The Travels of Robert Lyall, 1789–1831 : Scottish Surgeon, Naturalist and British Agent to the Court of Madagascar

This book explores the life of Robert Lyall, surgeon, botanist, voyager, British Agent to the court of Madagascar. Born the year of the French Revolution, Lyall grew up in politically radical Paisley, Scotland, before studying medicine, in Edinburgh, Manchester, and subsequently St. Petersburg, Russia. His criticism of the Tsar and Russian aristocracy led to an abrupt departure for London where Lyall became the voice of liberalism and calls for political reform, before appointed British Resident Agent in Madagascar in 1827, representing the interests of the Tory establishment that he had hitherto so roundly castigated. However, Lyall discovered that the Malagasy crown had turned against the British alliance of 1820, his scientific pursuits alienated the local elite, and his efforts to re-establish British influence antagonized the queen, Ranavalona I, who accused Lyall of sorcery and forced him and his burgeoning family to leave for Mauritius where he died an untimely death, of malaria, in 1831. Acknowledgements Contents About the Author List of Illustrations List of Maps List of Tables Chapter 1: From Scotland to Russia Training to Be a Surgeon Russia Chapter 2: Liberty and Reform Critic of Continental Despotism Champion of Domestic Reform John Murray and the Duel A Man of Science Disillusionment and Salvation Chapter 3: The Madagascar Mission The Britanno-Merina Alliance Rupture of the British Treaty Lyall and Radama Lyall and Ranavalona Altercations with the Merina Court Chapter 4: Expatriate Intrigue British Subjects The Missionaries Coroller, the Missionaries, and the Curatelle Chapter 5: Science and Sorcery Madagascar, the Floating Natural History Museum Traditional Malagasy Concept of Illness and Misfortune European Science Expulsion Chapter 6: Servants and Slaves Servile Labour on Mauritius The British Agency and the Malagasy Slave Export Trade British Agents, Convicts, and Slaves in Madagascar Lyall and Servile Labour Lyall and Schomberg The Henry Morgan Affair Chapter 7: Aftermath Science Illness and Death Debt Postscript Appendixes Appendix 1: Robert Lyall’s Publications Appendix 2: List of 450 Madagascar Plants Sent to Professor Hooker, Glasgow, by Robt. Lyall Esqr., British Resident Agent, by His Majesty’s Ship the Tweed, and Under Care of Capt. Lord John Churchill, 1 September 1830.1 Appendix 3: Syllabus of the Method of Instruction Pursued in the University of Moscow and Generally Throughout Russia for the Medical Sciences2 Appendix 4: Description of the Ordeal of the Tangéna or Thanghen.3 Appendix 5: General Remarks on the Weather in Madagascar, and Chiefly at Its Capital, Tananarivou, from 27 June 1828 till 1 January 1829 General Observations Bibliography Archival Material Archives de l’Académie Malgache, Antananarivo (AAM) Archives historiques de la Vice-Province Société de Jésus de Madagascar, Antananarivo Archives nationales d’outre-mer, Aix-en-Provence Archives de la République Malgache, Antananarivo British Library Linnean Society Archives National Archives, Kew (NAK) National Archives, Mauritius (NAM) National Library of Wales Plymouth and West Devon Record Office Royal Botanic Gardens Archives, Kew School of Oriental and African Studies, Archives of the Council for World Mission (SOAS/CWM) Africa and Madagascar, Committee Minutes: J.T. Hardyman People File 18. Bx.10 Home Correspondence General. A Madagascar Incoming Letters (MIL) Madagascar Journals: Madagascar and Mauritius. I (1816–24) Madagascar Personal Newspapers & Magazines Primary Works Secondary Works Theses Web Sources Index