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- Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. to Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia.
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Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. to Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia.
by Jean Baptiste Henri Savigny, Alexandre Corréard
Chapters
6 total\[Transcriber's Note: The spelling inconsistencies of the original
NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO SENEGAL IN 1816.
ILLUSTRATED WITH THE NOTES OF M. BREDIF AND EMBELLISHED WITH A PLAN OF THE RAFT, AND A PORTRAIT OF KING ZAIDE.
CORRÉARD AND SAVIGNY.
A. CORRÉARD.
COUNT MOLÉ.
Description
A French government expedition set out for Senegal in 1816, only to see its frigate, the Medusa, smashed on a sandbank and broken apart. The survivors were forced onto a makeshift raft, where just fifteen of the original one‑hundred‑and‑fifty managed to cling to life after a harrowing thirteen days at sea. Their account captures the desperation of those adrift, the cruelty of exposure, and the faint hope that rescue might someday arrive.
After the raft’s collapse, the remaining few trekked across the barren desert of Zaara, endured the harsh climate of St. Louis, and found temporary refuge at the camp of Daccard. Interwoven with their personal trials are keen observations of the western African coastline—from Cape Blanco to the Gambia mouth—detailing the region’s agriculture and landscape. The narrative offers both a stark survival story and a vivid snapshot of early‑19th‑century West Africa.
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Full title
Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. to Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia. Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. to Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (433K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2004-04-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
About the authors
Jean Baptiste Henri Savigny
1793–1843
Best remembered as one of the survivors of the wreck of the Méduse, this French naval surgeon turned lived experience into a gripping firsthand account. His writing helped fix one of the 19th century’s most notorious disasters in public memory.
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Alexandre Corréard
1788–1857
Best known as one of the survivors of the wreck of the Méduse, he turned a terrible ordeal into a firsthand account that helped fix the disaster in public memory. His life also ranged far beyond that episode, through engineering, geography, journalism, and publishing.
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