Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'No Frontier but the Sea'
AsMalagasytradewithEuropegrewduringthe18thcentury,severalrivalkingdomsbegan
to vie for dominance. The Menabe people under Andriamisara I founded a capital on the
banks of the Sakalava River, from which the modern-day Sakalava tribe took its name.
Meanwhile on the east coast, Ratsimilaho - the son of an English pirate and a Mala-
gasy princess - succeeded in unifying rival tribes into a people that became known as
the Betsimisaraka. In central Madagascar a certain Chief Ramboasalama took the snappy
name Andrianampoinimerinandriantsimitoviaminandriampanjaka (Andrianampoinimerina
for short), meaning 'Hope of Imerina', and unified the Merina into a powerful kingdom
that soon came to dominate much of Madagascar.
In 1810 Andrianampoinimerina was succeeded by his equally ambitious son Radama I,
who organised a highly trained army that conquered Boina (the main Sakalava kingdom in
northwestern Madagascar), the Betsimisaraka peoples to the east, the Betsileo to the south
and the kingdom of Antakarana in the far north, whose warrior princes preferred suicide
or exile to surrender. Unable to take the Sakalava kingdom of Menabe by force, Radama
prudently married Princess Rasalimo, daughter of the Menabe king, thereby fulfilling a
vow made by his father that the Merina kingdom would have 'no frontier but the sea'.
Criminal suspects under Queen Ranavalona I were forced to drink a
strong poison called
tanguin
. If they vomited profusely enough, they
were declared innocent. Most died.
His empire-building complete, Radama I set about courting European powers, especially
Great Britain. The London Missionary Society (LMS) soon arrived with a contingent of
Welsh missionaries who set about converting the Merina court and educating children in
schools.
In 1828 Radama died at the tender age of 36. His successor was his widow Ranavalona
I, who promptly set about reversing Radama's policies. Ties with European powers were
almost severed, and those who refused to abandon Christianity (a European import) were
hurled over the cliffs outside the Rova in Antananarivo (Tana). During her 33 years in
power, Ranavalona elevated torture and execution to new plateaus of inventiveness. She
was said to be sexually insatiable and had a stream of lovers.
French Conquest & Colonialism
Merina Sights in Antana-narivo
»Ambohimanga
»Rova
»Musée Andafivaratra
