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Conference Presentations by Rafaël Thiébaut

The Transatlantic slave trade counts as one of the best researched forms of forced migration in t... more The Transatlantic slave trade counts as one of the best researched forms of forced migration in the Modern age. And while the slave trade in the Indian Ocean has received considerable attention in the last decades, much remains to be done. We see that the volume of this commerce is at the heart of the recently created Exploring the Slave Trade Project. On other elements of the slave trade, however, little is still known.

Madagascar was an important slaving reservoir for different European East India Companies. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, Dutch, French and English vessels traded slaves on the Big Island and disembarked them in different locations like Cape Colony, Sumatra, Mauritius, Bombay, Ceylon and even the Americas. While closely resembling the Transatlantic slave trade, the Madagascar slave trade is quite particular both in its organization and in its execution.

In this paper, we propose to study the maritime aspects and the middle passage of the European slave trade on Madagascar during the Early Modern Age. Thanks to an extensive archival research, we have been able to extract information on the slave ships used, the composition of crew and cargo, the age-sex ratio, the mortality, desertion techniques and shipboard revolts. Compared to the Transatlantic slave trade, and other forms of (forced) migration, we can better understand this phenomenon.

During the eighteenth century, the slave trade between the French Mascarenes and Madagascar was b... more During the eighteenth century, the slave trade between the French Mascarenes and Madagascar was booming. Indeed, the French bought slaves and food on the Big Island in order to develop their plantation economy. The number of slaves increased from less than 4,000 in 1725 to nearly 100,000 in 1809. While historians have concentrated on the political and social consequences of this commerce, very little is known about the economic reality of the European slave trade on Madagascar during the Early Modern Age. The lack of sources and the difficulty to extract the necessary information is one of the main reasons for this.
After a paper on the trade journal of French slave trader Savornin de Mardarick, presented on the Accounting History Review conference of 2021, I would like to get into another subject: that of the slave prices in Madagascar. Indeed, thanks to archival research we know that these increased from 2 Spanish dollars in 1664, to 25 in 1715 and 73 in 1787. In reality, the price of slaves depended on several factors like the age, sex and physical state of the slave, but also fluctuations in offer and demand and if silver coin was used in the commercial transaction or other merchandize like firearms, alcohol and cloth.
Through the use of these accounting sources, I will underline the complications in understanding the realities of the slave prices in Madagascar during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These fluctuations had an important impact on the day-to-day realities of the European slave trade as well as on the profits that could be made both by slave traders, but also by individual marine officers, who would illegally buy a slave in the hope of selling the individual with profit on île de France. This research will underline the difficulties in recreating the economic circumstances of this maritime trade and the importance and limits of the trade sources.

After the failed Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise on the life of First Consul Bonaparte on the 3rd o... more After the failed Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise on the life of First Consul Bonaparte on the 3rd of nivôse An IX (14 December 1800), some 71 Republicans are banned from France. They are send to the French Mascarenes, two tiny Islands in the Indian Ocean from where they are taken to Madagascar. After years of suffering and passing to the Seychelles, Anjouan and Zanzibar, only two of them would return to France alive.
During this short time period, the Islands in the Southwest Indian Ocean region have been considered suitable banishing grounds for the political and social outcasts of the French Republic and Empire. But being exiled was common practice late eighteenth century French Mascarenes. Indeed, Madagascar, for example, served as a place of deportation for several « mauvais sujets », both slave and free, or for those suffering from leprosy, often against the will of the local Malagasy population.
This paper will retrace banishments as punishment in the French possessions within the Southwest Indian Ocean in the 1790s and 1800s as tactic to get rid of “mauvais sujets”. It will also analyse the impact that it had both on the « déportés » and on the local populations that are faced with these unwanted individuals.

En juin 1764, la Cour Royale de l'Isle de France, aujourd’hui île Maurice, se prononce en faveur ... more En juin 1764, la Cour Royale de l'Isle de France, aujourd’hui île Maurice, se prononce en faveur de 61 esclaves malgaches dans une cause célèbre au sein de la petite société créole des Mascareignes. Ils sont jugés illégalement réduits en esclavage, capturés par le capitaine français de du navire la Nouvelle Julie, et devaient être libérés et renvoyés à Madagascar. À leur arrivée au port de Foulpointe, le souverain local, Zanahary, accepte le jugement du tribunal français. Cependant, il explique que certains des Malgaches retournés sont nés esclaves. Par conséquent, il ne peut pas les retenir de leurs propriétaires légitimes. En outre, il souligne le fait que: « comm’il était d’usage parmi eux que tout prisonnier fait sur l’ennemi, fut fait esclave et vendu, ces mêmes noirs libres aujourd’hui, pouvant être pris par un partie contraire, vendus hors de son domaine, il ne devoit pas répondre d’un mal qu’il ne pouvoit point empescher ».
Cet exemple montre la complexité de l’esclaves à Madagascar, qui reste intimement lié à la traite des esclaves européenne. Même si l’esclavage existait sur la Grande île bien avant l’arrivée des Européens, la traite a eu un impact important sur les méthodes d’asservissement. En effet, la demande, notamment de la part des Mascareignes françaises, ne cesse d’augmenter tout au long du XVIIIe siècle. Afin de satisfaire cette demande, les Malgaches créent de plus en plus d’esclaves destinés à l’exportation qui ont été asservis par des nouvelles voies. Pier Larson et Gwyn Campbell ont déjà étudié ce phénomène, mais pas d’une façon systématique, avec une étude empirique étendue et des données quantitatives conséquentes.
Cette communication présentera l’impact de la traite des esclaves européenne sur la vulnérabilité des Malgaches à être asservis pendant l’époque moderne, notamment les XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Grâce à des sources européennes sur l’esclavage à Madagascar et la création d’une base de données de la traite des esclaves à Madagascar, je présenterai les changements sociaux qui ont bouleversé la société malgache pendant cette période. Ainsi, je compte analyser comment les activités commerciales européennes à Madagascar ont eu un impact important sur les communautés malgaches en général et l’esclavage en particulier.

Malgré un récent regain d’intérêt, les études économiques sur la traite des esclaves dans l’océan... more Malgré un récent regain d’intérêt, les études économiques sur la traite des esclaves dans l’océan Indien peinent à rattraper leur retard sur la traite transatlantique. En effet, la complexité des réseaux commerciaux, la question de l’offre et la demande, les modalités de transport et le rôle de la contrebande restent encore largement à explorer. Dans cette communication, j’analyserai ces éléments au sein du sud-ouest de l’océan Indien aux débuts de la mondialisation du capitalisme. Pour cela, je prendrai comme base ma recherche empirique sur la traite française à Madagascar qui a démontré la migration forcée de jusqu’à 200 000 captifs par voie maritime de la Grande île aux Mascareignes françaises en moins d’un siècle. Ensuite, dans un contexte plus large j’étudierai les possibilités plus larges d’une recherche à la fois archivistique et quantitative dans une perspective économique.

Madagascar, 1700. The Sakalava king, Andriamandisoarivo, loved exhibiting his collection of firea... more Madagascar, 1700. The Sakalava king, Andriamandisoarivo, loved exhibiting his collection of firearms to European merchants. He already had four warehouses fully packed with muskets which he received in exchange for slaves. Nonetheless his demand for firearms, ammunition and gunpowder seemed insatiable. Indeed, the rise to power of the Sakalava kingdom in the eighteenth century was intimately linked to their military superiority thanks to a regular slave trade with European merchants.
The European slave trade on Madagascar represented an important maritime commerce during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Slaves were exchanged for Mexican silver, Indian cloth, Mascarene arak and especially European muskets. These military items, which were also imbued with important symbolic value could only be obtained through the European slave trade. As such they assured the political and economic hegemony of the coastal communities like the Sakalava and the Betsimisaraka communities.
Items with a direct link with slavery and the slave trade in European museums are rare. The Musée du quai Branly in Paris holds not only dozens of firearms, some richly adorned, but also powder containers as well as statues and photographs of individuals with muskets underling their societal importance. These are silent witnesses of the European slave trade on Madagascar as they are synonym for the infamous slave-firearm cycle which increased the “enslaveability” of the Malagasy people . As such they merit to be more explicitly used in European museums to raise our awareness about the mechanics slave trade, not only as a commercial exchange but also to underline its political and social consequences for the Malagasy society.

Cape Colony, 1761. Knecht Johan Spring in ’t Veld orders two Khoisan, Adriaan and Cobus, as well ... more Cape Colony, 1761. Knecht Johan Spring in ’t Veld orders two Khoisan, Adriaan and Cobus, as well as slave Hermanus to plow the land, even though it is a Sunday. The latter criticizes the fact that they have to work on a day when they normally rest. He gets support from Adriaan and Cobus. This infuriates the European knecht even more, and white of anger he gets his musket and shoots Hermanus who falls dead to the ground.This courtcase is significant in multiple ways. It underlines the fact that the Khoisan, the local African population of the Cape Colony, of free status, worked alongside imported slaves. This made them have share the same experiences and the same grievances as forced labourers against their European superiors. This example shows the often-ambiguous situation that the free population occupied in slave societies.
This article will comparethe entrenchment of two colonial racial orders, by exploring the role of the African population in the context of labour at Dutch Cape Colony as well as the role of the Amerindian population in the Dutch Guianas: Suriname, Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo. In both the Cape and at the Guianas slavery was the most important form of labour.
These regions offer compelling case studies in the role of labour in the relationship between European colonizer and local free population. This relationship has been often seen as ambiguous as they are protected against slavery, but theirpower is also limitedby prohibiting them to have firearms. Over time, however changes occurred vis-à-vis these local populations, as the Dutch were leaning on their help in both regions, but in different proportions. The divergence between the metropolitan rules and the realities of the local pragmatic solutions. How many of them worked where? What was their place on the social hierarchy? And how did their status evolved over time to resemble that of slaves? First,we will give a short history of the Dutch overseas possessions in question, then we will analyze the role of the Amerindians and African local free populations within these colonies. Thirdly, we will explore their working relations within these regions and their relations with the other workers. Finally, we will see the changes that occurred in respect to their status as free labourers.

Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique ori... more Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique orientale et à Madagascar restent encore largement ombrées par l’espace atlantique. L’océan Indien offre un autre théâtre que l’espace atlantique où un commerce maritime est déjà dûment installé basé sur un échange commercial très diversifié où les esclaves sont échangés contre des étoffes indiennes. Par contre, l’arrivée des Européens, notamment Néerlandais et Français, bascule la traite existante à partir du milieu du XVIIe siècle.

En effet, le commerce maritime est jusque-là réservé à une petite communauté marchande située sur la côte nord-ouest de Madagascar où arrivent les boutres des marchands africains et asiatiques. Les Européens ouvrent le reste de l’île, isolée, à un commerce maritime régulier. Pendant que ces marchands néerlandais et français retirent de la Grande île des vivres, notamment riz et bétail, pour les besoins de navigation ainsi que des esclaves, les Malgaches découvrent de nouvelles marchandises. Ils raffolent alors pendant une courte période de toute sorte de quincaillerie et de rasades, mais nous voyons cela changer rapidement.

Dans cette communication nous tenterons de quantifier les marchandises employées dans ce commerce, d’identifier les tendances dans les demandes et d’en savoir plus sur les curiosités matérielles entre les deux groupes. Nous voyons une forte demande pour les produits politico-stratégiques, notamment les armes à feu avec ses munitions et le poudre à canon. Pourtant, d’autres marchandises sont également recherchées, telles que les étoffes indiennes et européennes, l’eau-de-vie et les ustensiles en étain. Finalement, notons l’emploi des piastres espagnoles et des produits manufacturés plus élaborés dans les cérémonies.

Madagascar was a well-known refreshment station for European ships en route to the East Indies du... more Madagascar was a well-known refreshment station for European ships en route to the East Indies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Commercial interactions concerned mostly the barter of food products and later slaves. Although some attempts to colonize parts of the Island were done, especially by the English and the French, Madagascar remained free of European domination up to the end of the nineteenth century. However, European influence became more and more present with the installation of a regular slave trade and the arrival of pirates at the end of the seventeenth century.

European, mostly Anglo-American, pirates had come from the West Indies to prey on Indian vessels in the Red Sea. They used Madagascar as a safe harbor, to refresh their crew and repair their vessels. A permanent exchange was established: food and slaves were exchanged against alcohol, fire arms and cloth. This was only possible with good trading relations with the local Malagasy. Local sovereigns were keen to give their daughters to marry these buccaneers. The issue of these marriages unions were known as Malata and held natural authority over the Malagasy.

The absence of European power, but the frequent relationships and commercial dependence on this trade gave way to the creation of the powerful Betsimisaraka kingdom by Malata Ratsimilaho (~1730). Thanks to their Euro-Malagasy descent and tied with the influence of women entrepreneurs and informal alliance with the French from the neighboring Mascarene Islands, the Betsimisaraka flourished. This paper will explore the political transformation on the East Coast of Madagascar that the arrival of pirates institutionalized, and the subsequent role of Malagasy women, notably in relation to the European slave trade during the entire eighteenth century.

Maritime commerce on Madagascar, as with the entire Western Indian Ocean, was dictated by monsoon... more Maritime commerce on Madagascar, as with the entire Western Indian Ocean, was dictated by monsoon cycles. It was during the austral winter that navigation was preferred, as it was not menaced by cyclones and winds were favourable. The absence of malaria in this period can be seen as another explanation. But there were also commercial reasons: in 1685, the Dutch wrote that during the “bad season” on Madagascar, very few slaves were taken from the Highlands to the coastline, while during the “good season”, starting in May, the number of slaves doubled.
Climate thus had a huge impact on life for the Malagasy communities as well for the European maritime traders. Furthermore, it affected warfare and razzias, which was again intimately linked to the trading cycle of the maritime trade as well as the rice cultivation cycle. Climate even proved to be fatal: the French, for example, restrained from staying at their comptoir in Foulpointe between September and April, because of the mortal “fièvres malignes”.
In this communication, we will analyse the impact that local climate and this trading cycle had on European maritime trade with Madagascar during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We will partly look at shipping data that gives us information on seasonal maritime movements. But we will also concentrate on how the Europeans and Malagasy dealt with these restraints on a day-to-day basis as trade continued, sometimes even risking trade during the “mauvaise saison”, incited by necessity to obtain both slaves and food.

The Transatlantic slave trade counts as one of the best researched forms of forced migration in t... more The Transatlantic slave trade counts as one of the best researched forms of forced migration in the Modern age. And while the slave trade in the Indian Ocean has received considerable attention in the last decades, much remains to be done. We see that the volume of this commerce is at the heart of the recently created Exploring the Slave Trade Project. On other elements of the slave trade, however, little is still known.

Madagascar was an important slaving reservoir for different European East India Companies. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, Dutch, French and English vessels traded slaves on the Big Island and disembarked them in different locations like Cape Colony, Sumatra, Mauritius, Bombay, Ceylon and even the Americas. While closely resembling the Transatlantic slave trade, the Madagascar slave trade is quite particular both in its organization and in its execution.

In this paper, we propose to study the maritime aspects and the middle passage of the European slave trade on Madagascar during the Early Modern Age. Thanks to an extensive archival research, we have been able to extract information on the slave ships used, the composition of crew and cargo, the age-sex ratio, the mortality, desertion techniques and shipboard revolts. Compared to the Transatlantic slave trade, and other forms of (forced) migration, we can better understand this phenomenon.

During the eighteenth century, the slave trade between the French Mascarenes and Madagascar was b... more During the eighteenth century, the slave trade between the French Mascarenes and Madagascar was booming. Indeed, the French bought slaves and food on the Big Island in order to develop their plantation economy. The number of slaves increased from less than 4,000 in 1725 to nearly 100,000 in 1809. While historians have concentrated on the political and social consequences of this commerce, very little is known about the economic reality of the European slave trade on Madagascar during the Early Modern Age. The lack of sources and the difficulty to extract the necessary information is one of the main reasons for this.
After a paper on the trade journal of French slave trader Savornin de Mardarick, presented on the Accounting History Review conference of 2021, I would like to get into another subject: that of the slave prices in Madagascar. Indeed, thanks to archival research we know that these increased from 2 Spanish dollars in 1664, to 25 in 1715 and 73 in 1787. In reality, the price of slaves depended on several factors like the age, sex and physical state of the slave, but also fluctuations in offer and demand and if silver coin was used in the commercial transaction or other merchandize like firearms, alcohol and cloth.
Through the use of these accounting sources, I will underline the complications in understanding the realities of the slave prices in Madagascar during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These fluctuations had an important impact on the day-to-day realities of the European slave trade as well as on the profits that could be made both by slave traders, but also by individual marine officers, who would illegally buy a slave in the hope of selling the individual with profit on île de France. This research will underline the difficulties in recreating the economic circumstances of this maritime trade and the importance and limits of the trade sources.

After the failed Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise on the life of First Consul Bonaparte on the 3rd o... more After the failed Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise on the life of First Consul Bonaparte on the 3rd of nivôse An IX (14 December 1800), some 71 Republicans are banned from France. They are send to the French Mascarenes, two tiny Islands in the Indian Ocean from where they are taken to Madagascar. After years of suffering and passing to the Seychelles, Anjouan and Zanzibar, only two of them would return to France alive.
During this short time period, the Islands in the Southwest Indian Ocean region have been considered suitable banishing grounds for the political and social outcasts of the French Republic and Empire. But being exiled was common practice late eighteenth century French Mascarenes. Indeed, Madagascar, for example, served as a place of deportation for several « mauvais sujets », both slave and free, or for those suffering from leprosy, often against the will of the local Malagasy population.
This paper will retrace banishments as punishment in the French possessions within the Southwest Indian Ocean in the 1790s and 1800s as tactic to get rid of “mauvais sujets”. It will also analyse the impact that it had both on the « déportés » and on the local populations that are faced with these unwanted individuals.

En juin 1764, la Cour Royale de l'Isle de France, aujourd’hui île Maurice, se prononce en faveur ... more En juin 1764, la Cour Royale de l'Isle de France, aujourd’hui île Maurice, se prononce en faveur de 61 esclaves malgaches dans une cause célèbre au sein de la petite société créole des Mascareignes. Ils sont jugés illégalement réduits en esclavage, capturés par le capitaine français de du navire la Nouvelle Julie, et devaient être libérés et renvoyés à Madagascar. À leur arrivée au port de Foulpointe, le souverain local, Zanahary, accepte le jugement du tribunal français. Cependant, il explique que certains des Malgaches retournés sont nés esclaves. Par conséquent, il ne peut pas les retenir de leurs propriétaires légitimes. En outre, il souligne le fait que: « comm’il était d’usage parmi eux que tout prisonnier fait sur l’ennemi, fut fait esclave et vendu, ces mêmes noirs libres aujourd’hui, pouvant être pris par un partie contraire, vendus hors de son domaine, il ne devoit pas répondre d’un mal qu’il ne pouvoit point empescher ».
Cet exemple montre la complexité de l’esclaves à Madagascar, qui reste intimement lié à la traite des esclaves européenne. Même si l’esclavage existait sur la Grande île bien avant l’arrivée des Européens, la traite a eu un impact important sur les méthodes d’asservissement. En effet, la demande, notamment de la part des Mascareignes françaises, ne cesse d’augmenter tout au long du XVIIIe siècle. Afin de satisfaire cette demande, les Malgaches créent de plus en plus d’esclaves destinés à l’exportation qui ont été asservis par des nouvelles voies. Pier Larson et Gwyn Campbell ont déjà étudié ce phénomène, mais pas d’une façon systématique, avec une étude empirique étendue et des données quantitatives conséquentes.
Cette communication présentera l’impact de la traite des esclaves européenne sur la vulnérabilité des Malgaches à être asservis pendant l’époque moderne, notamment les XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Grâce à des sources européennes sur l’esclavage à Madagascar et la création d’une base de données de la traite des esclaves à Madagascar, je présenterai les changements sociaux qui ont bouleversé la société malgache pendant cette période. Ainsi, je compte analyser comment les activités commerciales européennes à Madagascar ont eu un impact important sur les communautés malgaches en général et l’esclavage en particulier.

Malgré un récent regain d’intérêt, les études économiques sur la traite des esclaves dans l’océan... more Malgré un récent regain d’intérêt, les études économiques sur la traite des esclaves dans l’océan Indien peinent à rattraper leur retard sur la traite transatlantique. En effet, la complexité des réseaux commerciaux, la question de l’offre et la demande, les modalités de transport et le rôle de la contrebande restent encore largement à explorer. Dans cette communication, j’analyserai ces éléments au sein du sud-ouest de l’océan Indien aux débuts de la mondialisation du capitalisme. Pour cela, je prendrai comme base ma recherche empirique sur la traite française à Madagascar qui a démontré la migration forcée de jusqu’à 200 000 captifs par voie maritime de la Grande île aux Mascareignes françaises en moins d’un siècle. Ensuite, dans un contexte plus large j’étudierai les possibilités plus larges d’une recherche à la fois archivistique et quantitative dans une perspective économique.

Madagascar, 1700. The Sakalava king, Andriamandisoarivo, loved exhibiting his collection of firea... more Madagascar, 1700. The Sakalava king, Andriamandisoarivo, loved exhibiting his collection of firearms to European merchants. He already had four warehouses fully packed with muskets which he received in exchange for slaves. Nonetheless his demand for firearms, ammunition and gunpowder seemed insatiable. Indeed, the rise to power of the Sakalava kingdom in the eighteenth century was intimately linked to their military superiority thanks to a regular slave trade with European merchants.
The European slave trade on Madagascar represented an important maritime commerce during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Slaves were exchanged for Mexican silver, Indian cloth, Mascarene arak and especially European muskets. These military items, which were also imbued with important symbolic value could only be obtained through the European slave trade. As such they assured the political and economic hegemony of the coastal communities like the Sakalava and the Betsimisaraka communities.
Items with a direct link with slavery and the slave trade in European museums are rare. The Musée du quai Branly in Paris holds not only dozens of firearms, some richly adorned, but also powder containers as well as statues and photographs of individuals with muskets underling their societal importance. These are silent witnesses of the European slave trade on Madagascar as they are synonym for the infamous slave-firearm cycle which increased the “enslaveability” of the Malagasy people . As such they merit to be more explicitly used in European museums to raise our awareness about the mechanics slave trade, not only as a commercial exchange but also to underline its political and social consequences for the Malagasy society.

Cape Colony, 1761. Knecht Johan Spring in ’t Veld orders two Khoisan, Adriaan and Cobus, as well ... more Cape Colony, 1761. Knecht Johan Spring in ’t Veld orders two Khoisan, Adriaan and Cobus, as well as slave Hermanus to plow the land, even though it is a Sunday. The latter criticizes the fact that they have to work on a day when they normally rest. He gets support from Adriaan and Cobus. This infuriates the European knecht even more, and white of anger he gets his musket and shoots Hermanus who falls dead to the ground.This courtcase is significant in multiple ways. It underlines the fact that the Khoisan, the local African population of the Cape Colony, of free status, worked alongside imported slaves. This made them have share the same experiences and the same grievances as forced labourers against their European superiors. This example shows the often-ambiguous situation that the free population occupied in slave societies.
This article will comparethe entrenchment of two colonial racial orders, by exploring the role of the African population in the context of labour at Dutch Cape Colony as well as the role of the Amerindian population in the Dutch Guianas: Suriname, Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo. In both the Cape and at the Guianas slavery was the most important form of labour.
These regions offer compelling case studies in the role of labour in the relationship between European colonizer and local free population. This relationship has been often seen as ambiguous as they are protected against slavery, but theirpower is also limitedby prohibiting them to have firearms. Over time, however changes occurred vis-à-vis these local populations, as the Dutch were leaning on their help in both regions, but in different proportions. The divergence between the metropolitan rules and the realities of the local pragmatic solutions. How many of them worked where? What was their place on the social hierarchy? And how did their status evolved over time to resemble that of slaves? First,we will give a short history of the Dutch overseas possessions in question, then we will analyze the role of the Amerindians and African local free populations within these colonies. Thirdly, we will explore their working relations within these regions and their relations with the other workers. Finally, we will see the changes that occurred in respect to their status as free labourers.

Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique ori... more Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique orientale et à Madagascar restent encore largement ombrées par l’espace atlantique. L’océan Indien offre un autre théâtre que l’espace atlantique où un commerce maritime est déjà dûment installé basé sur un échange commercial très diversifié où les esclaves sont échangés contre des étoffes indiennes. Par contre, l’arrivée des Européens, notamment Néerlandais et Français, bascule la traite existante à partir du milieu du XVIIe siècle.

En effet, le commerce maritime est jusque-là réservé à une petite communauté marchande située sur la côte nord-ouest de Madagascar où arrivent les boutres des marchands africains et asiatiques. Les Européens ouvrent le reste de l’île, isolée, à un commerce maritime régulier. Pendant que ces marchands néerlandais et français retirent de la Grande île des vivres, notamment riz et bétail, pour les besoins de navigation ainsi que des esclaves, les Malgaches découvrent de nouvelles marchandises. Ils raffolent alors pendant une courte période de toute sorte de quincaillerie et de rasades, mais nous voyons cela changer rapidement.

Dans cette communication nous tenterons de quantifier les marchandises employées dans ce commerce, d’identifier les tendances dans les demandes et d’en savoir plus sur les curiosités matérielles entre les deux groupes. Nous voyons une forte demande pour les produits politico-stratégiques, notamment les armes à feu avec ses munitions et le poudre à canon. Pourtant, d’autres marchandises sont également recherchées, telles que les étoffes indiennes et européennes, l’eau-de-vie et les ustensiles en étain. Finalement, notons l’emploi des piastres espagnoles et des produits manufacturés plus élaborés dans les cérémonies.

Madagascar was a well-known refreshment station for European ships en route to the East Indies du... more Madagascar was a well-known refreshment station for European ships en route to the East Indies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Commercial interactions concerned mostly the barter of food products and later slaves. Although some attempts to colonize parts of the Island were done, especially by the English and the French, Madagascar remained free of European domination up to the end of the nineteenth century. However, European influence became more and more present with the installation of a regular slave trade and the arrival of pirates at the end of the seventeenth century.

European, mostly Anglo-American, pirates had come from the West Indies to prey on Indian vessels in the Red Sea. They used Madagascar as a safe harbor, to refresh their crew and repair their vessels. A permanent exchange was established: food and slaves were exchanged against alcohol, fire arms and cloth. This was only possible with good trading relations with the local Malagasy. Local sovereigns were keen to give their daughters to marry these buccaneers. The issue of these marriages unions were known as Malata and held natural authority over the Malagasy.

The absence of European power, but the frequent relationships and commercial dependence on this trade gave way to the creation of the powerful Betsimisaraka kingdom by Malata Ratsimilaho (~1730). Thanks to their Euro-Malagasy descent and tied with the influence of women entrepreneurs and informal alliance with the French from the neighboring Mascarene Islands, the Betsimisaraka flourished. This paper will explore the political transformation on the East Coast of Madagascar that the arrival of pirates institutionalized, and the subsequent role of Malagasy women, notably in relation to the European slave trade during the entire eighteenth century.

Maritime commerce on Madagascar, as with the entire Western Indian Ocean, was dictated by monsoon... more Maritime commerce on Madagascar, as with the entire Western Indian Ocean, was dictated by monsoon cycles. It was during the austral winter that navigation was preferred, as it was not menaced by cyclones and winds were favourable. The absence of malaria in this period can be seen as another explanation. But there were also commercial reasons: in 1685, the Dutch wrote that during the “bad season” on Madagascar, very few slaves were taken from the Highlands to the coastline, while during the “good season”, starting in May, the number of slaves doubled.
Climate thus had a huge impact on life for the Malagasy communities as well for the European maritime traders. Furthermore, it affected warfare and razzias, which was again intimately linked to the trading cycle of the maritime trade as well as the rice cultivation cycle. Climate even proved to be fatal: the French, for example, restrained from staying at their comptoir in Foulpointe between September and April, because of the mortal “fièvres malignes”.
In this communication, we will analyse the impact that local climate and this trading cycle had on European maritime trade with Madagascar during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We will partly look at shipping data that gives us information on seasonal maritime movements. But we will also concentrate on how the Europeans and Malagasy dealt with these restraints on a day-to-day basis as trade continued, sometimes even risking trade during the “mauvaise saison”, incited by necessity to obtain both slaves and food.

Manchester University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2024

Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique ori... more Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique orientale et à Madagascar restent encore largement ombrées par l’espace atlantique. L’océan Indien offre un autre théâtre que l’espace atlantique où un commerce maritime est déjà dûment installé basé sur un échange commercial très diversifié où les esclaves sont échangés contre des étoffes indiennes. Par contre, l’arrivée des Européens, notamment Néerlandais et Français, bascule la traite existante à partir du milieu du XVIIe siècle. En effet, le commerce maritime est jusque-là réservé à une petite communauté marchande située sur la côte nord-ouest de Madagascar où arrivent les boutres des marchands africains et asiatiques. Les Européens ouvrent le reste de l’île, isolée, à un commerce maritime régulier. Pendant que ces marchands néerlandais et français retirent de la Grande île des vivres, notamment riz et bétail, pour les besoins de navigation ainsi que des esclaves, les Malgaches découvrent de nouvelles marchandises. Ils raffolent alors pendant une courte période de toute sorte de quincaillerie et de rasades, mais nous voyons cela changer rapidement. Dans cette communication nous tenterons de quantifier les marchandises employées dans ce commerce, d’identifier les tendances dans les demandes et d’en savoir plus sur les curiosités matérielles entre les deux groupes. Nous voyons une forte demande pour les produits politico-stratégiques, notamment les armes à feu avec ses munitions et le poudre à canon. Pourtant, d’autres marchandises sont également recherchées, telles que les étoffes indiennes et européennes, l’eau-de-vie et les ustensiles en étain. Finalement, notons l’emploi des piastres espagnoles et des produits manufacturés plus élaborés dans les cérémonies.

Routledge eBooks, May 25, 2023

Centro de Estudos Internacionais do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) eBooks, Jun 1, 2017

The European slave trade in Madagascar in the eighteenth century was the theatre of an important ... more The European slave trade in Madagascar in the eighteenth century was the theatre of an important clash of cultures where Malagasy brokers played an important role in overseeing the commercial exchanges between the two parties. In this unpredictable environment, both Dutch merchants and Malagasy sovereigns relied on these intermediaries who not only served as interpreters, but also as mediators in any conflicts that might arise during their stay. Over the years their position, though strongly linked to the political power of the Sakalava sovereign, proved to be one of independence and personal benefit, while trying to satisfy both parties

Le dernier numéro de la revue en ligne Afriques. Débats, méthodes et terrains d'histoire vien... more Le dernier numéro de la revue en ligne Afriques. Débats, méthodes et terrains d'histoire vient d’être publié. Il comporte un dossier spécial portant en partie sur l’océan Indien : « L’Afrique orientale et l’océan Indien : connexions, réseaux d'échanges et globalisation », dirigé par Thomas Vernet et Philippe Beaujard. Le journal est uniquement accessible en ligne. Table des matières: Jean-Charles Ducène, « Une nouvelle source arabe sur l’océan Indien au Xe siècle: le Ṣaḥīḥ min aḫbār al-biḥār..

Jeudi 10 et vendredi 11 novembre 2016 aura lieu à l'Institut international de l'histoire ... more Jeudi 10 et vendredi 11 novembre 2016 aura lieu à l'Institut international de l'histoire sociale (IISG) à Amsterdam, un colloque international sur les traites négrières dans l'océan Indien (XVIe-XIXe siècles). Voici un bref résumé et les axes de recherche: The workshop aims to cover European both Asian contexts. Topics related to the slave trade can cover, but are not limited to, processes of enslavement, practices of slave trade, slave prices, slave markets, estimates of the size of slave tr..

Les 10 et 11 novembre a eu lieu le workshop « Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean and Indonesian Arc... more Les 10 et 11 novembre a eu lieu le workshop « Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean and Indonesian Archipelago Worlds (16th to 19th Century): New Research, Results and Comparisons » organisé par Matthias van Rossum, Titas Chakraborty et Ulbe Bosma à l’Instituut voor sociale geschiedenis (Institut pour l'histoire sociale - IISG) à Amsterdam. Les principaux axes étaient le volume, la dynamique et les sources de la traite des esclaves dans l’océan Indien. Le but était de commencer à répondre à certai..

Ce dossier s’insère dans le vaste courant numérique appliqué à l’histoire des esclavages à l’époq... more Ce dossier s’insère dans le vaste courant numérique appliqué à l’histoire des esclavages à l’époque moderne. Il propose, sur le plan heuristique, un ensemble de chemins menant vers des modes d’intelligibilité propres à un « plissement numérique du monde » – c’est-à-dire la mise en relief, grâce aux humanités numériques, de ce qui est traditionnellement aplani par les sources – que nous jugeons prometteur car il peut rapprocher publics et chercheurs du monde des esclaves. This issue belongs to this digital wave that is sweeping over the history of slaveries in modern times and proposes, at a heuristic level, pathways towards a means of understanding appropriate for a ‘digital creasing of the world’—that is to say using the digital humanities to raise the surface of what was traditionally smoothed over by the sources. It is, we believe, likely to bring those researching the world of slaves and their audiences closer together

Africa and the Indian Ocean, especially Mozambique and Southern Africa, on topics relating to sci... more Africa and the Indian Ocean, especially Mozambique and Southern Africa, on topics relating to scientific expeditions, indigenous traditional knowledge, biodiversity and environmental problems in the colonial context.

La traite des esclaves a Madagascar a provoque de changements importants tout au long du XVIIe et... more La traite des esclaves a Madagascar a provoque de changements importants tout au long du XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles, aussi bien sur le plan politique, qu’economique et social. Les Neerlandais et les Francais, presents a la colonie du Cap et aux Mascareignes etaient des acteurs de taille dans ces interactions commerciales complexes et symboliques. Des transformations sont perceptibles des les premiers contacts, non seulement au sein des grands royaumes sakalava et betsimisaraka mais egalement jusqu’aux regions les plus recluses. Pourtant, les relations commerciales se complexifient dans la longue duree. En effet, une certaine continuite est identifiable sur toute la periode etudiee. Le commerce maritime qui jouait un role primordial dans ces developpements, concernait riz, betail et captifs echanges contre piastres, armes a feu et toiles. Il a bouleverse la balance des pouvoirs et l’economie de la Grande Ile. Le volume de la traite, calcule a partir de centaines d’expeditions neerlandai...

Esclavages & Post-esclavages, 2020

Inscrire l'esclavage dans les humanités numériques Construire une base de données sur la traite d... more Inscrire l'esclavage dans les humanités numériques Construire une base de données sur la traite des esclaves dans l'océan Indien L'exemple du cas français à Madagascar au XVIII e siècle Building a database on the slave trade in the Indian Ocean. The example of the French slave trade in Madagascar in the 18th century Crear una base de datos sobre la trata de esclavos en el océano Índico. El ejemplo de la trata de los franceses en Madagascar en el siglo XVIII Construir uma base de dados sobre o trato de escravos no Oceano Índico. O exemplo do trato francês de escravos em Madagascar no século XVIII

Journal of Social History, 2020

This article provides a better understanding of the volume of the French slave trade on Madagasca... more This article provides a better understanding of the volume of the French slave trade on Madagascar. Indeed, while research on the European slave trade in the Atlantic has benefitted much from statistical data, the slave trade in the Indian Ocean still lags behind, despite new scholarship. Based on detailed archival research, this article systematically analyzes different aspects of this commerce, including the organization of the trade, the age-sex ratio of the enslaved, and their mortality during the middle passage. Taking the number of French expeditions as a basis, we are able to determine the number of slaves traded with greater accuracy than was previously possible. Through this calculation, this article will shed new light on the patterns of slave trade in the Indian Ocean.

Afrika Focus, 2016

In this text, we will retrace the commercial interactions linked to the slave trade between Europ... more In this text, we will retrace the commercial interactions linked to the slave trade between Europeans and Malagasy in the 17th and 18th centuries. As is often the case, this commerce was much more than a simple exchange of products, it can be termed a ritual, created by Malagasy sovereigns to which the Dutch and French merchants had to adhere. This ranged from presenting courtesy gifts up to the delivery of oral and written venerations, and represented an important cofirmation of power. The monarch often kept the upper hand over the Europeans who found themselves on hostile terrain, though the latter were not completely stripped of power as they effectively controlled the volume of this external commerce. Key words: slave trade, Indian Ocean World, local sovereignty, history of Madagascar, European companies

The Journal of Indian Ocean World Studies, 2017

In the eighteenth century, possessions of the different European mercantilist companies rarely in... more In the eighteenth century, possessions of the different European mercantilist companies rarely interacted, commercially or otherwise. For example, communication between the Dutch colony at the Cape and the French Mascarenes under the regime of the Compagnie des Indes was mostly fortuitous. However, when the French islands were in need of provisions during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), local authorities did not hesitate to establish a direct maritime connection with the Dutch Cape Colony in order to obtain wheat and wine. Throughout the conflict, the governors of the two colonies maintained a regular and friendly correspondence to ensure such a significant flow of provisions from the Cape to the Mascarenes that the latter became the Cape’s most important foreign trading partner.

Échanges et métissage des cultures matérielles entre la Nouvelle-Aquitaine et les outre-mers (XVIIIe-XIXe siècles), 2021

Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique ori... more Comme dans la plupart des sujets, les études sur l’échange matériel dans la traite en Afrique orientale et à Madagascar restent encore largement ombrées par l’espace atlantique. L’océan Indien offre un autre théâtre que l’espace atlantique où un commerce maritime est déjà dûment installé basé sur un échange commercial très diversifié où les esclaves sont échangés contre des étoffes indiennes. Par contre, l’arrivée des Européens, notamment Néerlandais et Français, bascule la traite existante à partir du milieu du XVIIe siècle.

En effet, le commerce maritime est jusque-là réservé à une petite communauté marchande située sur la côte nord-ouest de Madagascar où arrivent les boutres des marchands africains et asiatiques. Les Européens ouvrent le reste de l’île, isolée, à un commerce maritime régulier. Pendant que ces marchands néerlandais et français retirent de la Grande île des vivres, notamment riz et bétail, pour les besoins de navigation ainsi que des esclaves, les Malgaches découvrent de nouvelles marchandises. Ils raffolent alors pendant une courte période de toute sorte de quincaillerie et de rasades, mais nous voyons cela changer rapidement.

Dans cette communication nous tenterons de quantifier les marchandises employées dans ce commerce, d’identifier les tendances dans les demandes et d’en savoir plus sur les curiosités matérielles entre les deux groupes. Nous voyons une forte demande pour les produits politico-stratégiques, notamment les armes à feu avec ses munitions et le poudre à canon. Pourtant, d’autres marchandises sont également recherchées, telles que les étoffes indiennes et européennes, l’eau-de-vie et les ustensiles en étain. Finalement, notons l’emploi des piastres espagnoles et des produits manufacturés plus élaborés dans les cérémonies.

Rafaël Thiébaut Traite des esclaves et commerce néerlandais et français à Madagascar (XVII e et X... more Rafaël Thiébaut Traite des esclaves et commerce néerlandais et français à Madagascar (XVII e et XVIII e siècles) Thèse de doctorat d'histoire en cotutelle soutenue à l'Université Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne et à la Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam les 21 et 22 novembre 2017