The Menalamba rebellion was a popular resistance movement that emerged in central Madagascar in response to the French capture of the royal palace

Rova of Antananarivo

The Rova of Antananarivo is a royal palace complex in Madagascar that served as the home of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Imerina in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the rulers of the Kingdom of Madagascar in the 19th century...

 in the capital city of Antananarivo

Antananarivo

Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....

 in September 1895.

Background

French diplomatic and military actions to claim sovereignty over the island of Madagascar - ongoing for more than four centuries - intensified under the reigns of Queen Ranavalona II and Queen Ranavalona III, the island's final monarchs. Following a successful campaign

Franco-Hova War

The Franco-Hova Wars consisted of French military interventions in Madagascar between 1883 and 1896 that overthrew the ruling monarchy of the Merina Kingdom, and resulted in Madagascar becoming a French colony...

 under General Jacques Duchesne

Jacques Duchesne

Jacques Charles René Achille Duchesne was a French general of the 19th century. He was born at Sens on March 3, 1837. He entered Saint-Cyr in 1855, and became a Lieutenant in 1861.-Career:...

, France officially annexed Madagascar on January 1, 1896. That August, the French declared Madagascar to be their colony and exiled Malagasy

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

 Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony

Rainilaiarivony

Rainilaiarivony was the Prime Minister of Madagascar from 1864 to 1895, following his older brother Rainivoninahitriniony who had held the post for thirteen years prior...

 to Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

 (in Algeria) where he died the following year. Queen Ranavalona III and much of her administration remained but were afforded no real political power. A civil governor, Hippolyte Laroche, was initially appointed to administer the territory.

Menalamba revolt

In December 1895, two months after the French capture of Antananarivo, popular resistance to French rule emerged in the form of the menalamba ("red shawl") uprising. This guerrilla war against foreigners, Christianity, and political corruption, quickly spread throughout the island and was principally conducted by common peasants who wore shawls smeared with the red laterite soil of the highlands. The resistance movement gained ground until it was effectively put down by the French military at the end of 1897. Members of Ranavalona's court were accused of encouraging the rebels and many leading figures were executed, including the queen's uncle Ratsimamanga (brother of her favored adviser, Ramisindrazana) and her Minister of War, Rainandriamampandry. Ramisindrazana, the queen's aunt, was exiled to Reunion because the French were reluctant to execute a woman.

The resistance led the government of France to replace the island's civil governor with a military governor, General Joseph Gallieni

Joseph Gallieni

Joseph Simon Gallieni was a French soldier, most active as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies and finished his career during the First World War. He was made Marshal of France posthumously in 1921...

. It was also a principal factor in the decision to exile Ranavalona to Reunion Island later that same year.