 In 1843, "Madagascar" was assigned to suppress the slave trade, which was illegal in Britain.Operating off the west African coast, it successfully detained the Portuguese slave schooner "Feliz" in 1837, the Brazilian slave ships "Ermelinda Segunda" (detained 1842), "Independencia" (1843), "Prudentia" (1843) and "Loteria" (1843), and the Spanish slave brigantine "Roberto" (1842), along with two other vessels of which the nationalities were not recorded.In 1848, "Madagascar" became a storeship, first in Devonport and then at Rio de Janeiro after 1853.