Mission to Madagascar book launch

Libraries and Collections at King's College London are delighted to be hosting a book launch for David H Mould's new work: Mission to Madagascar, published by Blackwater Press.

In his research for the book, David has drawn extensively on the holdings of the historical library collection of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which is held in the Foyle Special Collections Library. We are delighted that resources held by King's have contributed to his new publication and the book launch will include an additional display of these works.

The event will comprise a presentation and talk by the author, a Q&A session and a drinks reception. Books will be available to purchase at £14.99 (cash only).

Further information

In Britain, most studies of the slave trade have focused on the transatlantic traffic to the United States, the Caribbean and South America. Yet for hundreds of years, a larger trade flourished in the Indian Ocean where Arab traders trafficked their human cargoes from East Africa to the slave markets of Arabia and India. Even after Britain ended the slave trade to its colonies in 1807, slaves were smuggled from Madagascar to the plantations of Mauritius, seized from France during the Napoleonic Wars.

This is the story of how James Hastie, an East India Company sergeant with no diplomatic training, persuaded Radama, the ruler of Madagascar, to end the export of slaves. The treaty was a deal with the devil: in return for the slave trade ban, the British trained Radama’s army and supplied muskets and gunpowder, allowing him to expand his dominions, while turning a blind eye to Madagascar's domestic slave trade. Hastie became the British agent in Madagascar, and a trusted advisor to Radama, accompanying him on his military campaigns and introducing social reforms, until his untimely death in 1826.

Mission to Madagascar is based on Hastie’s unpublished journals and other primary sources, including letters and political and military dispatches. The journals from 1817 to 1825, some of which are held in the Foyle Special Collections Library, offer the most comprehensive early 19th century account of Madagascar, its landscape, crops, industry, commerce, culture, and inhabitants. Sir Mervyn Brown, a former UK ambassador and historian of Madagascar, has described Hastie as 'one of the most important and attractive figures in the history of Anglo-Malagasy relations.'

For more information on the author and publisher, please see the event page here.

Please note: if you have any specific accessibility needs, please contact us before the event: [email protected] and we will be happy to advise on access to the room.