Jean Laborde [SEP] place of birth
Jean Laborde
Jean Laborde (16 October 1805 in Auch - 27 December 1878 in Madagascar) was an adventurer and early industrialist in Madagascar. He became the chief engineer of the Merina monarchy, supervising the creation of a modern manufacturing center under Queen Ranavalona I. Later he became the first French consul to Madagascar, when the government of Napoleon III used him to establish French influence on the island.
Born to a blacksmith, Laborde emigrated to India, before attempting to recover treasure from ships wrecked along the coast of Madagascar in
either in the province of Jaca in the then kingdom of Aragon (Spain) or in the French province of Béarn in either 1699 or 1700. Borda was the second son of Pierre Laborde, an officer in the army of Louis XIV of France and Spaniard Magdalena Sanchez. José claimed January 2, 1699, in Jaca as his date and place of birth, although there are no documents to back that up. The portraits in the museums of Taxco and Chapultepec both affirm he was born in France. Jean Joseph (de