Rasoamiaramanana

A carte-de-visite portrait of Rasoamiaramanana (known as Rasoa), the son of a government official in Madagascar. He was brought to England in 1871, along with another Malagasy boy named Rosoamanana ('Frank' for short), by the missionary Joseph Stickley Sewell. Although Sewell was a Quaker, he worked within the Anglican tradition of the London Missionary Society. Both boys were about 13 years old when they left Madagascar. On arriving in England they were placed at Bootham, the Quaker school in York, where they made rapid progress with their studies. However, Frank’s health suffered in the British climate and he returned to Madagascar in 1873. Rasoa remained in England for two more years, studying at the Flounder’s Institute, a Quaker college in London. On his return, he eventually became a private secretary to the Queen of Madagascar. Frank taught at the missionary school and translated religious texts into Malagasy.

Photographed by W. Monkhouse of York.