A Voyage to Madagascar and the East Indies ... to which is added, M Brunel's Memoir on the Chinese Trade

lxiv+[17]-406+[errata] pages with folding map and index. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2") bound in full leather six spine compartments with red label with gilt lettering and decorative gilt in compartments. Map of Madagascar drawn by M Robert, translated Joseph Trapp. Second English edition which was was preceded by the 1792 edition.

Published in English translation in 1793, this was the first study of Madagascar by a European. A member of the Académie des Sciences, Alexis-Marie de Rochon (1741-1817) was a distinguished French physicist, astronomer and traveller. He was involved in scientific voyages of discovery in the 1770s, conducting a hydrographic survey of the Indian Ocean. The present account was intended to show the advantages of French settlement in Madagascar and includes details of geography, anthropology and agriculture. In discussing cocoa and sugar, Rochon outlines the potential advantages of steam engines in sugar factories. He also provides an exploration history of the region and an interesting account of colonial leaders, notably Maurice Benyovszky (1746-86), the explorer-adventurer who was appointed governor of Madagascar by Louis XV. The work also includes a 'Memoir of the Chinese Trade', which details the many products traded between Europe and China in the late eighteenth century.

Condition:

Respined with the original spine laid on, old roman numeral to front paste down else a very good copy.