{"id":3855,"date":"2020-11-23T13:03:51","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T12:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/?post_type=documentaire&#038;p=3855"},"modified":"2021-12-08T07:20:02","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T06:20:02","slug":"malagasy-slave-trade-in-bourbon-island","status":"publish","type":"documentaire","link":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/documentaires\/the-slave-trade\/the-origin-of-the-slaves-on-bourbon-island\/malagasy-slave-trade-in-bourbon-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Malagasy slave trade in Bourbon Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>The islands of Bourbon and Madagascar have been connected since the French first appeared in the Indian Ocean. In fact, just twenty years after taking possession of Fort Dauphin in 1643, the French settled in Bourbon<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9484545873687473\" aria-label=\"Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Barassin, Naissance d\u2019une chr\u00e9tient\u00e9 : Bourbon des origines jusqu\u2019en 1714, Saint Denis, Impr. Cazal, 1953, 448 p. (18-42).\">&nbsp;<\/span>. The latter served as a refuge for survivors of the massacre of the French colony of Fort Dauphin in 1674<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.3103954709099258\" aria-label=\"Pier M. Larson, \u00ab Colonies Lost: God, Hunger, and Conflict in Anosy (Madagascar) to 1674 \u00bb, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 27 (2), 2007, p. 345-366.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/h2>\n<div style=\"width: 525px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-3855-1\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Thiebaut_Eng_sub.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Thiebaut_Eng_sub.mp4\">https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Thiebaut_Eng_sub.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>The island remained rather isolated, only sporadically visited by pirates<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5379794537154005\" aria-label=\"Arne Bialuschewski, \u00ab Pirates, slavers, and the indigenous population in Madagascar, c. 1690-1715 \u00bb, International Journal of African Historical Studies, 38 (3), 2005, p. 401-425 (415-416).\">&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Capture.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3955 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Capture.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"412\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Capture.jpg 412w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Capture-300x93.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\" \/><\/a>. who, based in Madagascar, would often bring small groups of slaves with them. To put a stop to their plundering, Louis XIV offered an amnesty to Bourbon, while at the same time prohibiting all trade with the pirates<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.11821406325919392\" aria-label=\"Louis XIV, Ordinance, s.l., 15.01.1711. Pallas, M\u00e9moire, s.l., 02.04.1726. National Overseas Archives (ANOM), Colonies (COL), C2\/17, f. 99-101; C3\/31, p. 1; Desmini\u00e8res-Montreuil, Demande, s.l., 1716; Burke, M\u00e9moire, s.l., 1724. Archives nationales (AN), Marine (MAR), B1\/4, f. 56; B3\/295, f. 47; Grossier, M\u00e9moire sur Madagascar, n.d.n.l. Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (AMAE), 8MD3, f. 217-234. In 1711, 29 out of 109 household heads in Bourbon were former pirates, Haudr\u00e8re, 2005, II, 656.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Robert Bousquet states that 423 slaves baptised between 1696 and 1718, most of them brought in by pirates from Madagascar<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7657259285000381\" aria-label=\"Robert Bousquet, 2011, Les esclaves et leurs ma\u00eetres \u00e0 Bourbon, au temps de la Compagnie des Indes, 16651767, http:\/\/www.reunion-esclavage-traite-noirs-neg-marron.com\/, consulted on 05.05.2014, I, 70-80 &amp; 101; Journal de Bourbon, 18.09.1705. Public Library of New York, 1909..\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2581\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2581\" style=\"width: 2800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1FI14-carte-de-madagascar.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-2581\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2581 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1FI14-carte-de-madagascar.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2800\" height=\"1815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1FI14-carte-de-madagascar.jpg 2800w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1FI14-carte-de-madagascar-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1FI14-carte-de-madagascar-768x498.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1FI14-carte-de-madagascar-1024x664.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2581\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of the Island of Madagascar, also known as Madecasse and S. Laurens, and today Isle Dauphine with the Cofala and Mozambican coasts in Africa. Pierre Duval, Geographer 1666. Print.<br \/>Collection of the Departmental archives of Reunion Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The history of the slave trade<\/h3>\n<p>The French slave trade in Bourbon did not really begin until the 1710s. First of all, coffee was introduced and then, in 1715, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation2-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3957 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"71\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation2-1.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation2-1-300x67.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/a>the French recovered Mauritius, which had been abandoned by the Dutch for five years. In order to provide a workforce for the coffee plantations, a slave expedition was sent in 1718, resulting in the Courrier de Bourbon bringing in 46 Malagasy slaves<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.654949435068919\" aria-label=\"Dufour's report to the Council of Bourbon, 04.02.1719. Departmental Archives of Reunion (ADLR), C\u2070 1386bis.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2617\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2617\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Rosemont_-_La_culture_du_caf\u00e9_\u00e0_l\u00eele_Bourbon-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-2617\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2617\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Rosemont_-_La_culture_du_caf\u00e9_\u00e0_l\u00eele_Bourbon-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Rosemont_-_La_culture_du_caf\u00e9_\u00e0_l\u00eele_Bourbon-1.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Rosemont_-_La_culture_du_caf\u00e9_\u00e0_l\u00eele_Bourbon-1-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2617\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coffee growing on Bourbon Island. Jean Joseph Patu de Rosemont. C. 1800. Watercolour.<br \/>Collection Quai Branly Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The following year, the French East Indies Company was re-established, resulting in regular trade between Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. Between 1725 and 1735, Robert Bousquet estimates that 4,123 Malagasy slaves were imported, which represents just over 400 per year, or two thirds of the total number of slaves introduced<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.1477134033848696\" aria-label=\"Bousquet, 2011, I, 153.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Bourbon then received the majority of the slaves, until the arrival of La Bourdonnais.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/documentaires\/la-traite-des-esclaves\/origine-des-esclaves-de-bourbon-2\/traite-des-esclaves-malgaches-a-bourbon\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2549\">Number of maritime expeditions from Madagascar to Bourbon (1721-1736)<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2549\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"467\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-1-1.jpg 467w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-1-1-300x146.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 467px) 100vw, 467px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>From 1735 onwards, maritime activities were increasingly shifted to Isle de France (today Mauritius), and Bourbon\u2019s role became secondary, subordinate to Port-Louis. Archived documents are scarce and there is little information concerning this period up to the 1760s. However, this did not mean that slaves were no longer going to Bourbon. On the contrary, the slave population was larger than in Isle de France and remained so until the beginning of the 19th century.<br \/>\nWhen the French East Indies Company went bankrupt in 1767, maritime trade across the Indian Ocean opened up to all French citizens. This resulted in a slave trade dominated by private merchants. Certainly, Port-Louis dominated maritime trade, and the non-existence of \u2018arrival declarations\u2019 for Saint-Denis or Saint-Paul further highlight this. For most of the 18th century, Bourbon Island (where very few merchants settled) was therefore dependent on Isle de France<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.7350024639964322\" aria-label=\"Henri Prentout, 1901, L'\u00eele de France sous Decaen, Paris, Hachette, 295; Auguste Toussaint, 1969, Le mirage des \u00eeles. French trade in the Mascarene Islands in the 18th century based on correspondence of Jean-Baptiste PIPON, a merchant from Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, EDISUD, 22.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. However, 180 expeditions to Bourbon were recorded, most of which took place before 1735 or after 1767, half of them in the early 19th century<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9209202996714728\" aria-label=\"Noted by Wanquet for arrivals to Reunion from Madagascar between July 1795 and June 1796. Claude<br \/>\nWanquet, 1982, Histoire d'une R\u00e9volution: La R\u00e9union 1789-1803, vol. II, Marseille, Jeanne Lafitte, 404.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. It should also be noted that the same number (and probably more) of these expeditions from Madagascar carried onwards to Port-Louis after having stopped off in Bourbon Island<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2766937432698203\" aria-label=\"See for example: Arrival Declaration of the Felix, North-west Port, 24 brumaire Year XIII (15.11.1804). Mauritius National Archives (MNA), GB\/26, #327.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3977 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"432\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-3.jpg 432w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-3-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" \/><\/a>It is therefore possible that some slaves disembarked and others embarked. Like Baker and Corne, we find it very difficult to determine on which island the captives were landed, especially given the slave cabotage between Bourbon and Isle de France<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.4605370408072079\" aria-label=\"Philip Baker &amp; Chris Borne, 1982, Isle de France Creole: affinities and origins, Ann Arbor, Karoma, 187 -192; Wanquet, 1980, I, 48. In two months, 203 slaves were sent from Bourbon to Isle de France. \u2018Anonymous\u2019, \u00c9tat des noirs envoy\u00e9s \u00e0 l'\u00eele de France du 27.09 au 27.11.1781, s.d.n.l. ADLR, 17C, s.f. \">&nbsp;<\/span>. It is also worth remembering Bourbon\u2019s role as a place to replenish stocks on the way to Madagascar.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/documentaires\/la-traite-des-esclaves\/origine-des-esclaves-de-bourbon-2\/traite-des-esclaves-malgaches-a-bourbon\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2553\">Number of maritime expeditions from Madagascar to Bourbon (1767-1810)<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"531\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-2.jpg 531w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/nombre-d-expedition-maritimes-2-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After the Revolution, the relationship with mainland France became somewhat fractured, especially in connection with the abolition of slavery by the National Assembly in 1794. The Mascarene Islands became almost independent, ruled by their respective colonial assemblies. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3963 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"449\" height=\"243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-4.jpg 449w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-4-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 449px) 100vw, 449px\" \/><\/a>Even if slavery had not been not abolished, changes were felt. At the same time, the slave trade was abolished by decree of the Colonial Assembly on Isle de France <span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6885004779239017\" aria-label=\"Letter to the Public Safety Committee, s.l., 14 pluvi\u00f4se Year III (02.02.1795). MNA, D\/63, s.f.; Registry of the Supreme Court of Isle de France, Decree, Port-Louis, 7th day of the 2nd month Year III. T. Bonnefoy, 1853, Alphabetical and analytical general table for use in research to be carried out at the Registry of the Supreme Court of Mauritius (1722-1850), Mauritius, L. Channell; Wanquet, 1982, II, 342-344.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. This prohibition does not seem to always be respected, even if some were tried and found guilty of this. The slaves who disembarked by Martineau on board the Jean Bart were sent to Madagascar<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9865165995634844\" aria-label=\"Wanquet, 1982, II, 332 &amp; 342-343.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. However, many slaves were brought in, as in October 1796, when hundreds of Malagasy slaves were brought into Reunion illegally<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.174652881461686\" aria-label=\"Letter from the Public Safety Committee, s.l., 26 vend\u00e9miaire An V (17.10.1796). ADLR, L\/63, s.f.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The first decade of the 19th century was marked by continued interactions with Madagascar. There were many important events such as renewed trade with France following the restoration of slavery by Bonaparte in 1802 and the arrival of Captain General Decaen in the Mascarene Islands the following year. The growing threat of privateers led to Bonaparte Island falling to the English in July 1810.<\/p>\n<h3>The specific features of the slave trade<\/h3>\n<p>For many reasons, the slave trade in Madagascar was very different to that in the Caribbean and East Africa. First of all, shipments to Madagascar not only brought back slaves, but also food. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3965 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-5.jpg 355w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-5-300x153.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\" \/><\/a>Allen highlighted the variety of cargoes and Toussaint noted the importance of plant and animals too (341 and 181 loads respectively)<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6125683705423861\" aria-label=\"Richard B. Allen, 2008, \u2018The constant demand of the French: The Mascarene Slave Trade and the World of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries\u2019, Journal of African History, 49 (1), p. 43-73: 64; 64 ; Auguste Toussaint, 1967, \u2018La route des Iles : contribution \u00e0 l'histoire maritime des Mascareignes\u2019, Paris, S.E.V.P.E.N., 492; Gilbert Ratsivalaka, 1995, Madagascar dans le sud-ouest de l\u2019oc\u00e9an Indien (circa 1500-1824) pour une r\u00e9lecture de l\u2019histoire de Madagascar, 2 vols, University of Nice, I, 393-395.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. These merchant ships therefore carried slaves, cattle and rice, which limited the space reserved for slaves.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2555\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2555\" style=\"width: 768px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Interieur-d-un-navire-negrier.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-2555\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2555 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Interieur-d-un-navire-negrier.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Interieur-d-un-navire-negrier.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Interieur-d-un-navire-negrier-300x173.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2555\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside a slave ship. Lasteryrie, Charles Philibert. 1759. Lithography.<br \/>In Faits relatifs \u00e0 la traite des Noirs, Impr. de Crapelet, 1826.<br \/>Collection of Departmental Archives of Reunion Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In fact, it\u2019s important to take into account this variety of cargoes, which was the case for Madagascar and everywhere else across the Indian Ocean<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.16477034081144826\" aria-label=\"Richard B. Allen, 2015, European Slave trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500-1850, Athens, Ohio University Press. 14 ; Jane L. Hooper &amp; David Eltis, 2013, \">&nbsp;<\/span>. And even if Bourbon was considered as the food store of the Mascarene Islands, it was never protected from famine due to locusts, cyclones and droughts<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2540142493244848\" aria-label=\"Prosper \u00c8ve, 1992, Ile \u00e0 peur. La peur redout\u00e9e ou r\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9e \u00e0 la R\u00e9union des origines \u00e0 nos jours, Saint-Andr\u00e9, Oc\u00e9an \u00c9ditions, 161 ; Richard B. Allen, 2006, \u00ab The Mascarene Slave-Trade and Labour Migration in the Indian Ocean during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries \u00bb in G. Campbell (dir.), The Structure of Slavery in Indian Ocean, Africa and Asia, New York, Frank Cass Publishers, p. 33-50: 37 ; Robert R. Kuczynski, 1949, Demographic Survey of the British Colonial Empire, 3 vol., Londres, Oxford University Press, 873.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. As a result, the islands found themselves in a state of continual famine and regular deliveries of food were essential to ward off famine<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5386509908909973\" aria-label=\" Rafa\u00ebl Thiebaut, 2017, \u00ab An informal French-Dutch Alliance: Trade and Diplomacy between the Cape Colony and the Mascarenes, 1719-1769 \u00bb, Journal of Indian Ocean World Studies, vol. 1.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Madagascar\u2019s role as a provider of rice and beef remained vital: each year, this represented several thousand oxen and hundreds of pounds of rice.<\/p>\n<p>The authorities on Bourbon also organised and encouraged expeditions to obtain rice and oxen, particularly from the 1790s onwards<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.918079778168371\" aria-label=\"Wanquet, 1982, II, 31 ; 274 &amp; 282.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. The colonial assembly of Reunion recruited an agent to supervise its commercial relations to compete with Isle de France<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.37530427966012014\" aria-label=\"Wanquet, 1982, II, 291-295.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. For example, it was recorded in 1794 that ship-owner Martineau sold the <em>Jean Bart <\/em>to a merchant called Dancla who wanted to send it to Madagascar to supply the island with rice and other commodities<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.3537701051302691\" aria-label=\"Letter from Roubaud &amp; Chanvalon, St. Denis, 07.08.1794. ADLR, L\/87, s.f.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. It returned with 72 black slaves<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.44015858528171403\" aria-label=\"Martineau, Declaration about the Jean Bart, s.l., 15 pluvi\u00f4se Year III. ADLR, L\/330, s.f.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Inventory of vessels entering the ports St. Denis and St. Paul<br \/>\nbetween 01.04.1807 and 31.03.1808<\/p>\n<table width=\"680\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><strong>Ship<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\"><strong>Capitain<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\"><strong>Location<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"104\"><strong>Arrival<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"227\"><strong>Cargo<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Action<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Bouton<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Tamatave<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">04.05.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">1,175 bags of rice &amp; 68 slaves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Grappler<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Ripaud<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Fort Dauphin<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">10.06.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">1,074 bags of rice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Marie Jeanne<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Mamet<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Foulpointe<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">11.06.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Various goods<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Charlotte<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Macquet<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">07.06.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">160,000 rice &amp; 9 new blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Lucie<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">La Vigne<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">22.06.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">16 vedelles, blacks &amp; 100 bags of rice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Grappler<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Ripaud<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">10.08.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Rice &amp; blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Union<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Oxnard<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">21.08.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Rice &amp; blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Marie Jeanne<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Mamet<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">24.08.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Rice, turtles &amp; blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Cr\u00e9ole<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Nepveu<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">09.07.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Rice, corn &amp; blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Eug\u00e9nie<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Barbarin<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">19.07.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">120,000 rice &amp; 23 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Caroline<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Gueuzenec<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">19.07.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">1,100 bags of rice &amp; 196 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Lucie<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Deschamps Lami<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Foulpointe<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">05.08.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">100 blacks &amp; 80 bags of rice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Minerve<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Couacoud<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">30.08.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">300 bags of rice &amp; 120 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Providence<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Dupuis<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">30.08.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">42 vedelles, 600,000 rice &amp; 120 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Union<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Fournier<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">06.09.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">3,777 bags of rice &amp; 47 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Union<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Oxnard<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">18.09.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">3,500 bags of rice &amp; 47 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Lucie<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Le Poigneur<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">23.09.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">1,500 bags of rice &amp; 16 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Caroline<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Gueuzenec<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">17.01.1808<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">3,190 rice bags, 6 blacks &amp; 3 pieces rabanes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>Malouin<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">G\u00e9rois<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">17.02.1808<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">17 blacks, rice, ropes, rolls of copper and wire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Jeune Claire<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">L\u2019Hermitte<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">04.02.1808<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">1,050 bags of rice &amp; blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Lucie<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Le Poigneur<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">23.10.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Rice &amp; blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Providence<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Dupuy<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Foulpointe<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">28.10.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Rice &amp; blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Caroline<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Gueuzenec<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Tamatave<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">11.12.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">Rice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Louis<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Bury<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">15.10.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">900 bags of rice &amp; 59 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Amiti\u00e9<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Pinot<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">20.10.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">166 oxen, 400 bags of rice &amp; 14 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Union<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Oxnard<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Foulpointe<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">19.11.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">600 bags, 58 Blacks &amp; 12 quarts of salted meat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Amiti\u00e9<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Pinot<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Foulpointe<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">25.11.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">6,670 bags of rice, 17 blacks &amp; 25 oxen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Marie Jeanne<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Gontier<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">01.12.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">5, 000 turtles, 26 Blacks, 10 000 rice &amp; 2000 rolls of wire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Jeune Claire<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Boudet<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Tamatave<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">10.12.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">400 bags of rice, 20 black &amp; 1 quart of salted meat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Union<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Oxnard<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Foulpointe<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">11.12.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">3,000 bags of rice &amp; 7 blacks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Lucie <\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Le Poigneur<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Tamatave<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">11.12.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">900 bags of rice &amp; 20 quart of salted meat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Union<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Cousinery<\/td>\n<td width=\"113\">Madagascar<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">20.12.1807<\/td>\n<td width=\"227\">15 blacks, 450 turtles, 1 ox, 6 goats &amp; 300 boards<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Source: \u2018Anonymous\u2019, Inventory of vessels entering the ports of Saint-Denis and Saint-Paul, 01.04.1807-31.03.1808.<br \/>\nANOM, COL, C3\/27, f. 290.<\/p>\n<p>The table above demonstrates just how the slave trade in Madagascar was intertwined with the commerce of food in Reunion Island. 32 ships from Madagascar brought in at least 885 blacks, but also 29,716 bags and 890,000 pounds of rice. The number of slaves per expedition was therefore quite limited, with an average of 44 per expedition between 1807 and 1808. But ships varied greatly in their numbers: 79 slaves on the Union and 9 on Princess Charlotte.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3967 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"397\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-6.jpg 397w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-6-300x181.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 397px) 100vw, 397px\" \/><\/a>Another peculiarity of the slave trade in Madagascar was fraud. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, expeditions to Madagascar could be carried out quickly, which favoured illicit activity. On top of that, profits were considerable: a slave would be sold in Reunion with a 200% profit margin, and in one trip they could earn around 6,000 pounds <span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.8521916982125076\" aria-label=\"Lettre de La Motte, \u00eele de France, 01.04.1754. Revue historique et litt\u00e9raire de l\u2019\u00eele Maurice, 5 (20), 18.10.1891, 231-235 ; Lettre de Rose \u00e0 Courtoys, \u00eele de France, 01.09.1753. B\u00e9atrice de Boisanger &amp; Bernard de La Bourdonnaye-Blossac, 2008, Fortune des Isles. Lettres et souvenirs de l\u2019Isle de France, La Rochelle, La D\u00e9couvrance, 45-53.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. In 1756, Magon explained that, of the 1,500 slaves brought to Isle de France over the previous three years, only 100 were landed legally &#8211; \u201c<em>the rest were smuggled in via the Company&#8217;s vessels, which for their part only carried a very small number of slaves, a few beasts &amp; a little rice<\/em><span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.32741647118946293\" aria-label=\"Letter from Magon to the Directors, Ile de France, 07.01.1756. ANOM, COL, C4\/9, s.f.\">&nbsp;<\/span>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even though this infamous crossing was quick (just one to two weeks from Madagascar, compared to three to six months across the Atlantic), this did not mean reduced mortality rates. Over fifteen shipments, a mortality rate of rate of 8% was observed, compared to 12 to 15% for transatlantic slave ships<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.588027800159274\" aria-label=\"David Eltis &amp; David Richardson, 2010, Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, New Haven, Yale University Press, 175.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3969 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"297\" height=\"224\" \/><\/a>This rather high rate can be explained by the presence of malaria along the Malagasy coastline, which affected Malagasy slaves brought to the coast from further inland. On the other hand, their shared Malagasy language possibly increased the willingness of the Malagasy slaves on board to give armed resistance, with 24 recorded mutinies and a rate that could be double that of the transatlantic slave trade<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6889279554361211\" aria-label=\"Thiebaut 2020.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The last decade of the 18th century also saw the development of another phenomenon: the transit of East African captives via Madagascar to the Mascarene Islands<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.8869319776991694\" aria-label=\"Letter from Benyowsky to Des Assises, s.l., 28.11.1774; \u2018Anonymous\u2019, Inventaire g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des vivres, munitions et autres effets de traite, existant dans les magasins du Roi a Foulpointe, s.l., 04.06.1779. ANOM, COL, C5A\/5, p. 20 &amp; 154; Mayeur, M\u00e9moire commercial, politique et historique, Flacq, 01.11.1807. Caen Municipal Library (BMC), fonds Decaen\/101, f. 33-38.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Before, slaves bought in Madagascar were practically all from the island itself. But numbers were not sufficient to satisfy the huge demand for slaves coming from the French in the Mascarene Islands. This is when Moorish Chelingues or Arabs from Kilwa and Zanzibar started to send \u2018caffres\u2019 off to the north-west coast of Madagascar: \u201cthey sold them to the natives who would make them work on the land\u201d<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6404167096163832\" aria-label=\"\u2018Anonymous\u2019, M\u00e9moire sur Madagascar, n.d.n.l. British Library (BL), Additional Manuscripts (AM)\/18126, f.30 .\">&nbsp;<\/span> \u00bb. These East African slaves were then sold to French merchants to be transported to the Mascarene Islands<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.8455879325588911\" aria-label=\"Lettre from Roux to Decaen, Tamatave, 20.07.1808. BMC, Decaen\/102, f. 235-238 ; \u2018Anonymous\u2019, Etat des noirs et n\u00e9gresses appartenant au roi, qui ont \u00e9t\u00e9 envoy\u00e9s \u00e0 Madagascar, s.l., 23.08.1774. ANOM, COL, C5A\/4, p. 83.<br \/>\nBenyowsky, Administration de l\u2019\u00e9tablissement de Madagascar, Antongil, 23.09.1776. AN, M\/1031, s.f.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<br \/>\nThis number could have been very high, but it is still difficult to distinguish between Malagasy and \u2018Mozambicans\u2019<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.587501426408244\" aria-label=\" In the Mascarene Islands, the Mozambique caste included at least 13 different ethnic groups. Gwyn Campbell, 2008, 'The African-Asian Diaspora: Myth or Reality' in Angenot, J.-P. &amp; S. de Silva Jayasuriya (eds.), Uncovering the history of Africans in Asia, Leiden, Brill, pp. 37-56. For example: Arrival Declaration of the Caroline, Port Napol\u00e9on, 02.08.1807. MNA, GB\/26, #877.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2561\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2561\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/115FIP.34-capture-dun-b\u00e2timent-n\u00e9grier-sur-la-c\u00f4te-occidentale-de-Madagascar2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-2561\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2561 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/115FIP.34-capture-dun-b\u00e2timent-n\u00e9grier-sur-la-c\u00f4te-occidentale-de-Madagascar2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/115FIP.34-capture-dun-b\u00e2timent-n\u00e9grier-sur-la-c\u00f4te-occidentale-de-Madagascar2.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/115FIP.34-capture-dun-b\u00e2timent-n\u00e9grier-sur-la-c\u00f4te-occidentale-de-Madagascar2-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/115FIP.34-capture-dun-b\u00e2timent-n\u00e9grier-sur-la-c\u00f4te-occidentale-de-Madagascar2-768x527.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2561\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Capture of a slave ship on the west coast of Madagascar. M. H.-J. Ray. [1857-1938]. Print.<br \/>Collection of Departmental archives of Reunion Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The situation in Bourbon<\/h3>\n<p>The number of slaves continued to increase until 1810. This population also rebelled against their colonial masters, giving rise to repeated escapes. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3971 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"305\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-8.jpg 305w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-8-300x244.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/><\/a>With its particularly mountainous interior, this was a particularly persistent problem in Bourbon<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.3146717752274546\" aria-label=\"Wanquet, 1984, III, 117-121.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Resulting from this, some escaped slaves would organise \u2018raids\u2019 on plantations. Between 1732 and 1767, Bousquet counted more than forty raids on settlers&#8217; dwellings <span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.8116027543206232\" aria-label=\"Bousquet, 2011, III, 482.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Let us also not forget the Saint-Leu slave revolt in 1811, which involved 500 people and slaves, 15% of whom were Malagasy<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.6944625754032799\" aria-label=\"Sudel Fuma, 1811, La r\u00e9volte des oreilles coup\u00e9es ou L'insurrection des esclaves de Saint-Leu en 1811 \u00e0 Bourbon, \u00eele de la R\u00e9union, Saint-Denis-de-La-R\u00e9union, Historun, 251.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Number of slaves in the Mascarene Islands (1725-1809)<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\"><em>Year<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\"><em>Bourbon<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Ile de France <\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Totals<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1725<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">2\u00a0076 (98%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">34<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">2 110<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1731<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">4\u00a0471 (87%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">681<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">5 152<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1735<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">6\u00a0889 (88%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">940<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">7 829<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1741<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">9\u00a0221 (78%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">2\u00a0571<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">11 792<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1749<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">12\u00a0184 (71%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">4\u00a0951<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">17 135<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1761<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">15\u00a0000 (54%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">12\u00a0786<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">27 786<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1767<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">21\u00a0047 (54%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">18\u00a0100<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">39 147<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1776<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">26\u00a0175 (52%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">25\u00a0154<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">51 329<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1788<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">37\u00a0263 (50%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">37\u00a0915<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">75 178<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1804<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">50\u00a0350 (47%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">55\u00a0893<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">106 243<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"87\">1809<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">52\u00a0141 (48%)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">55\u00a0422<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">107 563<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Malagasy had a particularly bad reputation, and one which was not always<a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3973 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"269\" height=\"192\" \/><\/a> justified. At the end of the regime of the French East Indies Company, there were many Malagasy slaves in the Mascarene Islands: \u201cthey are a very poor race\u201d and the risk of them escaping at sea was considered high <span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.4915747214530446\" aria-label=\" Letter from Poivre to the Minister, Ile de France, 30.11.1767. ANOM, COL, C4\/18, f. 351 &amp; 381; \u2018Anonymous\u2019,<br \/>\nR\u00e9flexions et id\u00e9es g\u00e9n\u00e9rales, n.d.n.l. ANOM, COL, C4\/15, n.f.; Teinturier, Requ\u00eate au Roi, n.d.n.l. ANOM, COL,<br \/>\nC4\/1, s.f. It is impossible for them to use ships moored in the port: Letter from Dumas to the Minister, Port-Louis, 27.11.1767. ANOM, COL, C4\/17, f. 210-213: Malagasy female slaves even resorted to infanticide:<br \/>\n\u2018Anonymous\u2019, M\u00e9moire pour les Isles de France et de Bourbon, s.d.n.l. ANOM, COL, C4\/23, f. 144.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. The concern was that they would escape to Madagascar in dug-out canoes, their homeland \u201ctoo close to home for them to desert definitively<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.47508680433904626\" aria-label=\"Magon\u2019s Diary, 04.05.1756. ANOM, COL, C4\/9.\">&nbsp;<\/span> \u00bb. These attempts failed in most cases, and every year canoes would arrive in Bourbon loaded with slaves who had escaped Isle de France, seeking to return to Madagascar<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.3756420756898208\" aria-label=\"For example: a Letter from the Bourbon Council to the Isle de France Council, Saint-Denis, 16.12.1764. ADLR, C\u2070\/644.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2667\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2667\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1_PER_003_02-effets-perdus.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"taille-initiale wp-image-2667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1_PER_003_02-effets-perdus.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1_PER_003_02-effets-perdus.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1_PER_003_02-effets-perdus-266x300.jpg 266w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2667\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Small posters of Reunion Island. Saturday 24th May 1806. Printed.<br \/>Collection of Departmental Archives of Reunion Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Numbers<\/h3>\n<p>This continual lack of slaves on Bourbon resulted in regular arrivals of new slaves in order to keep the numbers up<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9294374386849346\" aria-label=\"In 1806, mortality exceeded the birth rate of slaves with 2,552 deaths, but the losses were compensated by the introduction of 3,457 Afro-Malagasy slaves, an increase of 903 slaves. Letter from Marchand to the administrators, s.l., 03.11.1808. ANOM, COL, C3\/28, p. 44.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Bien \u00e9videmment, il faut prendre en compte l\u2019arriv\u00e9e d\u2019esclaves d\u2019autres r\u00e9gions : Afrique orientale, Inde et autre part. L\u2019Inde fournit depuis 1672, des captifs, comme en 1707 quand dix-huit captifs de Pondich\u00e9ry sont les premiers esclaves introduits par la Compagnie \u00e0 Bourbon<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5798721472815251\" aria-label=\"Prosper \u00c8ve, 2010, \u2018Les Indiens \u00e0 Bourbon au temps de l'esclavage ou l'Histoire d'une dissonance\u2019 in S. Fuma &amp; S. Pannirselvame (dir.), Diaspora indienne dans l'histoire des \u00eeles et pays de l'oc\u00e9an Indien, Saint-Denis, University of Reunion, pp. 35-65: 36; Bousquet, 2011, I, 75-76 &amp; 343.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3975 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"430\" height=\"113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-10.jpg 430w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/citation-10-300x79.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\" \/><\/a>But after Madagascar, between 1730 and 1770, East Africa started to rise in importance. As Wanquet points out, it is difficult to know the number of slaves brought in to Bourbon<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.2500756095810328\" aria-label=\"Wanquet, 1980, I, 48.\">&nbsp;<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Prosper Eve notes that in 1735, three quarters of the slaves imported to Bourbon Island were Malagasy, and thirty years later, this number reached two thirds<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5318547438081395\" aria-label=\"Prosper \u00c8ve, 2000, \u00ab Les esclaves de Bourbon \u00e0 l\u2019\u0153uvre \u00bb, Revue des Mascareignes, 2, p. 41-62 : 42.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. In the 1809 census, Bourbon had 11,580 Malagasy slaves out of a total of 52,141 slaves, which is 22.2%<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.5856160433361491\" aria-label=\"Census of January 1809, n.d.n.l. ANOM, COL, C3\/29, p. 94.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. Did the slave trade then decline over time? No, but it is distinctly different from the \u2018classic\u2019 slave trade carried out along the east coast of Africa. However, with 1,771 slave shipments to the Mascarene Islands, the number of slaves traded, even if only a handful per ship, is likely to be very high.<br \/>\nIt is difficult to give a precise figure for the number of Malagasy slaves who were brought to Bourbon Island during this period. It is believed that for the Mascarene Islands, the total number is between 137,289 and 201,864 slaves brought in from Madagascar. This number takes into account mortality rate (8%) and widespread fraud (estimated between 10 and 50%). It is likely that half of these slaves were destined for Bourbon Island, representing a number ranging from 68,645 to 100,932.<\/p>\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>Trade relations with Madagascar were established since the colonisation of Bourbon by French settlers from Fort Dauphin. They began in 1648, but the French slave trade did not really begin until 1718 and lasted for a hundred years until 1810. It then continued illegally for a few decades<span class=\"NOTE_MARKER\" rel=\"0.9588821542324893\" aria-label=\"Hubert Gerbeau, 2002, \u00ab L\u2019Oc\u00e9an Indien n\u2019est pas l\u2019Atlantique. La traite ill\u00e9gale \u00e0 Bourbon au XIXe si\u00e8cle \u00bb, Revue fran\u00e7aise d\u2019histoire d\u2019outre-mer, 89 (336-337), p. 79-108.\">&nbsp;<\/span>. We have seen that the Malagasy slave trade in Bourbon was characterised by two elements. Firstly, the legal slave trade was strongly linked to the maritime activities of Isle de France, to the extent that both trades must be considered together. Secondly, the slave trade with Madagascar was unique in its variety of mixed cargoes: ships would transport both food and slaves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2564,"parent":4042,"menu_order":10,"template":"","class_list":["post-3855","documentaire","type-documentaire","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire\/3855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/documentaire"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire\/4042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}