Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Podcast
Tales of mishaps. misfortune, and misadventures
Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs
Painting of many people suffering any dying on a small wooden raft.

The Raft of the Medusa

Part 1

Part 2

The French frigate Medusa shipwreck is one of the most infamous maritime disasters in history, occurring in 1816 off the coast of present-day Mauritania. The ship, intended to transport French officials to Senegal, ran aground on the Arguin Bank due to the incompetence of its captain, Viscount Hugues de Chaumareys and an arrogant passenger Antoine Richefort, who convinced Chaumareys he was a skilled, experienced navigator. The evacuation of the vessel was chaotic and poorly managed, resulting in the abandonment of over 147 passengers on a crude, makeshift raft. The survivors endured a harrowing ordeal of starvation, dehydration, and cannibalism during their 13-day drift before rescue, with only 15 out of the 147 surviving.

The aftermath of the Medusa shipwreck sparked public outrage in France, leading to a sensational trial and widespread condemnation of the ship’s officers and government officials involved. Théodore Géricault, a French artist, famously depicted the tragedy in his painting “The Raft of the Medusa,” capturing the despair and horror experienced by the survivors. The disaster highlighted systemic issues within the French naval administration, including nepotism and incompetence, prompting reforms in naval recruitment and training practices.

A transcript of Part 1 is available here >>

A transcript of Part 2 is available here >>

Original theme music by Sean Sigfried.

Gallery

An illustration of the French sailing vessel Medusa at sea, at full sail.
Illustration of the Medusa. Jean-Jérôme Baugean – Relation complète du naufrage de la frégate La Méduse faisant partie de l’expédition du Sénégal en 1816, by A. Correard, H. Savigny, D’Anglas de Praviel and Paul C.L. Alexandre Rand des Adrets (dit Sander Rang).
Illustration of the Medusa after it grounded on the Arguin Bank.
Illustration of the Medusa after it grounded on the Arguin Bank.
Engraving depicting one of the bloody battles fought on the Raft of the Medusa. Charles Philibert de Lasteyrie after Hippolyte Lecomte, 1818.
A crude wooden raft with a single sail.
A scale model recreation of the raft of the Medusa, at Musée national de la Marine de Rochefort. 147 people were crammed on to the raft.
A sketch of the layout of the raft of the Medusa.
Plan du Radeau de la Méduse, au moment de son abandon (“Plan of the Raft of the Medusa at the moment of its abandonment”), frontispiece to Naufrage de la frégate Méduse[9] by Alexandre Corréard and Jean-Baptiste Henri Savigny.
Map showing the path of the Medusa and its boats.
The path taken by the Medusa and Echo, and subsequently the raft and the Medusa’s boats.
A satellite image of Western Africa showing the location of the Arguin Bank, the settlement of Saint Louis, and the vast desert.
A satellite image of Western Africa showing the location of the Arguin Bank, the settlement of Saint Louis, and the vast desert.
Portrait of a noble man in opulent dress.
Viscount Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys.
Photo of small resin-like pieces of gum arabic.
Acacia gum, or gum arabic is a highly prized extract from the Acacia Senegal tree.
Painting of many people suffering any dying on a small wooden raft.
Le Radeau de la Méduse (The Raft of the Medusa) (1819) by Théodore Géricault.

Sources