In 1816, the 40-gun French frigate, the Medusa, departed for the overseas colony of Senegal, carrying 400 people. Incompetent and selfish decisions allowed the ship run aground, and 147 people were stranded on a raft. Only 15 survived. Their harrowing story includes murder and cannibalism. This is the story of the raft of the Medusa.

Sources

https://shipwrecks.hist.sites.carleton.edu/the-medusa/the-medusa-historical-background/

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-147348

"Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816" by Jean Baptiste Henri Savigny and Alexandre Corréard

Raft the Medusa painting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JEAN_LOUIS_THÉODORE_GÉRICAULT_-_La_Balsa_de_la_Medusa_(Museo_del_Louvre,_1818-19).jpg#mw-jump-to-license

History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com

Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices