The Madagascar Youths
British Alliances and Military Expansion in the Indian Ocean Region

Explores the history of the 'Madagascar Youths', young people trained by the British, and their impact on Malagasy-British relations.

Gwyn Campbell (Author)

9781316511718, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 June 2022

288 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.3 cm, 0.6 kg

'The Madagascar Youths is an engrossing account of a compromise between the Merina crown and Britain in the 1820s: King Radama I agreed to cease his slave trade in exchange for military aid and apprenticeships for Malagasy youths, who would acquire skills needed to modernize and strengthen Radama's dominion. Merina boys (mostly) were sent far from home, to Britain, Mauritius, and on British naval ships, to learn various trades and military band music. The experiences of these child envoys, so many of whom succumbed to disease, offer a rich and rarely told counterpoint to the triumphs and malarial misadventures of Europeans sent to Africa.' Genese Marie Sodikoff, Rutgers University

In 1820, King Radama of Imerina, Madagascar signed a treaty allowing approximately one hundred young Malagasy to train abroad under official British supervision, the so-called 'Madagascar Youths'. In this lively and carefully researched book, Gwyn Campbell traces the Youths' untold history, from the signing of the treaty to their eventual recall to Madagascar. Extensive use of primary sources has enabled Campbell to explore the Madagascar Youths' experiences in Britain, Mauritius and aboard British anti-slave trade vessels, and their instrumental role in the modernisation of Madagascar. Through this remarkable history, Campbell examines how Malagasy-British relations developed, then soured, providing vital context to our understanding of slavery, mission activity and British imperialism in the nineteenth century.

1. The context
2. Britain
3. Mauritius
4. The British navy
5. Industry
6. Musicians and naval ambitions
7. The Twins, diplomacy, and British allegiance.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], African history [HBJH], British & Irish history [HBJD1]