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Madagascar's adventurers and explorers

Madagascar is still today an island that inspires numerous explorers, discoverers and scientists from scratch. It was no different in earlier times, because the exceptional flora and fauna on the island attracted the adventurers and explorers as much as the exciting culture of the people living there. Many of the daring adventurers and explorers are still known today for their intensive research trips and also on Madagascar some of them were allowed to make a name for themselves forever. In the following we would like to give you some information about Explorers and adventurers in Madagascar introduce. Many relics of their work and research can still be discovered today during your vacation on Madagascar - a journey into the past that is worthwhile in more ways than one. Discover the extraordinary island of Madagascar in a historical way and become an explorer and adventurer yourself on your trip. After all, there are still many things in Madagascar today that have eluded all research to date.

The discoverers of Madagascar

The first real explorer and discoverer on Madagascar, was a Frenchman named Etienne Flacourt, who was based at a French base on the island in the 17th century. Flacourt was very familiar with the land and the people of Madagascar and used this for his research and explorations. He wrote the "History of the big island Madagascar" and reported in this work from the Beauty and uniqueness of the island. In parallel, he used his position as administrator of the French fort to compile a Malagasy dictionary. The first Classification of flora and fauna in Madagascar was created in the 19th century when Alfred Grandidier entered and explored the island. Today, many animals and plants discovered and classified by him still bear his name. For example, there is a chameleon named after Grandidier, and a baobab tree is also named after the French naturalist. Madagascar was the largest and most lengthy research project of the Frenchman, who covered about 3,000 kilometers in the interior of the island and also demolished about 2,500 coastal kilometers of Madagascar for his research. Grandidier was also the first explorer to discover the remains of a so-called Madagascar elephant bird which must have been about three meters tall. Alfred Lacroix was the next prominent explorer on Madagascar, who dealt mainly with the there existing mineral resources with each other. His mineral field research are still considered groundbreaking today and the preparation of his data took several decades. His work on the native minerals of Madagascar is one of the most important standard works from this field.

André Peyriéras was also one of the most important and famous explorers and discoverers on Madagascar. The Frenchman began his research on the island in 1954 and discovered numerous new species. In addition he was actively involved in nature conservation and founded a reserve, which today is known as the Madagascar Exotique is known. Many endangered insects are raised there and other animals also find a safe home there.

The Adventurers in Madagascar

Unlike an explorer or scientist, the adventurer does not necessarily have a legacy for posterity in mind when he sets out on his travels. Rather, he wants to personal glory gain, see something of the world, and get to know the various adventures and challenges of this earth. Madagascar has also been the destination of numerous explorers who have more or less achieved long-lasting fame.

Count August Maurycy of Benyowski

Count of Benyowski was a Hungarian nobleman born in 1741. He came to Madagascar for the first time in 1772, after having extensively explored different areas in Russia, Kamchatka and Asia. He finally reached the island of Madagascar via the Pacific Ocean and landed in the Antongil Bay. A short time later, he was able to persuade the French King Louis XV to to establish a French settlement in the bay. After getting the green light, the mission started off quite promisingly at first: Von Benyowski got along well with the Madagascans and proved to be a kind and righteous man who was respected by many tribes. He was able to establish numerous intensive trade relations with the Betsimisaraka and in two campaigns repulsed the Sakalava who wanted to disrupt these trade relations. In 1776, von Benyowski was even attacked by the Betsimisaraka. appointed High King - an honor that was rare indeed. Unfortunately, the Hungarian count was much less fortunate on the other islands in the area: the regents and administrators on the islands of Mauritius and La Réunion were reluctant to see von Benyowski's stable progress, as they their trade monopolies in danger saw. Numerous intrigues were spun and the count had to submit to these games willy-nilly, since he was dependent on supplies and support from these camps. When the situation became more and more acute, von Benyowski left the island and went back to France. He was subsequently persuaded by Benjamin Franklin to support the Americans in their fight against the British. In 1786, von der Graf attempted to gain a foothold on Madagascar for a second and final time from Hungary and to consolidate his position there as a High King of the Betsimisaraka to recapture. Americans and Austrians alike were on his side and tried to support the count. The rulers from Mauritius and La Réunion would no longer tolerate this and sent a armed expedition to Madagascar, who murdered the count.

Jean Onésime Filet - "La Bigorne"

The French adventurer Filet actually landed rather accidentally on the coast of Madagascar, more precisely on the island of Sainte Marie. He had been washed ashore there after a shipwreck. He had previously been based on the island of La Réunion, but had to flee from there to escape the revenge of a cuckolded husband. On Sainte Marie, Filet quickly made friends with the local Malagasy people and won the heart of the daughter of the king Ratsimilaho for himself. The adventurer was by now known as La Bigorne and, as a wedding gift for his marriage to his daughter Betty, received from the king the island of Sainte Marie as a gift. Filet died only a few years later in 1750 and his wife Betty then bequeathed the island to France. Sainte Marie can accordingly be considered the earliest possession of the French. Soon after, numerous French settlers arrived on the island, but behaved anything but exemplary there. They rebelled against the traditions and laws of the natives and even desecrated their royal tombs. The Malagasy made an example of them and killed most of the French settlers.

Jean Laborde

The most important and at the same time most popular adventurer of the island of Madagascar The first to reach the island as a castaway in 1832 was probably Jean Laborde, similar to Jean Filet before him. The French adventurer succeeded after a very short time a real feat, in which he Favor of Queen Ravalona I was able to win. In fact, she was actually rather hostile to strangers, but the devious Frenchman knew how to wrap her around his finger quickly. In addition to his sly charm, Laborde's numerous talents ensured that he was able to continue to rise in the ruler's favor. Thus he possessed extensive knowledge of weapons and was familiar with the manufacture of ammunition. Furthermore he possessed architectural knowledge and built a gigantic wooden palace in Antananarivo, which served as the seat of power for a long time. Laborde also developed numerous ideas for the population. For example, he created a Ox cart with enlarged wheels. This was easier to use even in rough terrain and is still used on the island today. In addition, Laborde was for the Production of lightning rods, soap and glass in Madagascar. He had a huge industrial plant at Lac Mantasoa and became more and more powerful and influential over the years. In addition, he was able to amass an almost gigantic fortune, although he did not always act quite legally. After 25 years on the island then discovered Crown Prince Ramada II a conspiracy around Laborde and the Frenchman was expelled. Later, the adventurer returned to the island once again in the capacity of French vice-consul. His death led to the first tangible war between the Malagasy and the French, as both parties could not agree on the distribution of the wealth Laborde left behind.

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Urlaub auf Madagaskar, Inhaber: Klaus Konnerth (Firmensitz: Madagascar), verarbeitet zum Betrieb dieser Website personenbezogene Daten nur im technisch unbedingt notwendigen Umfang. Alle Details dazu in der Datenschutzerklärung.