First and only edition of the Dutch translation of an eye-witness account of the disaster that befell the frigate Méduse one of the most infamous shipwrecks of the age of sailing ships. It was also one of the worst examples of leadership in history, where panic drove out every vestige of common sense. Two survivors, J.B.H. Savgny, a surgeon, and Alexander Corréard, a naval officer, wrote a widely read book about the incident, and the episode was immortalized when Théodore Géricault painted "Le radeau de la Méduse" (The raft of the Medusa), which became an iconic artwork of French Romanticism.
The incident quickly became a scandal in French politics and Bourbon officials tried to cover it up. Captain Chaumareys was tried and found guilty of incompetent and complacent navigation and of abandoning the Méduse before all her passengers had been taken off. J.B.H. Savigny and another survivor, the geographer-engineer Alexandre Corréard, subsequently wrote a book with their present account of the incident, first published in French 1817 as Naufrage de la frégate la Méduse. It went through five editions by 1821 and was also published with success in English, German, Dutch and Italian translations.
After the story of the shipwreck the account continues with the description of the circumstances in the Sahara desert, St. Louis and the army camp near Daccard, followed by a review of agricultural reports from the western part of the coast of Africa, from Cap-Blanc to the mouth of the Gambia.
Head of spine slightly rubbed, restorations in some pages, otherwise in good condition. Huntress, Shipwrecks, pp. 103-104, no. 187C.