The Amazing Story of Jean Baptiste Mouron, Who Served 100 Years in Penal Colony

In 1776, a young man named Jean-Baptiste Mouron was arrested for a series of arsons in the village of Tarazonne near Marseille. At the time of his arrest, the young man was not even seventeen years old. At the trial, the detainee was found guilty and sentenced to hard labor for a term of… “100 years and 1 day”!

Usually, in those days, people in hard labor lasted a maximum of 5-10 years, dying from diseases and the consequences of hard labor. But Jean Baptiste not only survived, serving the entire fantastically long term from bell to bell, but also later was released. Read about his amazing life story below.

It is quite difficult to confirm or deny this story, because it happened a long time ago. However, if you believe the records of the Guinness Book of Records, everything happened as follows... In 1776, a series of fires occurred in the village of Tarazon, for which a 16-year-old teenager was accused. According to local residents, Jean Baptiste Mouron deliberately set fire to the house of his family's enemies. For this, the guy was sentenced to imprisonment for 100 years and 1 day. And the ships of the navy were chosen as the place of serving the sentence.

Penal servitude in France at that time was the most severe punishment: a sentence of hard labor was considered more terrible than death, because in this case death was stretched out for years. Such punishment was given to criminals who committed the most serious crimes.

Most convicts died before their sentences were up, from hunger, cold, disease, the hands of other prisoners or guards. Mouron realized this as soon as he boarded the royal war galley Saint-Michel.

The boy was chained to a bench in the hold along with five other prisoners. Together they had to wield a heavy eleven-meter oar. Those who worked too slowly were whipped. And so that the prisoners did not die in the first days and continued to work, the shifts changed every two hours. However, naturally, no one had time to fully rest during this time.

The food on the ship corresponded to the working conditions. The convicts were fed with crackers, boiled beans, and occasionally rotten meat. It was a real treat to get a piece of cracker soaked in wine. All the prisoners were thin and almost exhausted, some died right while working the oars. In such cases, they were simply replaced by others.

Despite all the difficulties that fell on his shoulders, Jean Baptiste Mouron set a clear goal for himself - to survive in one piece. He tried to conserve his strength, did not engage in clashes with other prisoners and guards, did not miss meals, and spent every free minute sleeping. Jean made notches on the bench with a tin spoon, counting the years he spent in prison. By the time he counted 62, his hair had long since turned gray and his face was covered with deep wrinkles. Baptiste realized that he would soon be 80 years old.

The ship on which Baptiste was serving his sentence dropped anchor in the port of Toulon. From then on, he only occasionally set sail. After some time, Jean Baptiste counted the notches again - 83... So, he was almost 100 years old! At that time, he did not yet know that legends had begun to circulate in the city about the "hundred-year-old galley slave". Rumors about Baptiste even reached the mayor, who was extremely impressed by this story. He wrote a letter to the King of France, Louis XV, asking him to pardon the old man and reduce his remaining prison term. The astonished king immediately signed the agreement, but then something happened that no one expected. Jean Baptiste refused to accept the pardon and firmly declared that he would serve his sentence to the end!

Exactly one hundred years and one day after being sent to hard labor, Jean-Baptiste Mouron received his long-awaited freedom. That day, hundreds of people gathered in the port of Toulon to see the "hundred-year-old convict" with their own eyes. By that time, the old man's arms had almost lost strength, he had become stooped, weak and almost blind, but he had never lost faith.

After his release, he settled in a small room in the attic, located near the ill-fated port. Local residents brought him food and things, talked to him and worried about his health. Once every three or four days, the old man went down to the street and took a short walk. When one day he did not come out for a long time, everyone immediately understood: Jean Baptiste Mouron, free and happy, finally allowed death to take him. At that time, the man was 124 years old.

The gripping tale of the resilient convict Jean Baptiste Mouron seems, at first glance, like an incredible saga of human resilience. But alas, it is nothing more than a long-running internet yarn that began circulating in the early 2000s, particularly on email lists and forums like Skeptics Stack Exchange. It also appeared in Spanish-language publications like El Periódico Extremadura and even on social media sites like Facebook, but none of these sources cite credible historical documentation. Mouron’s story is a classic example of an urban legend that grows more elaborate with each retelling, but fails to stand up to factual scrutiny.

Why can’t this story be true? Firstly, the conditions of galley slavery in the 18th century were so harsh that even a few years at the oars was considered a death sentence. To survive a hundred years in such conditions, and to live to 124 years in an era when the average life expectancy was barely 40, is beyond the realm of possibility. Secondly, the lack of any archival records of Mouron in historical documents in France, such as those of Marseille or Toulon, makes his existence questionable.

What do you think of this story? Do you believe that there could be even a grain of truth in it, or is it just another legend born to be retold? Maybe you have heard similar stories from other eras or countries? Share your thoughts in the comments and let's figure out why such tales settle so firmly in our imagination!