Medusa Shipwreck (Part 1)
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Abandonment, Raft Ordeal, Rescue, and Aftermath Lead-In
Boats cut the raft loose; lifeboat survivors' trek to shore; the raft's 13-day descent into mutiny, violence, and cannibalism; miraculous rescue by Argus and immediate recovery; preview of part two's aftermath and Gericault.
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The first episode of this two-parter covers the French mission to Senegal that the frigate Medusa led in 1816. Soon, the mission fell disastrously apart.
Research:
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- Barran, Julian. “Théodore Géricault, Illustrations to Alexandre Corréard’s ‘Le Naufrage de La Méduse.’” The Burlington Magazine, vol. 119, no. 889, 1977, pp. 311–310. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/878824
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- Dard, Charlotte Adelaide Picard. “The sufferings of the Picard family after the shipwreck of the Medusa, in the year 1816.” Constable and Co. Edinburgh, Scotland. 1827. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22792/22792-h/22792-h.htm
- Dione, Babacar and Mark Banchereau. “France withdraws from Senegal, ending its permanent military presence in West Africa.” AP. July 17, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/senegal-france-military-withdrawal-57d150687e18cd20ac6a6d7194821208
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Treaties of Paris". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaties-of-Paris-1814-1815
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- Géricault, Théodore. “Cuirassier blessé, quittant le feu.” 1814. Louvre. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010059200
- Géricault, Théodore. “Race of the Riderless Horses.” 1817. Getty Museum. https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RH8
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- “Loss of the French Frigate Medusa.” Hartford Courant. Oct. 29, 1816. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1105494685/?match=1&terms=medusa
- Miles, Jonathan. “The Wreck of the Medusa.” Atlantic Monthly Press. 2007.
- Savigny, Jean Baptiste Henri, and Alexandre Correard. “Narrative of the Voyage to Senegal.” London : Printed for Henry Colburn. 1818. https://archive.org/details/narrativeofvoyag00savirich/page/xiv/mode/2up
- Smith, Roberta. “Art Review: Oui, Art Tips From Perfidious Albion.” New York Times. Oct. 10, 2003. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/10/arts/art-review-oui-art-tips-from-perfidious-albion.html
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