In the summer of 1542, a young French noblewoman named Marguerite de La Rocque stepped off a ship onto a barren, windswept island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. She wasn't there by choice. Her crime? Falling in love with the wrong man.

A Voyage Gone Wrong

Marguerite had joined an expedition to New France led by her relative, Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval—a man described by contemporaries as ruthless and uncompromising. During the voyage, Marguerite began a secret affair with a young man aboard the ship, possibly a sailor or minor nobleman.

When Roberval discovered the relationship, he was furious. Rather than simply punishing her aboard ship, he chose a fate that seemed like certain death: abandonment on what sailors called the "Isle of Demons"—a desolate island believed to be haunted by evil spirits.

Not Entirely Alone—At First

Marguerite wasn't completely abandoned. Her lover managed to join her on the island, either jumping ship or being marooned alongside her. A servant woman named Damienne also stayed with her mistress. The three castaways had:

A few arquebuses (early firearms) and ammunition
Basic provisions that wouldn't last long
Whatever survival skills they could muster

The island offered little comfort—rocky terrain, harsh weather, and the constant threat of wild animals, including bears that reportedly prowled the shores.

Tragedy Upon Tragedy

Within months, Marguerite's lover died, possibly from illness or the brutal conditions. She gave birth to their child on that frozen rock, but the infant didn't survive either. Then Damienne, her last companion, succumbed as well.

Marguerite was utterly alone.

For months, she survived by herself on the island. She hunted, foraged, and reportedly defended herself against wild animals with her firearms. The "demons" that sailors feared? She later claimed they were real, describing terrifying supernatural encounters—though these may have been hallucinations brought on by isolation, grief, and starvation.

Rescue and Return

After approximately two years total on the island, Breton fishermen spotted her and brought her back to France. Her survival story spread quickly, captured in accounts by Queen Marguerite of Navarre and the cosmographer André Thevet.

What happened to Roberval, the man who abandoned her? His colonization attempt failed miserably, and he eventually returned to France in disgrace. He was murdered in Paris around 1560, possibly during religious conflicts.

Marguerite, meanwhile, lived out her days in relative obscurity in France, having survived an ordeal that killed everyone else involved. Her story became one of the earliest European survival tales from the New World—a testament to human resilience born from what was meant to be a death sentence for love.

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