26 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
disposition of the other. He therefore chose to retire* 
and set sail for France in 1671; but he had no sooner ar¬ 
rived at Fort Louis, than a commissary demanded of him an 
account of his conduct. He now found that La Haye had 
sent home complaints against him, which had induced the 
company to take this step. The marquis defended himself 
with great spirit, and the public voice was in his favour: 
but his enemies were too powerful; he fell a victim to their 
machinations, and died a prisoner at the castle of Saumur. 
Under La Haye, who possessed unlimited authority, the 
government of the island was conducted in a totally opposite 
spirit. Determined to get rid of those chiefs who did not 
acknowledge his authority, he joined with Chamargou and 
La Case in summoning Andrian Ramousay to surrender to 
the French all the arms in his possession, or to prepare 
for war. This demand being spurned by the chief with dis¬ 
dain, La Case and Chamergou were ordered to besiege him 
in his village; which order they promptly obeyed, advancing 
against him with 700 French and 600 Malagasy. The 
attack was, however, unsuccessful. Andrian Ramousay 
made so vigorous and gallant a resistance, that the French 
were obliged to retire with considerable loss. It was the 
general opinion that the treacherous Chamargou, piqued at 
being second in command where he had hitherto governed 
alone, and moreover not relishing his coalition with La Case, 
whom he had formerly treated so ill, had contrived this 
defeat. Whether this was correct or not, La Haye was so 
disgusted at the supposed treachery of Chamargou, that he 
resolved to abandon Fort Dauphin, and to retire with his 
forces to Surat, first touching at the Isle of Bourbon. 
Flis departure was shortly after followed by the death of 
La Case, whose name alone kept the island in subjection to 
the French. Their yoke had become odious and intolerable 
