The French Promise: The Isle of Slaves -- Tromelin

Originally, the ship L’Utile was a British Royal Navy vessel. Some time before 1760 the ship was sold to the French East India Company. The L’Utile was acquired for the purpose of conducting trade in the Mascarene Islands, well east of Africa in the Indian Ocean.

The L’Utile provisioned and sailed from Bayonne, France, on November 17, 1760. It made its way south, around Africa, then north to Madagascar. In Madagascar slaves were purchased illegally. The French finally abolished slavery by decree in 1748, but slaves were purchased for slave trading in Madagascar, by the French East India Company, owners of the L’Utile . These slaves were destined for Mauritius, in the Mascarene islands area. While enroute, the slave carrying ship, L’Utile, shipwrecked on July 31, 1761 on the isle de Sable (now Tromelin island) while carrying their illegal cargo of African slaves to Mauritius.

[Image: Wikipedia]

Although there is now regrowth of larger plants on the island, it is very possible and likely the island had many more palm trees once -- 247 years ago. Now, the palms are retaking the island, but as the satellite picture shows not a great many palms are evident. Any place where humans are not resupplied for very long and there is a need for fire -- that place is stripped of anything that can burn, and whatever it is that will burn, is burned. The palms will eventually grow back. This island is barely one square kilometer in area. Of course some of the wreckage of the ship, the L’Utile, was also burned over the 15 years that the island was occupied by the ship-wrecked and abandoned slaves.

[Image: www . traveljournals. net ]

One account, says the French East India Companies surviving crew of 122 men built a raft and set off from Tromelin island for Madagascar with the promise to return.

The French crew did build a raft and set off for Madagascar. It was blessed by the ship's clergyman and named the Providence

The number of slaves left on the island depends on which account you read, and believe. The numbers you will encounter do not jibe well with and among the various accounts. The log of the ship L’Utile survived and was carried on the raft, Providence where in the log stated that 53 people died in the shipwreck and shortly thereafter. Apparently 60 slaves were left on the island.

In any event, the L’Utile’s crew left all the slaves on the island with a three-month supply of food, and the “promise”, a French promise, that they would return as soon as possible for them. The raft probably would not carry the three month supply of food left to the slaves -- and there was "surely" a French-intent to return to rescue their valuable slave cargo.

What happened on the island of slaves is not well known, but the French have in the last several years mounted an archeological expedition and is uncovering remains and ruins from the time the slaves of Tromelin lived alone awaiting rescue.

The main thing that allowed the crew and survivors to live was the water well dug before the completion of the raft to sail for Madagascar leaving the the slaves behind. Building the raft and preparing to leave took two months. Fresh water rains onto and into the island and forms a reservoir which allowed enough water for survival.

And the abandoned slaves had been given a promise that somehow the French would come back for them . . .

A promise is a promise.

The ‘Promise’ was not kept. Fifteen years later, on the 29th day of November, 1776, the Knight of Tromelin, the commander of the corvette La Dauphine, sailed to the island and rescued the eight surviving slaves. The survivors consisted of seven women and an infant of only 8 months age.

The rescued women were given their freedom and vanished, some accounts say back on Madagascar. Before they were freed and lost to history, the women told their rescuers that they had kept a "fire burning" continuously for the entire 15 years.

The recent French expedition stated that the residue they recovered in October and November 2006 supports the contention of a continuously buring fire. (When some women or woman tells you guys, they got a fire burning for you -- believe them, they very likely do. . .)

In October and November 2006 the French visited again. The website below has a diary of the visit, a recent French diary. The site below has both French and English versions.

http://www.archeonavale.org/Tromelin.

Surely they will publish something professionally archeological, so keep looking for it.

=================================

I wanted to remark here that the "Knight" of Tromelin may have "heard" of the marooned slaves or may have been part of the business of the French East India Company, but whatever, he was the one who rescued the slaves.

There was an Evil Governor involved, who refused to send a crew to rescue the slaves. The account exists in manuscript form in France, but was never pubilished.

I also want to remark, and ask a question for the readers to think about. This is great material for any number of stories, and this has a solid historical foundation, and not much else. . .meaning well, take it where you will. . .since it is not too constrained by what is known.

What happened in the few months before rescue? An eight month old infant probably had a 'father'. Was there a male 'father' killed by the "knight's" men, by the rescuers? During the "rescue?"

Or was the father of the child a visitor boating by, stopped off for a conjugal visit, and on his way somewhere at some next dawn?

Was the father killed by natural means; shark, drowned fishing, killed by some critter? Or by the women survivors (Just like one of them Survivor shows! You know? Where the women team up and vote the guy 'Off'? Figuratively.)

Well, ladies and gentlemen, writers all! Shall we see a short or a long novel -- built on a one square kilometer island with turtle breakfasts and lunch and dinner fish and evening birds for food? Finally, after 5600 days, there are left seven women. Those women were somehow supported by a 1 square kilometer island in a tropical sea. And where did the heroines go? Or were they heroines? These may not have been beautiful hollywood women, and they may have been.

But one thing we know for sure is that they were tough survivor types. . .Did these women know what men tasted like? I wonder what happend to the rescued child's father. Did they eat each other? Even Tom Hanks had a bigger island . . .

5600 days, and 16,800 meals with many "dishes" or meals made with turtle? To cook they had to keep the fire going. . . That was probably a major job. . .After you burn the wood from the wrecked ship, you scour the islands shore for drift and you might eventually burn grass as it were.

After 3 months, 4 months, six months, a year. . .when do you give up faith in the French Promise (nice title, huh?) and then realize they will never return? Long before that time, you may have to make hard decisions. . .allocate labor, work together. Okay? Seven women did.

Pay attention class!!

Your next weeks assignment is to tell us about this place. . .and what happened. Questions?

Okay. The final question: Which is better? A French
Promise? Or a French Kiss?

2008, November 10, update:

Much more is available but salt should be taken before accepting it as the factual accounting -- and there are several such on the web today, unlike when I originally researched this slave episode:

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=26887&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

I will not rewrite the original posting by modify it here to state that the survivors were taken to Mauritius -- and genealogical research is now being conducted to learn more of the story.

In the latest research
See this English translation of the current French work, a work still now in progress!

http://www.archeonavale.org/Tromelin/2008/en/

This may help you formulate a mental picture of your characters and their circumstances. . .

I now still and forever will wonder what happened to the child's father. . . Maybe the ship's records from the rescue by the Knight of Tromelin would tell the facts, or more of them, were they recovered?

Lost to history?

Ah, what kind of writer are you?

Tell us your version of the story of the slaves survival. . .