DATELINE: 17 October 2002

SHIPWRECK FIND LEADS TO VERIFICATION OF HISTORIC ADVENTURE

An 18th century sailor's account of being shipwrecked and held captive on the island of Madagascar has been verified by a British archaeologist who discovered the wreckage of his ship.
Robert Drury's journal, published in 1729, detailed his capture, enslavement, and eventual escape from warring tribes on the island of Madagascar.
The book was published shortly after Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe but was much more graphic and violent, describing the slaughter of crewmen, torture and enslavement. It had been dismissed by historical experts as a work of fiction until Sheffield University archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson went to Madagascar and discovered cannon and an anchor from the wreck of Drury's East India Company ship Degrave on the island's reefs.
He subsequently found that place names, descriptions of locations and tribal practices outlined in the book were accurate. Following the account in the book, Pearson was able to dig up the remains of the village where Drury was held captive, demonstrating that Drury's account was largely accurate.
An account of his findings is published in the current issue of British Archaeology, and he has also written a book In Search of the Red Slave about how he investigated Drury's adventures.