville carrying a twig of green leaves, a sign of peace in Māori culture.

[50] This route took advantage of favourable winds, and offered the lucrative prospect of discovering previously unknown lands as they moved eastwards.

[51] The Spanish considered their ports along the Pacific coast of South America off limits to other nations and there was a risk the French would be imprisoned upon arrival.

[52] Initially sailing along the southern latitudes of 34° and 35°, the expedition continued to suffer losses to scurvy,[53] with the first death since departing New Zealand occurring on 19 February 1770.

[54] Early the following month, with water supplies low, Surville conceded defeat in his quest for the island and set course for Peru after consulting with his officers.

The next day, Surville, in full ceremonial dress, and three crew members departed in a small boat to seek help from the Spanish viceroy at Chilca.

[60] In the meantime, Saint Jean-Baptiste had been sailed north to the port of Callao, in accordance with Surville's instructions in the event he not return to the ship.

[63] On 20 August 1773, when the ship arrived at Port-Louis, only 66 of the original complement of 173 men had completed Surville's expedition; 79 had died through sickness or attacks by hostile islanders, and another 28 had deserted.

[66] Despite being commercially unsuccessful, Surville's voyage allowed geographers of the time to confirm the size of the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, and the likely non-existence of Davis Land.

[67] Surville and his men were the first Europeans to cross the Coral Sea and make a west–east traverse of the temperate zone of the South Pacific, an important route for future explorers in the area.