On July 31, 1760, L’Utile, a ship of the French East Indian Company loaded with an illegal cargo of ~160 Malagasy slaves, was shipwrecked on a barren, windswept islet now known as Tromelin Island, 500 km east of Madagascar. The French crew, with the help of the surviving Malagasy, built a makeshift boat and set sail for Madagascar 2 months later, leaving behind 60 Malagasy with 3 months’ provisions, a letter recognising their good conduct and the promise that someone would come back for them. Weeks passed, then months, then years. Since 2006, archaeological teams have gone to Tromelin to examine the wreck site and learn about the lives of the marooned Malagasy

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