Merina Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The Merina Kingdom was a pre-colonial south-eastern African state that dominated most of what is now Madagascar
. It spread outward from Imerina, the central highlands region primarily inhabited by the Merina
ethnic group with a modern and historic political capital at Antananarivo
and a spiritual and former political capital at Ambohimanga
.
people are group within the Malagasy culture of Madagascar for whom the kingdom is named. They lived within the island's central plateau called Imerina ("land seen from afar"). According to oral history, this land was originally inhabited by the Vazimba
people, who were vanquished and largely expelled from the land by Merina king Andriamanelo
in the 16th century, thereby establishing the Kingdom of Imerina. A united and expanding Imerina was ruled by successors in his line until King Andriamasinavalona
quartered the kingdom to be ruled by his four favorite sons, producing persistent fragmentation and warfare between principalities in Imerina. It was from this context in 1787 that Prince Ramboasalama, nephew of King Andrianjaka
of Ambohimanga (one of the four kingdoms of Imerina) expelled his uncle and took the throne under the name Andrianampoinimerina
. The new king used both diplomacy and force to reunite Imerina with the intent to bring all of Madagascar under his rule – an objective largely completed under his son, Radama I.
The Merina kings and queens who ruled over greater Madagascar in the 19th century were thus the descendants of a long line of hereditary Merina royalty, stretching back in oral traditions to such sources as the first human inhabitants of the island or the son of god himself. A strong caste tradition in many parts of Madagascar saw rulers emerge among diverse ethnic groups, typically from the noble class known as andriana
. Most notably, the Sakalava
of the Western coastal plains established a thriving kingdom based on maritime trade with European and Arab commercial ships and pirates that dates to at least the 16th century. Political life on the island was characterized by sporadic conflict between the Merina and Sakalava kingdoms, first due to Sakalava slave hunting incursions into Imerina, and later when Merina military forces attempted to bring Sakalava lands under their control.
From 1800 onward, Andrianampoinimerina expanded his territory beyond Imerina starting the long and difficult task of uniting the other 18 ethnic groups on the island.
The king ambitiously proclaimed: Ny ranomasina no valapariako (“the sea is the boundary of my rice-field”). But Andrianampoinimerina stood out from other ambitious kings and tribal chiefs in his administrative ability. The king codified the laws. He supervised the building of dykes and trenches to increase the amount of arable land around Antananarivo. He introduced the metal spade and compelled rice farmers to use it. He operated as an exemplary military commander. By the time of his death in 1810, he had conquered the Bara and Betsileo highland tribes and had started to prepare to push the boundaries of his kingdom to the shores of the island.
Andrianampoinimerina's son Radama I (Radama the Great) assumed the throne during a turning-point in European history that had repercussions for Madagascar. With the defeat of Napoléon
in 1815, the balance of power in Europe and in the European colonies shifted in Britain's favor. The British, eager to exert control over the trade routes of the Indian Ocean, had captured the islands of Réunion
and Mauritius
from the French in 1810. Although they returned Réunion to France, they kept Mauritius as a base for expanding the British Empire
. Mauritius’s governor, to woo Madagascar from French control, recognized Radama I as King of Madagascar, a diplomatic maneuver meant to underscore the idea of the sovereignty of the island and thus to preclude claims by any European powers.
Radama I signed treaties with the United Kingdom outlawing the slave-trade and admitting Protestant missionaries into Madagascar. On the face of it, the terms of these treaties seem innocuous enough, but Protestant missionaries would spread British influence as well as Christian charity; and outlawing the slave-trade would weaken Réunion by depriving that island of slave-laborers for its sugar-plantations. In return for outlawing the slave trade, Madagascar received what the treaty called "The Equivalent": an annual sum of a thousand dollars in gold, another thousand in silver, stated amounts of gun powder, flints, and muskets, plus 400 surplus British Army uniforms. The governor of Mauritius also sent military advisers who accompanied and sometimes led Merina soldiers in their battles against the Sakalava and Betsimisaraka. In 1824, having defeated the Betsimisaraka
, Radama I declared, “Today, the whole island is mine! Madagascar has but one master.” The king died in 1828 while leading his army on a punitive expedition
against the Betsimisaraka.
The 33-year reign of Queen Ranavalona I
, the widow of Radama I, was characterized by a struggle to preserve the cultural and political sovereignty of Madagascar from French and English colonial designs. The queen repudiated the treaties that Radama I had signed with Britain and in 1835 after issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity
in Madagascar, she expelled British missionaries from the island and began persecuting Christian converts who would not renounce their religion. Ranavalona died in 1861.
Ranavalona's son and heir, King Radama II
, grew up under the influence of French nationals in Antananarivo. On June 28, 1855, while still Crown Prince, he signed the Lambert Charter giving Joseph-François Lambert
, an enterprising French businessman, the exclusive right to develop all minerals, forests, and unoccupied land in Madagascar in exchange for a 10-percent royalty payable to the Merina monarchy. In years to come, the French would cite the Lambert Charter as justification for the Franco-Hova War
and the annexation of Madagascar as a colony.
In his brief two years on the throne, King Radama II
re-opened trade with Mauritius and Réunion, invited Christian missionaries and foreigners to return to Madagascar, and re-instated most of Radama I’s reforms. His liberal policies angered the aristocracy
, however, and Rainivoninahitriniony
, the prime minister, engineered a coup d’état which resulted in the King's apparent death by strangling, although some have argued that he may have survived the attempted murder and lived to old age in anonymity.
A council of nobles (andriana
) headed by Rainilaiarivony
approached Rabodo, the widow of Radama II, the day after the death of her husband. They gave her the conditions under which she could succeed to the throne. These conditions included the suppression of trial by ordeal
as well as the monarchy's defense of freedom of religion
. Rabodo, crowned queen on May 13, 1863 under the throne name of Rasoherina
, reigned until her death on April 1, 1868.
The Malagasy people remember Queen Rasoherina for sending ambassador
s to London
and Paris
and for prohibiting Sunday markets. On June 30, 1865, she signed a treaty with the United Kingdom
giving British citizens the right to rent land and property on the island and to have a resident ambassador. With the United States of America she signed a trade agreement that also limited the importation of weapons and the export of cattle. Finally, with France
the queen signed a peace between her descendants and the descendants of the Emperor of France. Rasoherina married her Prime Minister, Rainivoninahitriniony
, but public outcry against his involvement in the murder of Radama II soon forced his resignation and exile to Betsileo
country south of Imerina. She then married his brother, Rainilaiarivony
, head of the army at the time of Radama II's murder who was promoted to the post of Prime Minister upon the resignation and exile of his older brother. Rainilaiarivony would rule Madagascar from behind the scenes for the remaining 32 years of the Merina monarchy, marrying each of the final three queens of Madagascar in succession.
In 1869 Queen Ranavalona II
, previously educated by the London Missionary Society
, underwent baptism into the Church of England
and subsequently made the Anglican faith the official state religion
of Madagascar.
She subsequently had all the sampy
(ancestral royal talismans) burned in a public display. Catholic and Protestant missionaries arrived in numbers to build churches and schools. The reign of Queen Ranavalona II was the heyday of British influence in Madagascar.
Angry at the cancellation of the Lambert Charter and seeking to restore property confiscated from French citizens, France invaded Madagascar in 1883 in what became known as the first Franco-Hova War
(Hova as a name referring to the Merina aristocrats). At the war’s end, Madagascar ceded Antsiranana
(Diégo Suarez) on the northern coast to France and paid 560,000 gold franc
s to the heirs of Joseph-François Lambert. In Europe, meanwhile, diplomats partitioning the African continent
worked out an agreement whereby Britain, in order to obtain the Sultanate of Zanzibar, ceded its rights over Heligoland
to the German Empire
and renounced all claims to Madagascar in favor of France. The agreement spelled doom for the independence of Madagascar. Prime Minister Rainilaiarivory had succeeded in playing Great Britain and France against one another, but now France could meddle without fear of reprisals from Britain.
In 1895, a French flying-column
landed in Mahajanga
(Majunga) and marched by way of the Betsiboka River
to the capital, Antananarivo
, taking the city’s defenders by surprise since they had expected an attack from the much closer eastern coast. Twenty French soldiers died in combat and 6,000 died of malaria
and other diseases before the second Franco-Hova War ended. In 1896, the Merina Kingdom was put under French protection as the Malagasy Protectorate
and in 1897 the French Parliament voted to annex
the island as a colony, bringing the 103-year-old Merina monarchy to a close.
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. It spread outward from Imerina, the central highlands region primarily inhabited by the Merina
Merina
The Merina are an ethnic group from Madagascar. The Merina are concentrated in the Highlands and speak the official dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo. Their ancestors, the...
ethnic group with a modern and historic political capital at Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....
and a spiritual and former political capital at Ambohimanga
Ambohimanga
The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga is a site of cultural and historical significance located approximately 24 kilometers to the east of the capital city of Antananarivo in Madagascar...
.
Origin
The MerinaMerina
The Merina are an ethnic group from Madagascar. The Merina are concentrated in the Highlands and speak the official dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo. Their ancestors, the...
people are group within the Malagasy culture of Madagascar for whom the kingdom is named. They lived within the island's central plateau called Imerina ("land seen from afar"). According to oral history, this land was originally inhabited by the Vazimba
Vazimba
The Vazimba , according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the average person, leading some scientists to speculate that they may...
people, who were vanquished and largely expelled from the land by Merina king Andriamanelo
Andriamanelo
Andriamanelo was King of Alasora in the central highlands region of Madagascar. He is generally considered by historians to be the founder of the Kingdom of Imerina and originator of the Merina royal line that, by the 19th century, had extended its rule over virtually all of Madagascar...
in the 16th century, thereby establishing the Kingdom of Imerina. A united and expanding Imerina was ruled by successors in his line until King Andriamasinavalona
Andriamasinavalona
King Andriamasinavalona , also known as Andrianjakanavalondambo, was a King of Imerina in the central part of the highlands of Madagascar.-Early life:...
quartered the kingdom to be ruled by his four favorite sons, producing persistent fragmentation and warfare between principalities in Imerina. It was from this context in 1787 that Prince Ramboasalama, nephew of King Andrianjaka
Andrianjaka
Andrianjaka reigned over the Kingdom of Imerina in the central highlands region of Madagascar from around 1612 to 1630. Despite being the younger of King Ralambo's two sons, Andrianjaka succeeded to the throne on the basis of his strength of character and skill as a military tactician...
of Ambohimanga (one of the four kingdoms of Imerina) expelled his uncle and took the throne under the name Andrianampoinimerina
Andrianampoinimerina
Ruling between 1787–1810, Andrianampoinimerina , born Ramboasalama or Ramboasalamarazaka at Ambohimanga around 1745 , initiated the unification of Madagascar under Merina rule and is considered one of the greatest military and political...
. The new king used both diplomacy and force to reunite Imerina with the intent to bring all of Madagascar under his rule – an objective largely completed under his son, Radama I.
The Merina kings and queens who ruled over greater Madagascar in the 19th century were thus the descendants of a long line of hereditary Merina royalty, stretching back in oral traditions to such sources as the first human inhabitants of the island or the son of god himself. A strong caste tradition in many parts of Madagascar saw rulers emerge among diverse ethnic groups, typically from the noble class known as andriana
Andriana
Andriana is a title of nobility in Madagascar and often traditionally formed part of the names of noblemen, princes and kings. Historically, many Malagasy ethnic groups lived in highly stratified caste-based social orders in which the andriana were the political and/or spiritual leaders...
. Most notably, the Sakalava
Sakalava
The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar numbering approximately 700,000 in population. Their name means "people of the long valleys." They occupy the Western edge of the island from Toliara in the south to Sambirano in the north. The Sakalava denominate a number of smaller ethnic groups...
of the Western coastal plains established a thriving kingdom based on maritime trade with European and Arab commercial ships and pirates that dates to at least the 16th century. Political life on the island was characterized by sporadic conflict between the Merina and Sakalava kingdoms, first due to Sakalava slave hunting incursions into Imerina, and later when Merina military forces attempted to bring Sakalava lands under their control.
King Andrianampoinimerina (ca. 1750–1810)
The king ambitiously proclaimed: Ny ranomasina no valapariako (“the sea is the boundary of my rice-field”). But Andrianampoinimerina stood out from other ambitious kings and tribal chiefs in his administrative ability. The king codified the laws. He supervised the building of dykes and trenches to increase the amount of arable land around Antananarivo. He introduced the metal spade and compelled rice farmers to use it. He operated as an exemplary military commander. By the time of his death in 1810, he had conquered the Bara and Betsileo highland tribes and had started to prepare to push the boundaries of his kingdom to the shores of the island.
King Radama I (1810–1828)
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1815, the balance of power in Europe and in the European colonies shifted in Britain's favor. The British, eager to exert control over the trade routes of the Indian Ocean, had captured the islands of Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
from the French in 1810. Although they returned Réunion to France, they kept Mauritius as a base for expanding the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Mauritius’s governor, to woo Madagascar from French control, recognized Radama I as King of Madagascar, a diplomatic maneuver meant to underscore the idea of the sovereignty of the island and thus to preclude claims by any European powers.
Radama I signed treaties with the United Kingdom outlawing the slave-trade and admitting Protestant missionaries into Madagascar. On the face of it, the terms of these treaties seem innocuous enough, but Protestant missionaries would spread British influence as well as Christian charity; and outlawing the slave-trade would weaken Réunion by depriving that island of slave-laborers for its sugar-plantations. In return for outlawing the slave trade, Madagascar received what the treaty called "The Equivalent": an annual sum of a thousand dollars in gold, another thousand in silver, stated amounts of gun powder, flints, and muskets, plus 400 surplus British Army uniforms. The governor of Mauritius also sent military advisers who accompanied and sometimes led Merina soldiers in their battles against the Sakalava and Betsimisaraka. In 1824, having defeated the Betsimisaraka
Betsimisaraka
The Betsimisaraka make up approximately fifteen percent of the Malagasy people and are the second largest ethnic group in Madagascar after the Merina....
, Radama I declared, “Today, the whole island is mine! Madagascar has but one master.” The king died in 1828 while leading his army on a punitive expedition
Punitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons outside the borders of the punishing state. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior, but may be also be a covered revenge...
against the Betsimisaraka.
Queen Ranavalona I (1828–1861)
Ranavalona I
Ranavalona I , also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I, was a sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861...
, the widow of Radama I, was characterized by a struggle to preserve the cultural and political sovereignty of Madagascar from French and English colonial designs. The queen repudiated the treaties that Radama I had signed with Britain and in 1835 after issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in Madagascar, she expelled British missionaries from the island and began persecuting Christian converts who would not renounce their religion. Ranavalona died in 1861.
King Radama II (1861–1863)
Radama II of Madagascar
Radama II was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, was a pivotal period in the history of the Kingdom of Madagascar...
, grew up under the influence of French nationals in Antananarivo. On June 28, 1855, while still Crown Prince, he signed the Lambert Charter giving Joseph-François Lambert
Joseph-François Lambert
Joseph-François Lambert, the "Duke of Imerina" was a French adventurer, businessman, and diplomat who fathered the Lambert Charter.-Early years:...
, an enterprising French businessman, the exclusive right to develop all minerals, forests, and unoccupied land in Madagascar in exchange for a 10-percent royalty payable to the Merina monarchy. In years to come, the French would cite the Lambert Charter as justification for the Franco-Hova War
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...
and the annexation of Madagascar as a colony.
In his brief two years on the throne, King Radama II
Radama II of Madagascar
Radama II was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, was a pivotal period in the history of the Kingdom of Madagascar...
re-opened trade with Mauritius and Réunion, invited Christian missionaries and foreigners to return to Madagascar, and re-instated most of Radama I’s reforms. His liberal policies angered the aristocracy
Andriana
Andriana is a title of nobility in Madagascar and often traditionally formed part of the names of noblemen, princes and kings. Historically, many Malagasy ethnic groups lived in highly stratified caste-based social orders in which the andriana were the political and/or spiritual leaders...
, however, and Rainivoninahitriniony
Rainivoninahitriniony
Rainivoninahitriniony , also called Raharo, was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Madagascar between 1852 and 1865. He was the chief engineer of the Aristocratic Revolution initialized upon the attempted assassination of King Radama II...
, the prime minister, engineered a coup d’état which resulted in the King's apparent death by strangling, although some have argued that he may have survived the attempted murder and lived to old age in anonymity.
Queen Rasoherina (1863–1868)
Andriana
Andriana is a title of nobility in Madagascar and often traditionally formed part of the names of noblemen, princes and kings. Historically, many Malagasy ethnic groups lived in highly stratified caste-based social orders in which the andriana were the political and/or spiritual leaders...
) headed by 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...
approached Rabodo, the widow of Radama II, the day after the death of her husband. They gave her the conditions under which she could succeed to the throne. These conditions included the suppression of trial by ordeal
Trial by ordeal
Trial by ordeal is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience...
as well as the monarchy's defense of freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
. Rabodo, crowned queen on May 13, 1863 under the throne name of Rasoherina
Rasoherina of Madagascar
Rasoherina was Queen of Madagascar from 1863 to 1868, succeeding her husband Radama II following his presumed assassination.-Early years:...
, reigned until her death on April 1, 1868.
The Malagasy people remember Queen Rasoherina for sending ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
s to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and for prohibiting Sunday markets. On June 30, 1865, she signed a treaty with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
giving British citizens the right to rent land and property on the island and to have a resident ambassador. With the United States of America she signed a trade agreement that also limited the importation of weapons and the export of cattle. Finally, with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
the queen signed a peace between her descendants and the descendants of the Emperor of France. Rasoherina married her Prime Minister, Rainivoninahitriniony
Rainivoninahitriniony
Rainivoninahitriniony , also called Raharo, was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Madagascar between 1852 and 1865. He was the chief engineer of the Aristocratic Revolution initialized upon the attempted assassination of King Radama II...
, but public outcry against his involvement in the murder of Radama II soon forced his resignation and exile to Betsileo
Betsileo
The Betsileo are a highland ethnic group of Madagascar, the third largest in terms of population, numbering around 1.5 million and making up about 12.1 percent of the population. Their name means "The Many Invincible Ones" which they chose for themselves after the failed invasion of Ramitraho...
country south of Imerina. She then married his brother, 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...
, head of the army at the time of Radama II's murder who was promoted to the post of Prime Minister upon the resignation and exile of his older brother. Rainilaiarivony would rule Madagascar from behind the scenes for the remaining 32 years of the Merina monarchy, marrying each of the final three queens of Madagascar in succession.
Queen Ranavalona II (1868–1883)
Ranavalona II of Madagascar
Ranavalona II was Queen of Madagascar from 1868 to 1883, succeeding Queen Rasoherina.-Early life:Ranavalona II was born Princess Ramoma in 1829 at Ambatomanoina, near Antananarivo in the central highlands to Razakaratrimo and Rafarasoa Ramasindrazana...
, previously educated by the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
, underwent baptism into the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and subsequently made the Anglican faith the official state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
of Madagascar.
She subsequently had all the sampy
Sampy
A sampy is an amulet or idol of spiritual and political importance among numerous ethnic groups in Madagascar. Amulets and idols fashioned from assorted natural materials have occupied an important place among many Malagasy communities for centuries...
(ancestral royal talismans) burned in a public display. Catholic and Protestant missionaries arrived in numbers to build churches and schools. The reign of Queen Ranavalona II was the heyday of British influence in Madagascar.
Queen Ranavalona III (1883–1897)
Her public coronation as queen took place on November 22, 1883 and she took the name Ranavalona III. As her first order of business she confirmed the nomination of Rainilaiarivony and his entourage in their positions. She also promised to do away with the French threat.The end of the monarchy
First Madagascar expedition
The First Madagascar expedition was the beginning of the Franco-Hova War and consisted of a French military expedition against the island of Madagascar in 1883...
(Hova as a name referring to the Merina aristocrats). At the war’s end, Madagascar ceded Antsiranana
Antsiranana
Antsiranana , named Diego-Suarez prior to 1975, is a city at the northern tip of Madagascar.Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region.-Transports:...
(Diégo Suarez) on the northern coast to France and paid 560,000 gold franc
Gold franc
The gold franc was the unit of account for the Bank for International Settlements from 1930 until April 1, 2003. It was replaced with the Special Drawing Right...
s to the heirs of Joseph-François Lambert. In Europe, meanwhile, diplomats partitioning the African continent
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power...
worked out an agreement whereby Britain, in order to obtain the Sultanate of Zanzibar, ceded its rights over Heligoland
Heligoland
Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea...
to the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and renounced all claims to Madagascar in favor of France. The agreement spelled doom for the independence of Madagascar. Prime Minister Rainilaiarivory had succeeded in playing Great Britain and France against one another, but now France could meddle without fear of reprisals from Britain.
In 1895, a French flying-column
Flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ad hoc unit, formed during the course of operations....
landed in Mahajanga
Mahajanga
Mahajanga is a city and a district on the north-west coast of Madagascar.- City :The City of Mahajanga is the capital of the Boeny region. Population: 135,660 ....
(Majunga) and marched by way of the Betsiboka River
Betsiboka River
Betsiboka River is a long river in central-north Madagascar. It flows northwestward and empties to Bombetoka Bay, forming a large delta. The river is distinct for its red-coloured water, which is caused by river sediments. The river carries an enormous amount of reddish-orange silt to the sea...
to the capital, Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....
, taking the city’s defenders by surprise since they had expected an attack from the much closer eastern coast. Twenty French soldiers died in combat and 6,000 died of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and other diseases before the second Franco-Hova War ended. In 1896, the Merina Kingdom was put under French protection as the Malagasy Protectorate
Malagasy Protectorate
The Malagasy Protectorate was a French protectorate in what is now Madagascar. Its status was to protect the Kingdom of Imerina. It ended in 1897 as Madagascar became a French colony....
and in 1897 the French Parliament voted to annex
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
the island as a colony, bringing the 103-year-old Merina monarchy to a close.
See also
- List of Malagasy monarchs
- List of colonial heads of Madagascar
- List of Presidents of Madagascar
- Prime Minister of MadagascarPrime Minister of MadagascarThis page contains a list of the Prime Ministers of Madagascar.-Prime Ministers of Madagascar :-Affiliations:*PSD - Social Democratic Party of Madagascar and the Comoros...