Madagascar is ours: Peter I's secret expedition to Africa

With the beginning of the era of Great geographical Discoveries, Spain and Portugal rushed to saw the world, establishing their power in overseas territories. Later, they were joined by England, France and Holland. Russia, which did not have a sensible fleet, could only think of annexing neighboring lands. Until Peter I ascended to the throne.

The great reformer, among other things, brought the culture of shipbuilding from Europe. With the appearance of solid ships, the emperor could not help but have colonial ambitions. But by that time, most of the land had already been divided, so it was necessary to look for something that does not lie well. There was an island off the east coast of Africa called Madagascar, where pirates organized a semblance of a state.

Previously, the French ruled Madagascar, but in 1670 an uprising broke out on the island, and all the colonizers were killed. The remaining bases were chosen by the corsairs: from here it was easy to attack merchant ships going to India and back. From time to time, the Europeans sent punitive expeditions, but not too accentuated, so it was not possible to eradicate piracy. So the so-called Madagascar kingdom gradually took shape on the island, which was ruled by authoritative sea robbers. 

In 1721, the Swedes decided to take over Madagascar. Having lost the Northern War, the kingdom needed new sources of income. Vice Admiral Daniel Wilster was put in charge of the African expedition, but it soon became clear that the treasury was so thin that there was not enough money for equipping ships, and the project stalled.

Wilster turned out to be a very clever man: soon he arrived in St. Petersburg, where he announced that he was not an enemy of Russia and had an important state matter to the tsar (amazing, however, simplicity of morals). Peter, having learned about Madagascar, was inflamed.

The training was deployed in Revel (present-day Tallinn) in conditions of the strictest secrecy. All correspondence was conducted in the field office of the commander of the Russian Fleet, Admiral General Apraksin, without involving employees of the Admiralty Board and the Board of Foreign Affairs: they were packed with representatives of the western courts. The documents did not even indicate the destination, they wrote: "Follow to the place assigned to you."

Wilster was taken to Rogerwick, and until the departure he lived in the commandant's house in complete isolation, in fact, in the position of a prisoner. They decided not to go under a military flag, and since multi-gun frigates under a commercial flag are a suspicious phenomenon, they were ordered to avoid busy sea routes. The route was laid not across the English Channel, but around Britain.

Two Dutch-built frigates were equipped with three thousand rubles allocated from the treasury: "Amsterdam Galey" and "Decron de Livde". Wilster, who led the expedition, was instructed to defeat the main pirate bases, deliver Peter's letter to the ruler of Madagascar and negotiate with him on the establishment of diplomatic and trade relations.

The ships sailed from Reval on December 21, 1723. But they did not even have time to reach the Danish hulls, as during a storm one of the frigates leaked, and the other showed problems with stability. They had to return to the port without any salt. Nevertheless, Peter did not abandon his intention, new and more thorough preparations were unfolded. However, after the death of the first Russian emperor, they put an end to the African campaign. So Russia did not get to the Black Continent.