Madagascar

[Daniel]

Just read a little article by James Armstrong, "Madagascar and the Slave Trade in the Seventeenth Century."

Unfortunately, he deliberately skips over most of the pirate period, saying that it has already been adequately covered, but he does give some sources for piracy in Madagascar: H. Deschamps, Les pirates a Madagascar, Paris 1972, M. Brown Madagascar Rediscovered p. 72-91, Jacob Judd, "Frederick Phillipseand the Madagascar Trade," New York Historical Society Quarterly Oct. 1971 p. 354-74, and Virginia Platt, "The East India Company and the Madagascar slave trade" William and Mary Quarterly, XXVI Oct. 1969 p. 548-77.

It notes that a Dutch East India Company ship, the Westerwijk, that picked up slaves at Magelage was captured by pirates in 1686; what happened to the ship afterward is unrecoreded but none of her slave cargo reached their destination (p. 231).

I had previously thought that the pirates chose Madagascar as a base largely because it was an out-of-the-way backwater where they wouldn't be bothered, but I was wrong; Madagascar was a very busy place. The Arabs had been trading for slaves there since before 1613, maybe centuries before; six or seven thousand of the inhabitants of Massailly or Magelage (modern Nosy Antshoheribory in northwest Madagascar) were Muslim. The French had their settlement at Port Dauphin of course, but the English, Dutch and Portuguese also traded for slaves in their own ports. The English had twice tried and failed to colonize the island, in 1644 and 1650.

I was hoping to find something on the routes taken around the Cape of Good Hope to Madagascar; unfortunately there's nothing about that. It does note that the English sailors usually went up through the Mozambique Channel and stopped at Johanna (Anjouan) on their way to Surat or Bombay; as I recall, both Kidd and Avery did precisely that. The Dutch, however, were often at war with the Portuguese, and thus preferred to stay well away from Mozambique; they dropped down into the roaring forties and went to the Indies by routes well to the east of Madagascar. On the way back they came closer to the Madagascar east coast (asnd presumably stopped over often at Mauritius), but still avoided the Mozambique Channel.

[The Island]

Daniel,

Madagascar Rediscovered by Mervyn Brown is a great book if you havent read it do so... I am glancing through Earle's Pirate Wars he mentions Madagascar and St. Mary's Island on a few pages as well. I was assuming too that St. Mary's and Madagascar was a great place also for a pirate haven. Earle was mentioning that most of the pirates left the island with other ships or crews and there was not enough of them to man a ship after time. I thought some members wrote that St. Mary's still can trace some pirate lineage to this day. It doesnt seem a real colony was formed there maybe I'm wrong.

[Fox]

The presence of struggling colonies doesn't necesarily rescue a place from backwater status. Port Dauphin was the only long-term European colony on the largest island in the world and, from the pirates' point of view, who cares about the Arabs?

St Mary's Isle was probably chosen, not just for its remoteness but also because of its very easily defended harbour.

Arne Bialuschewski has published an article on pirates and the Madagascar slave trade.

[Daniel]

The presence of struggling colonies doesn't necesarily rescue a place from backwater status. Port Dauphin was the only long-term European colony on the largest island in the world and, from the pirates' point of view, who cares about the Arabs?

Madagascar's the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. I mention this only because I so very rarely have the opportunity to catch you in an error.

I'm not sure that the pirates cared much about the Arab settlements, but since they preyed on Arab shipping in the Red Sea, I assume it would be important that they not give the Arabs on Madagascar the opportunity to spot their ships being careened or preparing to depart, lest their targets get warning of the pirates' intentions. I would also be curious to know if the Arab shipping to Madagascar itself was ever targeted by pirates.

St Mary's Isle was probably chosen, not just for its remoteness but also because of its very easily defended harbour.

That makes sense.

Arne Bialuschewski has published an article on pirates and the Madagascar slave trade.

Hadn't heard of him before. Are you referring to his article "Pirates, Slavers, and the Indigenous Population in Madagascar, c. 1690-1715"?

Now that I'm looking him up, I see he's published quite a lot about pirates, including something called "Jacobite Pirates?" Is he good?

[Fox]

Madagascar's the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. I mention this only because I so very rarely have the opportunity to catch you in an error.

And Britain, don't forget Britain... must be up there in the top five somewhere...

Hadn't heard of him before. Are you referring to his article "Pirates, Slavers, and the Indigenous Population in Madagascar, c. 1690-1715"?

Yup, that's the one I was thinking of

Now that I'm looking him up, I see he's published quite a lot about pirates, including something called "Jacobite Pirates?" Is he good?

As far as I know he hasn't actually published on Jacobite pirates.

Define good. I don't agree with everything he writes, but then I never agree with anyone on curmudgeonly principal. He is, though, the first person to have brought some (fairly conclusive) documentary evidence to the Johnson identity debate.

[Honour Bright]

Australia is a pretty big island too.

[Daniel]

Australia is a pretty big island too.

I was counting Australia as a continent. If you count it as an island, it's by far the biggest in the world.