'One That's More Torrid': The Pirates of Madagascar

Misson Part v Comoros History

The residents of the islands in this region (now called the Comoros) had engaged in minor inter-island conflict for several centuries. According to Malyn Newitt, however, these conflicts were greatly exacerbated by European merchant ships, as "each of the islands was visited [...] and competed for this lucrative commerce" ("The Comoro Islands in Indian Ocean Trade Before the 19th Century" 156). Newitt notes that pirates further worsened this situation, expecting locals to tolerate them hiding in their waters and to provide supplies. While Misson's story is largely fictional, it is quite true that Anjouan and Moheli (the two islands in Misson's current conflict) had a particularly fierce rivalry. This might be due to the fact that they had the best natural harbors of the Comoros islands, and thus the most interference from European ships eager to exploit differences; Newitt points out that just a decade or so before the fictional Misson's visit, "Anjouan was subject to raids from Moheli and that the chief town was half deserted due to recent attack which had left many dead" (157).

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