Conrad Malte-Brun

Conrad Malte-Brun(French: [kɔ̃ʁad malt bʁœ̃]; born Malthe Conrad Bruun; 12 August 1775 – 14 December 1826), sometimes referred to simply as Malte-Brun,¹ was a Dano-French geographer and journalist. His second son, Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun, was also a geographer. Today he is perhaps best remembered for coining the name for both the geographic regions of Oceania (French Océanie) around 1812 and Indo-China in 1804.

Biography

Born in Thisted to an administrator of Danish crown lands, Malte-Brun was originally destined for a career as a pastor, but chose instead to attend classes at the University of Copenhagen, and became a supporter of the French Revolution and an activist in favor of freedom of the press. Following the harsh censorship laws instituted by the Danish ruler crown prince Frederick in September 1799, he was indicted because of his many pamphlets which contained outright criticism of the government, which the new censorship laws forbade. A particular cause for offence was a pamphlet he published in 1795 entitled "Catechism of the Aristocrats."¹

The case of Peter Andreas Heiberg, who for similar crimes had been sentenced to exile at Christmas of 1799, did not make Malte-Brun optimistic about his prospects. Poul Skibsted acted as prosecutor in both trials. Bruun had already left the country prior to the court sentence (which was first carried late 1800) and had settled first in Sweden, later in the Free City of .