7 - The Twins, Diplomacy, and British Allegiance

Summary

This chapter examines the careers of two Merina princes tutored by Hastie on Mauritius in 1816–17 and those Madagascar Youths selected to be trained abroad as a result of the 1820 Britanno-Merina treaty who, upon their return, were employed as court officials and diplomats for the Merina crown. It focuses in particular on the history of twins Raombana and Rahaniraka. They, alone of the youths sent to Britain, received a liberal education, with the specific intention that upon their return they might serve as royal counsellors and foreign secretaries. This chapter examines the experience of the twins in Britain and their subsequent roles in Madagascar, as well as the degree to which they, and the other Madagascar Youths, fulfilled the expectations of Farquhar, the missionaries, and the authorities in Cape Town and London that they would serve as steadfast proponents of British influence in the Madagascar.