A letter by de Soldanis in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF, naf 5398, fos 165-166)

Abstract

A rather long letter, signed Il Canonico D. Francesco Agius, bibliotecario, dated Valletta 6 del 1764, written in Italian and addressed to Chevalier Etienne-François Turgot, is found in the manuscript section of the Bibliothèque nationale de France under the title: Pièces diverses sur les colonies, XVIIIe siècle. The relevant colony is Guyana, South America. For an explanation of the connection between de Soldanis and this colony and of how it came about that this letter found its way in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, it would be worthwhile to give some information about Chevalier Turgot who befriended de Soldanis during his sojourn in Malta and with whom de Soldanis continued to correspond when Turgot returned to France. In fact, in the National Library of Malta there is a considerable collection of the correspondence exchanged between de Soldanis and Chevalier Turgot.