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The golden age of corsairs and pirates
Coming soon on France 2 and on france.tv
In this new issue of Let yourself be guidedStéphane Bern and Lorànt Deutsch take us on an exceptional new adventure!
For the first time, our two guides take us to discover the Southern Hemisphere, more than 9,000 kilometers from mainland France, on the island of Reunion and Mauritius, to bring back the age of gold of pirates and corsairs. A journey through history and time which will also take them to Brittany, to Saint-Malo, which Louis XIV had made his corsair capital. Who were these adventurers who brought terror to all the seas of the globe between the 17th and 19th centuries? And how did they end up embodying an ideal of equality and freedom? Thanks to the magic of 3D, our two very special guides will bring back places from the past that have now disappeared, and mythical ships, to immerse you in the heart of this incredible story.
Let yourself be guided in the time of corsairs and pirates, like you’ve never seen them before!
3D reconstructions
The attack on the Virgin of the Cape by La Buse : In Saint-Denis de La Réunion, the French pirate Olivier Levasseur, nicknamed La Buse, made history by attacking the flagship of the Portuguese fleet, the Virgin of the Cap. Because on board was the greatest treasure that a pirate had ever laid hands on! Estimated to be worth several billion euros, this treasure has never been found, despite the coded clues that the pirate left before his death. A legend that inspired the famous manga One Piece, and which still inspires treasure hunters around the world today.
The sinking of the Speaker : The Speaker was the very first pirate wreck discovered in the world, in 1979, in the south-east of Mauritius. A first that we owe (cocorico!) to a French team, and which made it possible to bring to the surface hundreds of objects which had been lying at the bottom of the ocean for more than three centuries. They shed light on daily life on board a pirate ship, in which hundreds of sailors were crammed, often embarked for long months at sea. Difficult living conditions which required a well-oiled organization, which was reflected in the layout of the boat.
Port Louis in 1800 : With its aerial metro and its numerous skyscrapers, the capital of Mauritius is today an ultra-modern city. But when the island was still a French colony, the town was best known for being a hideout for corsairs, including the famous Robert Surcouf. Unlike pirates, they were authorized to attack and pillage enemy ships traveling in the Indian Ocean. The goods obtained were then resold, which allowed the development of Port-Louis.
The birthplace of Duguay-Trouin : With Surcouf, René Duguay-Trouin is the other famous privateer from Saint-Malo. Quickly noticed by Louis XIV for his exploits at sea, he joined the royal navy at the age of 23. It was the start of an exceptional career, during which he captured more than 300 enemy boats. A career that he began in the service of his father, himself a privateer. The family then lived in an astonishing house, in the ramparts of Saint-Malo, with architecture inspired by the ships of the time.
The Montmarin shipyard : In Pleurtuit, about ten kilometers from the center of Saint-Malo, there was a gigantic shipyard in the 18th century, from which several hundred ships, notably intended for privateers, emerged. Carpentry, blacksmithing, glassworks, sculpture workshop but also making sails and ropes: here boats were built from A to Z, in dry dock. However, today, nothing remains of this impressive construction site, witness to the glory days of the corsairs, but also to their disappearance in the middle of the 19th century.
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