Madagascar
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Madagascar. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
mad-a-gas'kar, the one large island of Africa. It is a possession of France. It lies in the Indian Ocean , about 230 miles from the southeast coast of the African mainland. It is about twice as large as Great Britain and Ireland and somewhat smaller than Texas. The coast has few bays; the shore is low and comparatively level. The interior rises into a rough region of rocks and moors, 3,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea. The lower region is well watered, fertile, and well wooded. While the high interior has a temperate climate, the coast regions are sultry, swampy, and malarial. The season from November to April is hot and rainy, especially on the eastern coast; with terrific hail storms, thunder storms, and hurricanes every year or two. No snow falls on the island. About 4,000 plants have been described, including species of palm, bamboo, tree fern, baobab, tamarind, orchis, and others, many of which are not found elsewhere. Many curious animals are found in the woods and water, including the lemurs or long-tailed monkeys, the aye-aye, and bats and chameleons without number. The remains of a bird larger than the ostrich have been found. Its egg was over twelve inches long. Over 125 birds not found elsewhere may be seen in the island. The inhabitants number about 2,500,000. The original negro population was subjugated at some time by a warlike tribe of Malay invaders, called Hovas. They are now a third of the population. They made the French no end of trouble until their last queen was banished, 1899, to Algiers. The island is now recognized as a possession of France, and is ruled by a French governor. Between Protestants and Roman Catholics about one-fifth of the people have been converted to Christianity. Hospitals, schools, and orphan asylums are maintained in connection with the missions. The French have established courts and a system of public schools with instruction in the French language. Tamatave, the principal seaport, has one short railroad. Postal service is maintained all over the island, and is supplemented by 2,850 miles of telegraph lines and a cable to the mainland. A few wagon roads have been built, but, for the most part, goods are transported inland by canoes or on the shoulders of carriers. Over 13,000 ships, chiefly French and British, call at the ports to bring cotton cloth, coal, rice, wine, hardware, crockery, brandy, and flour, to the amount of $8,000,000 a year. They carry away shiploads of hides, cattle, beeswax, hemp, rubber, ebony, raffia, and gold. The interior is believed to be rich in mines of gold, copper, iron, lead, sulphur, and graphite. It is as yet unexplored. The forests abound in valuable woods that may some day be needed by the outside world. The people are engaged chiefly in a rude sort of agriculture, raising cattle, rice, manioc, sugar, coffee, cotton, coca, vanilla, tobacco, and sweet potatoes. The domestic animals include 3,000,000 cattle, 330,000 sheep, 500,000 swine, and 66,000 goats. Mad Anthony. See Wayne ; Anthony 2026 Editor's Note: This page uses language about race that was commonplace when the book was published and is offensive by today's standards. The text has been left exactly as it was printed, rather than cut or softened, so that the historical record — including how ordinary such language once was — is preserved. (Ed: BR 2026-07-22)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a large island in the Indian Ocean, 230 miles from the E. coast of Africa, from which it is separated by Mozambique Channel; length, 980 miles; average breadth, 360 miles; area, about 228,500 square miles; pop. (1917) 3,545,264. Madagascar may be described as an elevated region, with an average height of 3,000 to 5,000 feet, overlooked by mountains rising in some cases to nearly 9,000 feet. The coast exhibits a number of indentations, mostly small, but few good harbors, being in great part rock, though in some places low and sandy. On some parts of the coast are numerous lagoons. The rivers are numerous, yet few of them offer even to a moderate extent the advantages of internal navigation. The c'imate is oppressively hot on the coast, but temperate on the highlands of the interior. The rainy season continues from December to April. The vegetable products grown for food include rice, manioc or cassava, sweet potatoes, ground nuts, and yams. Ginger, pepper, and indigo grow wild in the woods; cotton, sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, and hemp are cultivated. Coal is found in the N. W., rice, cattle, hides gum, india-rubber, wax, cotton, sugar, vanilla, lard, and coffee are exported to Mauritius, Réunion, and Europe, Humped cattle are found in immense herds, and form a large part of the wealth of the inhabitants, as do also sheep, goats, swine, and horses. The most characteristic of the mammals are the lemurs. The birds are numerous; snakes are rare; crocodiles, lizards, chameleons abound. The inhabitants, called Malagasy, belong to the Malayo-Polynesian stock and speak a Malayan language. The Hovas are the ruling tribe, they having extended their sway over nearly the whole island. The Malagasy show much aptitude as silversmiths, gunsmiths, carpenters, and with rude looms make handsome cloths. Capital, Antananarivo, a striking and well-built town; pop. (1917) 63,115, on a lofty hill about 200 miles inland; principal port, Tamatave, on the E. coast; pop. about 9,000; chief port on the N. W. coast is Majunga; pop. about 7,000. Prior to 1895 the government was an absolute monarchy under Queen Ranavalona III. A French Resident, however, with a military escort, resided at the court and controlled foreign relations, so that the country was virtually a French protectorate. Much friction prevailed in 1893-1894, between the government and the French authorities, and finally France decided to make her protectorate of the island effective. The island was made a French colony. Under French rule the colony has prospered, commerce has been developed, and in 1917 the combined imports and exports amounted to over $40,000,000. Madagascar has telegraph communication with other countries, and is a wireless telegraph station.