The "Margaret Oakley" commanded by American Benjamin Morrell. Apart from the logbook of an American ship preserved at the Peabody Museum, which describes Mahajanga in 1792, the earliest available texts on American trade in Madagascar consist of two passages from James Hastie's journal, during Radama I's expedition against Boina (Boeny) in July 1824. "On June 30, 1824, having learned of the presence of three American ships in the port of Mahajanga, I sent a note to their captains to inform them of Radama's imminent arrival and to assure them that their goods would be respected..." In the second passage, Hastie explains that Americans imported weapons, ammunition, iron, glassware and pottery, sweets, furniture, fancy goods, but also silver dollars which they sold largely to Arab merchants. In return, they obtained beef, leather, ebony and sandalwood, objects prepared by locals, but also "elephant tusks from the Arabs." In a lecture delivered on December 3, 1966, during the celebration of the centenary of American-Malagasy relations, Jean Valette indicates that it is from the 19th century onwards that sources on the subject are most reliable. He even adds that one must wait until 1828 for American and Malagasy texts to provide further information. In an American text preserved in Salem, dated June 20, 1828, the archivist-paleographer notes the departure from Mahajanga on the 28th of the same month of the American schooner "Spy". However, Malagasy archives contain correspondence about the stay in Mahajanga of this schooner whose owner is Andrew Ward, a well-known shipowner from Massachusetts, which arrived in Mahajanga on March 6, 1828. Subsequently, the captain wishes to sell his ship and opens up to Merina authorities. Governor Ramanetaka, knowing that it is part of Radama I's plans to build a fleet, informs his sovereign by letter of August 8, 1828 (May 24, 1828), of this sales offer and the conditions requested, namely an exchange for a quantity of cattle to be negotiated. The letter reaches the king on August 20, but already ill and, moreover, occupied by the celebration of the Bath Festival, "Fandroana", he only responds on September 9, or June 24. The king accepts the principle of the purchase, but imposes multiple conditions, "legitimate moreover", the main one being the question of the captain who would command the schooner in Radama's name. The latter, "who seemed to know well the maritime customs of his time", fears, indeed, some act of piracy on the part of the captain, and demands solid guarantees. "The matter came to nothing, since the 'Spy'—its captain having probably changed his mind—had left Mahajanga before even Radama's reply." A fine work by Boston historians Bennet and Brooks, "New-England Merchants in Africa", brings together documents preserved in the United States, especially in Salem, relating to American activities in Africa, from 1802 to 1865. Madagascar occupies a significant share in these activities. The documents presented by Bennet better illustrate the mechanism of American trade in the Great Island. Trade which is in the hands of merchants and shipowners from Boston and Salem, and is characterized essentially by "its close intertwining with trade conducted on the East African coast, principally with Zanzibar, hence American trade in Madagascar essentially based on the West coast". This can also be explained by the predominant position occupied by Madagascar's East coast for French and English merchants who are close to their bases, the islands of Mauritius and Réunion. "We thus witness a real division, the English and French trading on the East coast, the Americans on the West coast..." However, it should not be underestimated, especially on the West coast, the role played by Arab and Indian merchants "which is unfortunately very difficult to grasp". Pela Ravalitera