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• Importance of Trades
Starting in the 17th century, trade reached a peak in the 18th and 19th century - the vast majority of sites were established during this
period. The Europeans settled safely on the coast for two centuries, did not venture inland. Instead they sent their agents - men who
took plenty of goods away and returned with very little.
The list below provides some of the products mostly wanted by foreign traders:
Aloe
(taretra)
; hemp leaves; raffia hats; beeswax; cocoons; straw of all kinds, heart ring
(fahanjozoro)
, skin (from goat, sheep and
zebu);
Sarika
(textile made from the bottom of a banana tree); wild silk; and
Solika
neatsfoot oil,
(
Rantoandro
1985: 258)
.
With the gradual introduction of European slave traders to the coast, small local manufacturers thrived. The Ampasimbe region was a
major producer of items made from raffia.
Increased trade however, resulted in a transport problem for those settled on the coast. Madagascar had no road network that would
have allowed the use of a cart pulled by zebus. All travel was done on foot or by
filanjana
, a type of chair for very rich people. Traders
had to find more and more men to transport their goods and the
maromita
and the
borizano
were born.
Regularly practicing trade, the
maromita
and
borizano
were easily recognizable by the huge calluses on their shoulders. Each of them
could carry an average load of 40kg. The testimony of a trader of the time highlights their extraordinary endurance. At the end of the
19th century, the
maromita
mainly carried zebu skins from Antananarivo to Toamasina. To earn more money they would carry loads of
60kg, or even 75kg.
