Madagascar is an island located off the southeast coast of Africa, in the region also known as East Africa. During the 19th century, the country became the target of French colonial ambition and was progressively absorbed and transformed into a colony of France. French rule overthrew the current government, formed by Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony and Queen Ranavalona III, and provoked the reaction of numerous popular resistance movements.
Madagascar in the 19th century
The Kingdom of Madagascar had its sovereignty ratified in 1820, from the Anglo-Merina Treaty made with the British. This treaty declared Radama I as king of Madagascar and guaranteed the island of East Africa an international representation. However, this agreement was only recognized by the French, desiring to maintain their economic privileges in Madagascar, in 1862.
In 1864, Rainilaiarivony he assumed the position of prime minister and, realizing the French ambitions in Madagascar, set about starting a process of modernization in the country, which aimed to guarantee the sovereignty of the island. The report below brings some of the modernizing measures implemented by Rainilaiarivony:
In 1877, the royal government freed the masombika slaves brought from the mainland, providing for their installation on land allocated to them. In 1878, he reorganized the justice system, henceforth entrusted to three courts, which would proceed with the investigation of the cases, with the decision being left to the prime minister. In 1881, “the Code of 305 articles was promulgated, innovative legislation that encompasses civil law, criminal law and procedure at the same time”. All these measures, and others, show Rainilaiarivony's will to "modernize" the country, transforming it into a "civilized state" in the face of Europe|1|.
Frictions with France
In the 1860s, the French had signed an agreement with the Malagasy government (a term used to refer to everything that originates in Madagascar) in which they recognized the sovereignty of Madagascar and abandoned territorial claims over the Kingdom. However, despite the treaty, what was seen from the 1870s onwards was the increase in French interest that ended up resulting in the colonization of Madagascar.
The change in French policy towards the Malagasy island took place from the beginning of the lobby carried out by the colonial elite of Réunion Island, which was interested in making use of commercial warehouses and natural resources present in Madagascar. Furthermore, it was in the interest of this colonial elite to send the excess population existing in Réunion to the neighboring island, which would only be achieved with the colonization of Madagascar.
Thus, a colonial propaganda was developed - as well as many others that took place in different parts of Africa - that evoked colonial interests in Madagascar as a "civilizing mission" with the purpose of promoting the development of the parents. Furthermore, Madagascar was presented as a “'barbaric state', led by a 'foreign tribe', which had erected 'tyranny in a system of government' and continued to practice the slave trade”|2|.
O lobby promoted against Madagascar, and initiated by the colonial elite of Réunion, was supported by the right French Catholic, interested in containing the advance of Protestantism in the economic elites existing in the Island. In addition, French republican politicians began to defend more and more openly the possibility of new colonial conquests by France.
France's renewed colonial interest in Madagascar has led to a series of frictions between the two governments over economic and trade issues, with the French demanding heavy damages. Rainilaiarivony, realizing the French intentions, started to buy weapons and ammunition to guarantee the island's defense.
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To be able to pay the indemnities demanded by the French and guarantee the purchase of weapons, the prime minister had to raise taxes, which led to the growing unpopularity of his government. Feeling threatened, the Malagasy government sought international support for its sovereignty, but its diplomatic missions failed.
Without international support, Madagascar was attacked by the French navy in Majunga, in May 1883, which started the first franc-merina war (The term “merina” refers to Imerina, the central region of Madagascar where the capital Antananarivo is located). The war between Malagasy and French continued until 1885, when a ceasefire was signed.
As a result of the war, Madagascar was forced to pay the French a indemnity of 10 million francs. To pay off the debt, the Malagasy government had to take out bank loans, which choked the economy of the country and started a serious economic crisis that destabilized the government of Rainilaiarivony.
The instability of the Malagasy government, combined with the economic crisis, has led to a wave of banditry in several parts of Madagascar. The growing internal disorder was used by the French as a pretext to achieve their goals and thus completely annex the country and definitively transform it into a French colony.
From 1894 onwards, the second franc-merina war which eventually consolidated French rule over Madagascar. The new war was quickly won by the French, as Rainilaiarivony's government was notoriously weakened, and the Malagasy armies, unprepared and unmotivated, were quickly defeated. In 1895, the power of the French in Madagascar was “consolidated”.
popular resistance
Despite the unpopularity of the Rainilaiarivony government among the population of Madagascar, French rule was not well received, and resistance movements sprang up in different parts of the country. Many of these movements were allied with the popular desire to break with the transformations taking place in Malagasy society and to promote the recovery of local traditions.
The first Malagasy popular resistance movement took place in November 1895, with the uprising in Amboanana that started the menalamba,name by which this rebellion was known. The movement's name refers to the red color of the rebels' clothing, which was stained with earth as a form of camouflage.
The Menalamba movement fought against the local oligarchy, calling them guilty of defeating the country to the French. In addition, the Menalamba attacked foreign missionaries and Malagasy converts to Christianity and advocated the restoration of the region's traditional and ancestral cult known as sampy.
The colonial repression of the Menalambas, together with the movement's lack of organization, caused this rebellion, as well as many others, to be defeated by the French. Other rebel movements emerged in Madagascar against French rule in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. The French colonization of Madagascar ended only in 1960.
|1| ESOAVEMOMANDROSO, Manasse. Madagascar from 1880 to 1939: African initiatives and reactions to colonial conquest and domination. In.: BOAHEN, Alber Adu (ed.). General History of Africa, VII: Africa under Colonial Domination, 1880-1935. Brasília: UNESCO, 2010, pp. 255-256.
|2| Idem, p. 255.
*Image credits: Wikimedia Commons and William John Edmonds
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
