The natives of Madagascar are negroes, but differ from those of Guinea in the length of their hair and in the blackness of their complexion.  They are divided into small nations, each governed by its own prince, who carry on a continual war upon each other.  The prisoners taken in war are either rendered slaves to the conquerors, sold, or slain, according to pleasure.  When the pirates first settled among them, their alliance was much courted by these princes, and those whom they joined were always successful in their wars, the natives being ignorant of the use of fire-arms.  Such terror did they carry along with them, that the very appearance of a few pirates in an army would have put the opposing force to flight.

By these means they in a little time became very formidable, and the prisoners whom they took in war they employed in cultivating the ground, and the most beautiful of the women they married; nor were they contented with one, but married as many as they could conveniently maintain.  The natural result was, that they separated, each choosing a convenient place for himself, where he lived in a princely style, surrounded by his wives, slaves and dependants.  Nor was it long before jarring interests excited them also to draw the sword against each other, and they appeared at the head of their respective forces in the field of battle.  In these civil wars their numbers and strength were greatly lessened.

The servant, exalted to the condition of a master, generally becomes a tyrant.  These pirates, unexpectedly elevated to the dignity of petty princes, used their power with the most wanton barbarity.  The punishment of the very least offence was to be tied to a tree, and instantly shot through the head.  The negroes, at length, exasperated by continued oppression, formed the determination of extirpating them in one night; nor was it a difficult matter to accomplish this, since they were now so much divided both in affection and residence.  Fortunately, however, for them, a negro woman, who was partial to them, ran twenty miles in three hours, and warning them of their danger, they were united and in arms to oppose the negroes before the latter had assembled.  This narrow escape made them more cautious, and induced them to adopt the following system of policy:—­

Convinced that fear was not a sufficient protection, and that the bravest man might be murdered by a coward in his bed, they labored to foment wars among the negro princes, while they themselves declined to aid either party.  It naturally followed, that those who were vanquished fled to them for protection, and increased their strength.  When there was no war, they fomented private discords, and encouraged them to wreak their vengeance against each other; nay, even taught them how to surprise their opponents, and furnished them with fire-arms, with which to dispatch them more effectually and expeditiously.  The consequences were, that the murderer was constrained to fly to them for protection, with his wives, children, and kindred.  These, from interest, became true friends, as their own safety depended upon the lives of their protectors.  By this time the pirates were so formidable, that none of the negro princes durst attack them in open war.