Re-edition of 'Histoire de la Grande Madagascar'

In the seventeenth century the French were determined to expand their influences in the Indian Ocean. In 1642 they made their first settlement on the southeast coast of Madagascar. Their initial acquaintance with Madagascar was far from pleasant: although the Malagasy landscapes are highly appreciated, in their letters home many French complain about the trying climate. An anonymous French missionary wrote of Madagascar: "C'est le plus ingrat pays au monde...L'air est insalubre at la moitié de nos gens est toujours malade".

By Sandra Evers

Many French settlers died because they where unable to cope with disease and home-sickness. French officials had to contend with many conflicts with the Malagasy population, local kings where unwilling to submit to a French colonization and were well-prepared to fight for their freedom. The first French settlers spent most of their time in their newly built fort, considering the best tactics for undertaking military action. In practice, though they remained unsuccessful.
In 1648 Govenor Étienne Flacourt was sent to Madagascar. He had studied chemistry, medicine, and botany. His main aim was to pacify the southern region of Madagascar and to foster economic contacts with the local population. But after arriving in Madagascar and being confronted with the resoluteness with which local kings defended their territory, Flacourt immediately reported to France that he needed more military support: "Je ne puis plus rien faire si je ne reçois des colons, je n'ai auprès de moi que des soldats et cinq ou six ouvriers particuliers". As months passed and real military backing from France never materialized, Flacourt became more and more disillusioned with the possibilities for French colonization of the island. His interest turned instead to the natural environment of Madagascar and the history of its people. He started reconstructing the history of the southern population groups and indulged in his passion for botany: he made detailed descriptions and drawings of Malagasy trees and plants. In 1655 Flacourt left Madagascar. A few years later (1658) he published the first edition of Histoire de la Grande Isle de Madagascar; the second edition was printed in 1661. The work of Flacourt is seen as pioneering not only because he wrote one of the the first books on Madagascar in the French language, but he also was the first to made a detailed study of the history and culture of the southern population groups. But foremost Flacourt is praised for his work in the field of botany.
In the re-edition of Flacourt's book, Allibert updates the Histoire de la Grande Isle de Madagascar referring in notes to comparative and more recent publications on the subjects discussed by Flacourt. This makes the book a fundamental asset to the development of Malagasy studies and is a marvellous addition to the availability of early works on Madagascar to support present research.