[Traveling instructions for a voyage into the French scientific expeditions (1750-1830)].

At the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the literature of travel instructions increased greatly. This literature expresses the expectations of naturalists, the scientific community and government with respect to knowledge and use of natural products from exotic lands. As far as texts relating to natural history are concerned, the research priorities emphasized, the methodology proposed and the audience to which they were directed make it clear that expeditions were conceived as an essential but not final stage of scientific investigation. Indeed, the requirements voiced in these instructions show that the appraisal of the data gathered was to be carried out within French research institutions and botanical gardens.