In our Colonies series :
After the crushing defeat of 1870, the French military sought a return to victory. Moreover, business circles were encouraging colonial expeditions to find new commercial outlets in a context of economic crisis in Europe. France – then governed by Republican parties – embarked on several overseas “adventures”, such as in Tonkin and Madagascar.
This engraving depicts the hours following the fighting at Morovoay: the wounded and sick of the expeditionary force are hoisted aboard a hospital ship. During the Expedition to Madagascar, almost 5,000 soldiers and officers died, mainly due to a lack of quinine to treat malaria.