Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843. Bernard William Dallas
were not discontinued, he should make him leave the island altogether. To this no reply was made; and still the vessel went across to the coast, bringing back, on one occasion, nearly two hundred slaves. Many of these were probably re-exported to other parts.
Abdallah hereupon ordered his disobedient visitor immediately to quit the island, upon the ground that the slave-trade could not be permitted within his territory, the more particularly as he was bound by treaty with the English to prevent it in every way he could.
To this summons Raymanytek made no other reply than to bring all his followers together armed, and, by means of bribery and fair promises, to enlist in his cause some of the poorer inhabitants in his neighbourhood, and also to arm as many of his negro slaves as he could prevail upon, and who appeared trustworthy. Money seemed at all times to be at his command, and he is said to have brought a well-filled purse with him when he landed from Madagascar. With the force he had now collected, he made an unexpected descent upon the capital of the island, which, being unprepared, was, of course, unable to resist him. The consternation was general, in addition to which, his money is believed to have influenced some of the people to remain quiet.
Almost immediately the old Sultan Abdallah was deposed, and his brother Ali took the chief power into his hands. Abdallah, with all the rest of his family, left the island, with the hope of being able to find an opportunity of reaching some English port, where he might represent his case, and ask for assistance. He reached the island of Comoro in safety; but what became of him afterwards, until he was ultimately put to death with extreme barbarity, as before stated, I have hitherto not been able to ascertain.
During this short interval, Raymanytek had been able to get possession of the arms belonging to Abdallah, and which I have stated were supplied every two or three years by the government of Bombay, as a recompence for his friendly assistance when needed; and, having burnt and ruined the greater part of the town, and completely destroyed the crops and plantations in the neighbourhood, he embarked on board his little vessel, and, taking with him all that he could conveniently carry away of any value, he withdrew to the island of Mohilla, and established himself there in a position easy of defence; all the subsequent efforts of the rightful authorities to turn him out were of no avail.
This man must have been supplied, by some means or other, with abundance of ammunition; and it is not unlikely that his speculations in the slave-trade, by means of his own vessel, may have supplied him not only with money, but also with warlike weapons and ammunition. It is well surmised, too, that he received assistance direct from Madagascar at various times; and it must not be forgotten that the nine or ten years which elapsed between the commencement of these occurrences and the visit of the Nemesis was a period particularly fraught with difficulties in relation to the traffic in slaves, and that it appears primâ facie, highly probable that this marauding rebel may have been strongly encouraged, and even aided, in his attempts, by distant parties interested in the traffic. Indeed, unless some assistance of this kind had been furnished to him, it is difficult to see how he could so long have found means to maintain himself.
The sultan applied for assistance on several occasions to the government of the Mauritius, of the Cape, and of Bombay. The letter of the young sultan Alloué, after the death of his father, in 1836, addressed to the governor of the Cape of Good Hope, and to the admiral of the station, asking for assistance, was a really pathetic appeal to their good feelings. It detailed the horrors of poor old Abdallah's death, and the violent acts of the invader; it related the defenceless state in which he found himself on taking the reins into his hands; and then appealed to British generosity, in return for the faithful adhesion of his family to Great Britain, and the hospitality of his people towards all British subjects.
The answer on that occasion was prompt, and worthy of the cause – namely, "that in consequence of the difficulties in which the sultan of Johanna was placed, and in consideration of the fidelity with which the late Sultan Abdallah had fulfilled his engagements for the suppression of the slave-trade, and the hospitality which he had on all occasions shewn to British vessels touching at Johanna, the governor and admiral readily yield to the earnest desire of the Sultan Alloué for the aid of arms and ammunition, and send an ample supply thereof to Johanna in one of his majesty's sloops of war," &c.
With this assistance, Alloué was once more able to make head for the time against his enemy. But the country still continued in a very unsettled state; and, as the assistance was only temporary, he again fell into extreme difficulty, and addressed himself to the governor of the Mauritius upon the subject. Sir William Nicolai, who was governor and commander-in-chief of that island at that time, referred the application to the consideration of the home government. But it would seem that some little intrigues had sprung up among the sultan's own family, which it is not very easy, and so far very unimportant, to fathom.
The Sultan Alloué's uncle, Seyd Abbas, had about the same time sent two young men, either his sons or nephews, to the Mauritius, to report the unhappy state of the island, and to request assistance in support of the actual Sultan Alloué. Not long afterwards two or three other young men arrived at the Mauritius, also bearing letters from Seyd Abbas to the same purport. As this man was thought to be well disposed towards the English, and had been favourably spoken of by all those who had visited the island, and as, moreover, his object seemed to be the laudable one of trying to support the young sultan's authority, even though without his highness's acknowledged sanction, it was judged proper to maintain all these young men at the public expense, until an opportunity should offer for sending them back again. After the lapse of some months, a vessel was hired on purpose to carry them back; and it was at the same time distinctly intimated that, "however praiseworthy the intentions of Seyd Abbas may have been in sending his own relations from home as political messengers, and however high he may stand personally in the respect of Englishmen, it would in future be impossible for British authorities to maintain political correspondence with him or with any other person in Johanna than his highness the sultan of the island." The sultan was further recommended henceforth to give Seyd Abbas a share of his confidence in his councils, in consequence of his age and experience, and the apparent sincerity with which he espoused his interest; and, at the same time, the young men were recommended to his notice as very sensible and well-informed persons. The friendly interest and intentions of the government towards the sultan and people of Johanna were then in general terms expressed; and thus, with kind words and kinder hopes for better days for his subjects, the young sultan was left for the present to take care of himself.
It was only a few months before the arrival of the Nemesis that some of the events which have been recorded had occurred. The Sultan Alloué was still in extreme danger; and another letter was addressed by him to the governor of the Mauritius, only about five months previously. It appears to have been remarkably well written, and contains some ingenious observations which, as being written by a young Moorish prince, the ruler of an island in a remote corner of the globe, under circumstances of great difficulty, it may be worth while to dwell upon it for a moment.
He thanks his excellency the governor of the Mauritius for the kindness he had shewn to the young men, whom he admits to be distantly related to him; but shrewdly remarks that their "clandestine departure from Johanna, contrary to his express orders, and during the night, had given him reason to suppose that they were not quite so friendly disposed towards him as they wished his excellency to believe: and that he feared the object of their journey had been a pecuniary speculation upon the governor's goodness and British hospitality." He proceeds to express his thanks for being apprised that persons had entertained political correspondence with English authorities without his knowledge or consent; and adds, that, although he fully concurs in his excellency's opinion with regard to the age and experience of his uncle, Seyd Abbas, still there are many others in Johanna who possess the same qualities, and whose attachment and loyalty he had never had occasion to doubt.
The suspicion here betrayed is self-evident, and sufficiently delicately expressed. The picture he then draws of the state of his country is a pitiable one for a prince himself to be obliged to depict – "The town burnt; the country ravaged; all our cattle killed by the chief, Raymanytek, aided by natives of Mohilla, under his orders." He distinctly intimates that the rebel chief was receiving "assistance from the French;" and, although he does not state reasonable grounds for the assertion, the statement is not altogether an improbable one, considering that the abolition of