Utile

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john sefton
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Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

Utile

Post by john sefton » Thu Jan 05, 2017 10:48 am

The l’UTILE a fluyt of the French East India Company left Bayonne on 17 November 1760 under command of Captain Jean de La Fargue and 143 crew.

12 April 1761 she arrived at the Ile de France (Mauritius). From Ile de France she was send to Madagascar to buy live oxen, rice and slaves for Mauritius.

23 July 1761 the L’UTILE sails from Foulepointe (Mahavelona), Madagascar bound for Ile de France with on board cargo and also 160 black slaves which were locked up in the hold.

31 July 1761 the L’UTILE grounded on Ile des Sables (today Tromelin) an uninhabited island.

The vessel pounded against the reef until her frames give way and the bow of the ship breaks away around 02.00 a.m.

Daylight comes and the crew realised that they are very near to the beach, some crew during the night were swept away by the breakers and drowned, after daylight the crew were swimming or clinging on some debris and managed to reach the beach. The slaves in the hold had to wait till the hull was breaking up before they also could escape.

Of the 143 crew 21 men drowned, from the 160 slaves only 88 survive. If the oxen have survived, the story did not tell.

Two tent camps were set up one for the crew and one for the slaves.

The crew were aware that nobody would rescue them, far out of the shipping lines and 1st Lieutenant, Barthelemy Castellan du Vernet draws the plans of a boat to leave the island: a flat barge (33,5 feet long, 12 feet wide and 5 feet high), built in 1 month.

September 27th, 1761 about two months after the wrecking, the L’ PROVIDENCE is launched and the 122 crew embarked, due to lack of space the slaves were left behind with food for three months and with the promise that she would be rescued very soon.

Four days later the L’PROVIDENCE arrived in Foulepointe, Madagascar, only one men was lost during the voyage. After arrival there they embarked on the SILHOUETTE and sailed to Port Louis were they arrived on 12 November. After informing the Governor of Ile de France that the L’UTILE was lost, but Governor Antoine Marie Desforges-Boucher refused to send a rescue vessel to Ile des Sables to rescue the slaves.

1775 A passing ship did see the castaways, and in August a rescue vessel the La SAUTERELLE was sent to the island to rescue the slaves, on arrival a canoe was launched but she was lost when passing the reef, one sailor managed to swim back to the La SAUTERELLE the other joined the castaways on the island.

In 1776 two other ships were send but due to bad weather did not land on the island.

The sailor of the La SAUTERELLE tired of waiting left the island with the three last men and three women on a raft, but afterwards nothing has been heard of this people.

Then the Governor of Ile de France Chevalier de Ternay sends the corvette La DAUPHINE under command of Jacques Marie Boudin de la Nuguy (Chevalier de Tromelin) (Lieutenant of the King’s ships).

28 November1776 in the evening the La DAUPHINE is off the island, and a boat and canoe were launched the next morning which land on the west side of the island. In three hours the last slave alive was rescued and safely on board the La DAUPHINE, 7 women and an 8 month old bay was rescued.

29 November 1776 the French flag was hoisted on Ile des Sables and sovereignty claimed for King Louis XVI of France.

After arrival back in Ile de France the 8 slaves were declared free, the little boy, her mother and grandmother were adopted by Jacques Maillard Mesle

Around 1885 Ile des Sables was renamed in Ile de Tromelin.

The stamp shows us the barge L’PROVIDENCE sailing from the island, leaving the slaves behind.

Translated from http://www.taaf.fr/Les-esclaves-oublies-de-Tromelin and http://www.tromelin2014.com/lhistoire-de-tromelin/
Image from http://philatelie.polaire.free.fr/spip.php?article833

Jean-Louis Araignon

Further translation and information from Capt A Palmhof.
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aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Utile

Post by aukepalmhof » Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:46 pm


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