Robert Drury (sailor)
Encyclopedia
Robert Drury was an English
sailor
on the Degrave who was shipwrecked at the age of 17 on the island of Madagascar
. He would be trapped there for fifteen years. Upon returning to England a book allegedly recounting his memoirs would be published in his name in 1729. Though it was an instant success, the credibility of the details in the book would be put into question by later historians. Modern scholars have proven though that many details in the book are authentic and that the story itself is one of the oldest written historical accounts of life in southern Madagascar during the 18th century.
in the Tower Hamlets area of London
and later moved to the Old Jewry
near Cheapside
where his father ran an Inn called The King's Head. At the age of thirteen his father secured passage for him on the Degrave headed for India
.
and the crew was forced to abandon ship in Madagascar
on the southern most tip of the island having not reached the Cape of Good Hope
. The local Antandroy
king Andriankirindra gave the sailors a fine welcome but intended on keeping them captive in order to increase his standing among the other Antandroy kings.
, reigned over the Antanosy tribes near what is now Fort-Dauphin
. This failed attempt saw most of the surviving crew cut to pieces and only a couple of youths, Drury included, spared. He was then given to the king Andriamivaro as his slave.
A reluctant slave at first, Robert eventually moved his way up from agricultural work to become a cow herd and eventually the royal butcher. He stayed there for what seems to have been 10 years. In the following years war broke out with the neighboring ethnicity to the west, the Mahafaly
. This was followed by a fratricidal civil war between Andriamivaro, and his uncles and cousins which included the High King
of the Androy
. An emissary from the Sakalava
king of Fiherenana (part of the Menabe
kingdom) broke the civil war by proposing a joint attack against the Mahafaly. This emissary also spoke to Drury convincing him that if he fled to Fiherenana they would help him on to the first British ship they found.
Robert then escaped and found refuge with Andrianafarana, a rival Antandroy king. He then fled from this master as well and, traveling north through Bara
country he found the Onilahy
river and followed it to St.Augustine bay now the city of Toliara
and the capital of the Fiherenana.
, brother of the great king Andriamandisoarivo of the Boina
. These two brothers built kingdoms which would dominate most of the island from the west coast well into the interior.
Eventually, through his new European friends, news would return to his father who asked a certain Captain Mackett to go to the coast to have him returned to England on his ship, the Masselage. This ship's primary goal though was to buy slaves from the Boina Kingdom
.
. He was said also to hang out at Old Tom's Coffee House in Birchin Lane telling tales of his adventures in Madagascar.
Drury published his memoirs under the title Madagascar, or Robert Drury's Journal in 1729. It was highly praised at the time and went through seven editions until 1890. But suspicion began to rise concerning its authenticity due to its paraphrasing of many parts of the book on the History of Madagascar by Etienne de Flacourt
in 1658. Also, Drury had the same publisher as Daniel Defoe
and notably the same literary style. The Journal may be in fact a fiction by Defoe based on information from Flacourt's book. Many authorities who know the Androy
and Mahafaly
regions well are convinced though that the story proves its creator had a very intimate knowledge of the region. These include :
Among the most important works was that of Mike P Pearson who found archaeological evidence of many parts of Drury's account. These discoveries are described in his book "In search of the red slave".
Robert Drury died sometime between the third (1743) and fourth (1750) editions of his journal.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
on the Degrave who was shipwrecked at the age of 17 on the island of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. He would be trapped there for fifteen years. Upon returning to England a book allegedly recounting his memoirs would be published in his name in 1729. Though it was an instant success, the credibility of the details in the book would be put into question by later historians. Modern scholars have proven though that many details in the book are authentic and that the story itself is one of the oldest written historical accounts of life in southern Madagascar during the 18th century.
Early life
Robert was born at Crutched FriarsCrutched Friars
The Crutched Friars or Crossed Friars were a Roman Catholic religious order of Augustinian canons who went to England in the 13th century from Italy, where they existed for some time, and where they were called Fratres Cruciferi.-History:...
in the Tower Hamlets area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and later moved to the Old Jewry
Old Jewry
Old Jewry is the name of a street in the City of London, in Coleman Street Ward, linking Gresham Street with The Poultry.William the Conqueror encouraged Jews to come to England soon after the Norman Conquest; some settled in cities throughout his new domain, including in London. According to Rev....
near Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
where his father ran an Inn called The King's Head. At the age of thirteen his father secured passage for him on the Degrave headed for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The Degrave
The Degrave left port in February, 1701 reaching India safely four months later. On the return voyage it ran aground near MauritiusMauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and the crew was forced to abandon ship in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
on the southern most tip of the island having not reached the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. The local Antandroy
Androy
Androy is a region in southern Madagascar.*Capital: Ambovombe-Androy*Chief: Andrien Hatrifenjanahary AreaAndroy is the most southern region of Madagascar...
king Andriankirindra gave the sailors a fine welcome but intended on keeping them captive in order to increase his standing among the other Antandroy kings.
Adventures With the Antandroy
The now captive sailors attempted to escape Anriankririndra to the east where Abraham Samuells, a black native of MartiniqueMartinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, reigned over the Antanosy tribes near what is now Fort-Dauphin
Tôlanaro
Tôlanaro or Tolagnaro is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of Anosy Region and of Tôlanaro District. It has a port of local importance, and a new port has been built at Ehoala...
. This failed attempt saw most of the surviving crew cut to pieces and only a couple of youths, Drury included, spared. He was then given to the king Andriamivaro as his slave.
A reluctant slave at first, Robert eventually moved his way up from agricultural work to become a cow herd and eventually the royal butcher. He stayed there for what seems to have been 10 years. In the following years war broke out with the neighboring ethnicity to the west, the Mahafaly
Mahafaly
The Mahafaly are an ethnic group of Madagascar that inhabit the plains of the Betioky-Ampamihy area. Their name means either "those who make taboos" or "those who make happy", although the former is considered more likely by linguists...
. This was followed by a fratricidal civil war between Andriamivaro, and his uncles and cousins which included the High King
High king
A high king is a king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of Emperor; compare King of Kings.Rulers who have been termed "high king" include:...
of the Androy
Androy
Androy is a region in southern Madagascar.*Capital: Ambovombe-Androy*Chief: Andrien Hatrifenjanahary AreaAndroy is the most southern region of Madagascar...
. An emissary from the Sakalava
Sakalava
The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar numbering approximately 700,000 in population. Their name means "people of the long valleys." They occupy the Western edge of the island from Toliara in the south to Sambirano in the north. The Sakalava denominate a number of smaller ethnic groups...
king of Fiherenana (part of the Menabe
Menabe
Menabe is a region in western Madagascar. It is named for the 18th century Sakalava kingdom of Menabe. The capital is Morondava.-History:Menabe is the southern part of the Sakalava territory. Tradition holds that it was founded by Adriamandazoala . Its territory was increased under the legendary...
kingdom) broke the civil war by proposing a joint attack against the Mahafaly. This emissary also spoke to Drury convincing him that if he fled to Fiherenana they would help him on to the first British ship they found.
Robert then escaped and found refuge with Andrianafarana, a rival Antandroy king. He then fled from this master as well and, traveling north through Bara
Bara people
The Bara people are a Malagasy ethnic group living in the southern part of the central plateaus of Madagascar, in the Toliara Province, especially in the Ihosy-Betroka area. They are estimated to account for 3% of the overall malagasy population. Along with Sakalava, Bara are one of the two...
country he found the Onilahy
Onilahy
Onilahy is a town and commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Manakara, which is a part of Vatovavy-Fitovinany Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 5,000 in 2001 commune census....
river and followed it to St.Augustine bay now the city of Toliara
Toliara
-References:...
and the capital of the Fiherenana.
Surviving on the West Coast
Upon reaching the west coast, Robert was able to meet and socialize with a community of stowaways both black and white. After further warring between his new masters, the Antandroy allies and their Mahafaly enemies Drury was forced to find refuge further north this time in the court of the legendary Andriamanetriarivo, king of MenabeMenabe
Menabe is a region in western Madagascar. It is named for the 18th century Sakalava kingdom of Menabe. The capital is Morondava.-History:Menabe is the southern part of the Sakalava territory. Tradition holds that it was founded by Adriamandazoala . Its territory was increased under the legendary...
, brother of the great king Andriamandisoarivo of the Boina
Boina Kingdom
The Kingdom of Boina was a traditional state situated in what is now Madagascar.The Kingdom was founded ca. 1690 by King Andriamandisoarivo. It was centered around Boina Bay in north-west Madagascar. Some time after 1832 it was occupied by Imerina and was annexed by Madagascar in 1840...
. These two brothers built kingdoms which would dominate most of the island from the west coast well into the interior.
Eventually, through his new European friends, news would return to his father who asked a certain Captain Mackett to go to the coast to have him returned to England on his ship, the Masselage. This ship's primary goal though was to buy slaves from the Boina Kingdom
Boina Kingdom
The Kingdom of Boina was a traditional state situated in what is now Madagascar.The Kingdom was founded ca. 1690 by King Andriamandisoarivo. It was centered around Boina Bay in north-west Madagascar. Some time after 1832 it was occupied by Imerina and was annexed by Madagascar in 1840...
.
Later life and Journal
Robert arrived in England finally on 9 September 1717 after sixteen years. Unfortunately his parents were already dead. He then returned to Madagascar to become a slave trader. He may have even eventually also become a pirate for some time. In the end though he was known to be a common porter at India HouseIndia House
India House was an informal Indian nationalist organisation based in London between 1905 and 1910. With the patronage of Shyamji Krishna Varma, its home in a student residence in Highgate, North London was launched to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britain...
. He was said also to hang out at Old Tom's Coffee House in Birchin Lane telling tales of his adventures in Madagascar.
Drury published his memoirs under the title Madagascar, or Robert Drury's Journal in 1729. It was highly praised at the time and went through seven editions until 1890. But suspicion began to rise concerning its authenticity due to its paraphrasing of many parts of the book on the History of Madagascar by Etienne de Flacourt
Étienne de Flacourt
Étienne de Flacourt was a French governor of Madagascar, born at Orléans in 1607. He was named governor of Madagascar by the French East India Company in 1648....
in 1658. Also, Drury had the same publisher as Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
and notably the same literary style. The Journal may be in fact a fiction by Defoe based on information from Flacourt's book. Many authorities who know the Androy
Androy
Androy is a region in southern Madagascar.*Capital: Ambovombe-Androy*Chief: Andrien Hatrifenjanahary AreaAndroy is the most southern region of Madagascar...
and Mahafaly
Mahafaly
The Mahafaly are an ethnic group of Madagascar that inhabit the plains of the Betioky-Ampamihy area. Their name means either "those who make taboos" or "those who make happy", although the former is considered more likely by linguists...
regions well are convinced though that the story proves its creator had a very intimate knowledge of the region. These include :
-
- Dr Lotte Schomerus-Gernbock (1970, an ethnologist who lived a number of years in the MahafalyMahafalyThe Mahafaly are an ethnic group of Madagascar that inhabit the plains of the Betioky-Ampamihy area. Their name means either "those who make taboos" or "those who make happy", although the former is considered more likely by linguists...
region. - Raymond K. Kent, Professor of HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. - Mike Parker Pearson (1996), archaeologist at Sheffield University. He has argued for the authenticity of Drury's Journal.
- Dr Lotte Schomerus-Gernbock (1970, an ethnologist who lived a number of years in the Mahafaly
Among the most important works was that of Mike P Pearson who found archaeological evidence of many parts of Drury's account. These discoveries are described in his book "In search of the red slave".
Robert Drury died sometime between the third (1743) and fourth (1750) editions of his journal.
External links
- The Mystery of Madagascar
- Shipwreck adventurer's fiction revealed as true
- Shipwreck into Slavery (British Archeology, Issue 67, October 2002)
- Tombs, Landscape and Society in Southern Madagascar