“Rearrangements of the Madagascar Mission”
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BIPOC Voices in the Victorian Periodical Press
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I.—Rearrangements of the Madagascar Mission.
[...]
9. Royal Proclamation on Slavery
The last mail from Madagascar conveyed copi[es] of an important Proclamation, issued by the Queen in October las[t] respecting the foreign slaves in the island. Although under the Treat[y] of June 7th, 1865, the import trade in slaves is forbidden, no one can [t]ravel about the island without frequently meeting slaves of pure African blood, called by the Malagasy by the general name of "Mozambiques." In the north-west, around Mojanga Bay, they are specially numerous. Their importation must have been carried on clandestinely. All slaves so imported since the date of the Treaty in 1865, the Queen now sets free. This measure is doubly important, because the north-west part of Madagascar has hitherto been the chief market of the Arab slavers from Mozambique. The following is a translation of the Proclamation in question:—
"I,
"RANAVALOMANJAKA,
"By the grace of God and the will of the people, Sovereign of Madagascar and Defender of the laws of my country,
"Have made a treaty with my relatives beyond the seas (i.e., in England) to the effect that there shall be no further importation of people brought from beyond the seas (i.e., from Africa) to be made slaves here in my kingdom. And on account of this, I command that all Mozambiques imported into my kingdom since the 6th of Alahasaty (7th of June), in the year of the Lord 1865, when the treaty with my relatives beyond the seas was completed, be herewith made Ambani-andro (i.e., free people), for they are no longer slaves. Also, if they wish to remain here in Madagascar, they can remain as free people; or if they wish to return to their native land beyond the sea, they are at liberty to do so.
"And, further, if any people are found concealing recently-imported Mozambiques, with intent to hold them in slavery, and do not liberate them to become free people according to my command, I will have such put in chains for ten years.
"Saith RANAVALOMANJAKA,
"Sovereign of Madagascar,
&c., &c., &c.
"This word is truly the word of Ranavalomanjaka, Sovereign of Madagascar.
"Saith RAINILAIARIVONY,
"Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief in Madagascar,
&c., &c., &c.
"Antananarivo, 22 Adalo (2 October), 1874.
"May God bless the Sovereign."
Digital Publication Details
Title: “Rearrangements of the Madagascar Mission”
Subtitle(s): “Royal Proclamation on Slavery”
Creator(s): Anonymous; Ranavolmanjaka; Rainilaiarivony
Translator(s): Anonymous
Publication date: (1875) 2022
Digital publishers: One More Voice, COVE
Critical encoding: Trevor Bleick, Kenneth C. Crowell, Dino Franco Felluga, Kayla Morgan, Kasey Peters, Adrian S. Wisnicki
One More Voice identifier: liv_025050
Cite (Chicago Author-Date): Anonymous, Ranavolmanjaka, and Rainilaiarivony. (1875) 2022. “Rearrangements of the Madagascar Mission.” Translated by Anonymous. Edited by Trevor Bleick, Kenneth C. Crowell, Kayla Morgan, and Kasey Peters. In “BIPOC Voices,” One More Voice, solidarity edition; Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education (COVE). https://onemorevoice.org/html/bipoc-voices/digital-editions-soas/liv_025050_HTML.html.
Rights: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
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