Jeanne Baret ([ʒan ba.ʁɛ]; 27 July 1740 – 5 August 1807) is recognised as the first woman to have completed a voyage of circumnavigation of the globe, which she did via maritime transport.

A key part of her journey was as a member of Louis Antoine de Bougainville's expedition on the ships La Boudeuse and Étoile in 1766–1769.

She enlisted as valet and assistant to the expedition's naturalist, Philibert Commerçon (anglicized as Commerson), shortly before Bougainville's ships sailed from France.

[11][12][a] At some point between 1760 and 1764, Baret became employed as housekeeper to Commerson, who had settled in Toulon-sur-Arroux, some 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south of La Comelle, upon his marriage in 1760.

French law at that time required women who became pregnant out of wedlock to obtain a "certificate of pregnancy" in which they could name the father of their unborn child.

Baret's certificate, from August 1764, survives; it was filed in a town 30 kilometres (19 mi) away and witnessed by two men of substance who likewise had travelled a considerable distance from their homes.

He hesitated in accepting because he was often in poor health; he required Baret's assistance as a nurse as well as in running his household and managing his collections and papers.

[25][26] His appointment allowed him a servant, paid as a royal expense, but women were completely prohibited on French navy ships at this time.

[32][33] Commerson suffered badly from both seasickness and a recurring ulcer on his leg in the early part of the voyage, and Baret probably spent most of her time attending to him.

[35] In Rio de Janeiro – a much more dangerous place, where the Étoile's chaplain was murdered ashore soon after their arrival – Commerson was officially confined to the ship while his leg healed, but he and Baret nonetheless collected specimens of a flowering vine, which he named Bougainvillea.

[36] After a second visit to Montevideo, their next opportunity to collect plants was in Patagonia while the ships of the expedition were waiting for favourable winds to carry them through the Strait of Magellan.

In addition to the manual labour she performed in collecting plants, stones, and shells, Baret also helped Commerson organize and catalogue their specimens and notes in the weeks that followed, as the ships entered the Pacific.

According to Bougainville, rumours that Baret was a woman had circulated for some time, but her sex was not finally confirmed until the expedition reached Tahiti in April 1768.

Vivès also describes a different incident on New Ireland in mid-July in which Baret was caught off-guard, stripped, and "examined" by a group of other servants on the expedition.

The document granting her this pension makes clear the high regard with which she was held by this point: Jeanne Barré, by means of a disguise, circumnavigated the globe on one of the vessels commanded by Mr de Bougainville.

She devoted herself in particular to assisting Mr de Commerson, doctor and botanist, and shared with great courage the labours and dangers of this savant.

[68] For many years, Bougainville's published journal – a popular bestseller in its day, in the original French as well as in English translations – was the only widely available source of information about Baret.

More recent scholarship has uncovered additional facts and documentation about her life, but much of the new information remained little-known and inaccessible to the general public, particularly outside France.

[70] However, Ridley's biography has also been highly criticized by some reviewers for its reliance on improbable chains of speculation that are not corroborated by any other primary or secondary sources.

[75] Jeanne Barret was one of the 10 inspirational French women celebrated as golden statues rising out of the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.