Several books have been written about the sinking of L’Utile off Tromelin Island on the night of July 31 to August 1August August 1761, and to the fate of its crew and the its abandoned enslaved people. But, for the first time, an author from the region retells this story from the captives’ perspective… Dominique Bellier
From Bayonne, the Utile had a crew of 142 sailors on board, and then, after illegally taking on board 160 Malagasy men, women, and children at Foulpointe, was transporting them toÎlede France (formerly Mauritius) as slaves. Eighty of the latter survived the shipwreck, and 122 sailors managed to set sail again in a galley built from the wreckage, promising to return to rescue those they had left behind. Fifteen years later, Chevalier Tromelin finally landed to rescue the seven women who had survived, along with a baby. Since the 2006 archaeological excavations, several accounts, novels, and comic books have been published in France.
“I’ve read these books,” Jean-Claude de L’Estrac explains, “but every time, I’ve noticed a flaw…” Slaves exist there only from the moment they are locked in the holds of L’Utile, as if they had previously had no activities, no life, or even no culture of their own. Yet if they managed to survive for years on that sandy islet, it is because they possessed intrinsic qualities that enabled them to build shelters and make objects, and to recreate the conditions necessary for life.”
Published by Le Printemps, *Les fantômes de Tromelin* is unique in that it begins in Madagascar with a credible reconstruction of the lives of Malagasy villagers in Imerina, followed by accounts of the moments when they were rounded up and transported to Foulpointe. This hybrid of novel and historical account recounts the shipwreck, explores its causes, and then details the various stages of survival on the sandy island—this time from the perspective of the captives. Originating from our region, it recounts the entire tragedy, right down to the mistreatment subsequently endured by five female survivors whohad neverthelessbeen declared free in Mauritius. The author has only one regret: not having been able to trace a connection between the families living in Mauritius today and L’Utile, the only ship to have borne that name , whose existence was limited to that fateful end…