The Invention of Paradise 1845-1870

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Paul-Emile Miot, a French Marine Officer born in Trinidad in 1827, attended boarding school in Ireland before graduating from the Naval Academy in Paris in 1843. His early career included a campaign in the Baltic and service under Admiral Cloué in Newfoundland, where he conducted his first photographic survey of the region's coasts and fisheries from 1857 to 1862. Miot's service continued in the Gulf of Mexico between July 1863 and March 1867, where he excelled in naval encounters and documented Veracruz and Tampico, along with creating topographical surveys. From 1868 to 1871, he sailed to the Pacific aboard the Astrée, again under Cloué, where he recorded damage to the ship in Callao and further studied coastlines and ports. During a stay in Papeete from June to September 1870, he continued his documentation efforts. After returning, Miot served in the Admiralty in Vincennes in 1873, achieving the rank of Ship Captain, and later in La Réunion, where he reported on the conditions of Indian workers. He participated in the Tunisian campaign, occupying Bizerte and capturing Sfax, and used his diplomatic skills to ease tensions in Madagascar. Promoted to Vice-Admiral, he joined the Admiralty Council with Cloué. Upon retirement in 1891, he became Curator of the Musée de la Marine in Paris, where he authored a remarkable book detailing the museum's collections.