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CHAP. XII. 
Reflections on the History of barbarous Nations — Por¬ 
tuguese Settlements—Pronis appointed Governor by 
the East-India Company—Recalled for his Cruelty — 
Flacourt succeeds him — Recalled—Justifies himself — 
Perishes with his Associates in returning to Madagas¬ 
car—Natives massacre the Garrison , and destroy Fort 
Dauphin . 
The history of barbarous nations, previous to the 
period when they became known to those that are 
civilized, is, for obvious reasons, comprised in a few 
pages. Destitute of the arts, sciences, and literature, 
they possess not the means of transmitting to pos¬ 
terity the records of past transactions; and with 
them, ages roll away, leaving behind no recollection 
or memorial of their former active existence, beyond 
a few straggling traditionary accounts of the most 
remarkable events that have taken place. Even if 
the finger of history could trace back an unbroken 
outline of events, it would present but a dull, mono¬ 
tonous, uniform relation of petty wars, bloody mas¬ 
sacres, and inglorious victories. 
Notwithstanding this, much instruction as well as 
amusement may be drawn from the perusal of the 
history (as far as it goes) of such a people. To 
contemplate the human character in its rudest form, 
