The Raft

The Age of Sail · 2 July 1816

The Raft

A hundred and forty-seven people are towed out to sea, then the rope is cut

On 2 July 1816 the French frigate Méduse drove hard onto a sandbank off the coast of West Africa, in daylight, in calm weather, because the man in command could not do his job.

The full story hangs in the app's archive.