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CHAP. IX. 
Of War—Its Incitements—divided into Three Kinds — 
Provincial Wars—General Wars—Numbers engaged 
— Weapons—Generalissimo chosen—Magicians con¬ 
sulted—Mode of Attack—Foreign Wars—Method of 
suing for Peace. 
The business of war unfortunately occupies a great 
portion of the time, the talents, and the feelings of the 
Madegasses. We have before alluded to the circum¬ 
stances which operate to occasion this; namely, the 
subdivision of the island into a number of petty pro¬ 
vinces, which continually creates a jarring of interests; 
the remembrance of family feuds, which are religi¬ 
ously kept up, and impose an indispensable obligation 
on the descendants to revenge them ; and, above all, 
the accursed slave-trade, which operates in every 
possible direction. Being a source of profit, it excites 
their avarice; and the slightest pretexts are considered 
sufficient to justify an attack, which indeed frequently 
takes place without any pretext at all: thus, the 
causes of retaliation are multiplied ad infinitum , till 
the whole island is thrown into one general ferment, 
and revenge and hatred are, as it were, the breathing 
element of a large portion of its inhabitants. 
Their warfare may be divided into three kinds— 
provincial, general, and foreign. 
