The somewhat mountainous interior of La Réunion, for example, served as a largely inaccessible refuge for many deserters. It was here, especially in the calderas of Cilaos and Mafate, that bands of deserters gathered and established entrenched positions (Alpers, 2005, pp. 59-60; Reydellet, 1994, p. 49). There are various reports indicating the permanent presence of deserters in the La Réunion interior. In July 1752, mention is made of the discovery 'on the main tributary known as the "Etang du Gol", of a camp of eight primitive huts, housing fourteen or fifteen deserters' and, in the same year, the camp of Laverdure, the king of the Malagasy people, was discovered in the upper reaches of the Saint-Etienne River (Fuma, 2002).  
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[^0]:    12 Journal of the Cape, 27 December 1718. WCA, C/48, f. 37-46.
13 Sentence, Le Cap, 28 March 1737. WCA, CJ/786, f. 88-93.
14 In 1746, Louison, a captured enslaved person, identified herself by her Malagasy name: Fonovola.  
As early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, small communities of deserters were established on Table Mountain and Hangklip, a highly sheltered peak. Their leader, Leander Bugis, was venerated by enslaved people from the Cape. In order to survive, they traded with enslaved people from the town or occasionally raided surrounding settlements. The situation of runaways was somewhat precarious, particularly given the severity of the winters (Armstrong, 1979, pp. 104-108; Worden, 1985, p. 125). Mention should also be made of the Morne Brabant peninsula as a place of refuge for runaway enslaved people, who committed suicide upon the arrival of English soldiers bringing news of the abolition of slavery. ${ }^{15}$