- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: The History Press (Jan 25 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0750929383
- ISBN-13: 978-0750929387
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 16 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 413 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#1,149,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #31 in Books > History > Africa > Madagascar
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Published in 1729, Madagascar: or, Robert Drury's Journal, during Fifteen Years Captivity on that Island, describes the adventures of Robert Drury, an English sailor who was shipwrecked off the coast of Madagascar while still a teenager. After witnessing the massacre of his shipmates, he spent the next fourteen years living as a slave and fighting alongside the islanders in a world of enemy princes and raging civil wars. Rescued by an English ship at the age of twenty-nine, he returned to London but then made an extraordinary decision. He went back to Madagascar as a slave trader.
Nearly 300 years later, Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist investigating the unique burial customs of Madagascar's Tandroy people, came across Drury's journal, and became hopeful that it would turn out to be a useful historical source, which might assist him with his investigations. Previously believed to be a hoax written by the novelist Daniel Defoe, the journal could have proved useless to Parker Pearson's research. However, he headed for Madagascar, with a team of archaeologists and the journal, in order to understand more about the Tandroy people and to attempt to uncover the truth behind Drury's story.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A great story hidden within,
By
This review is from: In Search of the Red Slave: Shipwreck & Captivity in Madagascar (Hardcover)
There's a great story tucked in "Red Slave..." A young seaman aboard an early 18th century English ship experiences shipwreck, survives a massacre, endures years of slavery and battles alongside his captors, all in mysterious Madagascar. It's a ripping good yarn and, as the authors prove, a true story. However the authors tease us with just the highlights of Robert Drury's amazing adventures and subsequent life as a slave trader. Much of the focus of their short book is an anthropological study of the southern Madagascar where Drury was held.Imagine having such a story to tell and instead recounting your own experiences in the field with tales of trouble with the Land Rover, fears of spiders and current customs. I'm sure "Red Slave..." has an audience among anthropologists or those interested in Madagascar. For the historian and student of 17th/18th-century sear faring adventures, this book merely whets the appetite. Hopefully a skilled historian/story teller such as Gilles Milton or Fergus Fleming will soon put their work to good use. Robert Drury's story is an amazing one and the author's deserve credit for helping establish its authenticity.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A great story hidden within,
By Richard E. Hourula - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: In Search of the Red Slave: Shipwreck & Captivity in Madagascar (Hardcover)
There's a great story tucked in "Red Slave..." A young seaman aboard an early 18th century English ship experiences shipwreck, survives a massacre, endures years of slavery and battles alongside his captors, all in mysterious Madagascar. It's a ripping good yarn and, as the authors prove, a true story. However the authors tease us with just the highlights of Robert Drury's amazing adventures and subsequent life as a slave trader. Much of the focus of their short book is an anthropological study of the southern Madagascar where Drury was held.Imagine having such a story to tell and instead recounting your own experiences in the field with tales of trouble with the Land Rover, fears of spiders and current customs. I'm sure "Red Slave..." has an audience among anthropologists or those interested in Madagascar. For the historian and student of 17th/18th-century sear faring adventures, this book merely whets the appetite. Hopefully a skilled historian/story teller such as Gilles Milton or Fergus Fleming will soon put their work to good use. Robert Drury's story is an amazing one and the author's deserve credit for helping establish its authenticity. |
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