Last updated 10th July 2024: Online ordering is currently unavailable due to technical issues. We apologise for any delays responding to customers while we resolve this. For further updates please visit our website https://www.cambridge.org/news-and-insights/technical-incident
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published in English translation in 1793, this was the first study of Madagascar by a European. A member of the Académie des Sciences, Alexis-Marie de Rochon (1741–1817) was a distinguished French physicist, astronomer and traveller. He was involved in scientific voyages of discovery in the 1770s, conducting a hydrographic survey of the Indian Ocean. The present account was intended to show the advantages of French settlement in Madagascar and includes details of geography, anthropology and agriculture. In discussing cocoa and sugar, Rochon outlines the potential advantages of steam engines in sugar factories. He also provides an exploration history of the region and an interesting account of colonial leaders, notably Maurice Benyovszky (1746–86), the explorer-adventurer who was appointed governor of Madagascar by Louis XV. The work also includes a 'Memoir of the Chinese Trade', which details the many products traded between Europe and China in the late eighteenth century.
Loading metrics...
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.
