French Madagascar
Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies | |||||||||||||
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1897–1958 | |||||||||||||
Anthem: Arabic | |||||||||||||
Religion | Christianity · Islam · Traditional beliefs | ||||||||||||
Governor-General | |||||||||||||
• 1897–1905 (first) | Joseph Gallieni | ||||||||||||
• 1946–1948 (last) | Jules Marcel de Coppet | ||||||||||||
High Commissioner | |||||||||||||
• 1948–1950 (first) | Pierre Gabriel de Chevigné | ||||||||||||
• 1953–1958 (last) | André Soucadaux | ||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||
• 1957–1958 | Philibert Tsiranana | ||||||||||||
Historical era | New Imperialism | ||||||||||||
• Established | 28 February 1897 | ||||||||||||
• Autonomy | 14 October 1958 | ||||||||||||
Currency | French franc (1897–1925) Malagasy franc (1925–1945) Madagascar-Comores CFA franc (1945–1958) | ||||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | MG | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | Madagascar Comoros France |
History of Madagascar |
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The Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies (French: Colonie de Madagascar et dépendances) was a French colony off the coast of Southeast Africa between 1897 and 1958 in what is now Madagascar. The colony was formerly a protectorate of France known as Malagasy Protectorate. The protectorate became a colony, following Queen Ranavalona III's exile to Réunion.
In 1958, the colonial administration in Madagascar was abolished, and it became an autonomous territory of the French Community as the Malagasy Republic, which existed until 1975.
History
Background and French protectorate
The United Kingdom had been an ally of Madagascar. In May 1862, John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Britain's foreign secretary instructed Connolly Pakenham that Radama II should keep the country away from foreign powers. In 1882, the French started to occupy much of Madagascar's northern and western territories. In 1883, the Franco-Hova Wars commenced between France and Merina Kingdom, but the outcome remained inconclusive. The British government acted as a restraining hand on France's desire to swallow up the island.[1] On 17 December 1885, Queen Ranavalona III signed the treaty in which Madagascar became a French protectorate, although this was disputed by Madagascar, as well as taking out a loan of 10 million francs. In 1888, the queen was granted the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'Honneur.[2] The queen was reluctantly passionate about preventing her country to fall to France.[3] The queen tried to cease French incursion, however, this remained futile and in September 1895, the queen was forced to surrender Madagascar's capital, Tananarive, to the French.[3]
According to the queen's perspective, the treaty was supposed to preserve her crown and the monarchy in Madagascar, however France's yearning for expanding their colonial empire in Africa, the treaty proved to be nothing but a ruse. Queen Ranavalona was removed from power and was exiled to French island of Réunion for two years, followed by to Algiers after. After her exile, Madagascar formally became a French colony.[2][3]
Madagascar as French colony
The pacification led by the French administration lasted about fifteen years, in response to the rural guerrillas scattered throughout the country. In total, the conflicts between the French authorities and Malagasy guerrillas killed more than 100,000 Malagasy people.[4]
The French abolished slavery in 1896 after taking control of Madagascar. Over 500,000 slaves were freed following the abolition. Many former slaves would remain in their former masters' homes as servants.[5]
Nationalist sentiment against French colonial rule emerged among a group of
Malagasy veterans of military service in
Among the first concessions to Malagasy equality was the formation in 1924 of two economic and financial delegations. One was composed of French settlers, the other of twenty-four Malagasy representatives elected by the Council of Notables in each of twenty-four districts. The two sections never met together, and neither had real decision-making authority. Huge mining and forestry concessions were granted to large companies. Indigenous leaders loyal to the French administration were also granted part of the land. Forced labour was introduced in favour of the French companies.[6]
The 1930s saw the Malagasy anti-colonial movement gain momentum. Malagasy trade unionism began to appear underground and the Communist Party of the Region of Madagascar was formed. But as early as 1939, all organisations were dissolved by the administration of the colony, which opted for the
Only in the
Raseta and Ravoahangy, together with
The
Despite these reforms, the political scene in Madagascar remained unstable. Economic and social concerns, including food shortages, black-market scandals, labour conscription, renewed ethnic tensions, and the return of soldiers from France, strained an already volatile situation. Many of the veterans felt they had been less well treated by France than had veterans from metropolitan France; others had been politically radicalised by their wartime experiences. The blend of fear, respect, and emulation on which Franco-Malagasy relations had been based seemed at an end.[citation needed]
On 29 March 1947, Malagasy nationalists revolted against the French. Although the uprising eventually spread over one-third of the island, the French were able to restore order after reinforcements arrived from France. Casualties among the Malagasy were estimated in the 11,000 to 80,000 range. The repression was accompanied by summary executions, torture, forced regroupings and the burning of villages. The French Army experimented with "psychological warfare": suspects were thrown alive from planes in order to terrorise villagers in the areas of operation. The group of leaders responsible for the uprising, which came to be referred to as the Revolt of 1947, never has been identified conclusively. Although the MDRM leadership consistently maintained its innocence, the French outlawed the party. French military courts tried the military leaders of the revolt and executed twenty of them. Other trials produced, by one report, some 5,000 to 6,000 convictions, and penalties ranged from brief imprisonment to death.[citation needed] According to a source, 90,000 Malagasies died during the uprising, which was brutally shut down by the French colonial regime.[8]
In 1956, France's socialist government renewed the French commitment to greater autonomy in Madagascar and other colonial possessions by enacting the
The end of the 1950s was marked by growing debate over the future of Madagascar's relationship with France. Two major political parties emerged. The newly created
Territorial evolution
Entity | Area (km2) | Predecessor entity | Attached | Detached | Successor entity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Madagascar | 587,040 | Malagasy Protectorate | 28 February 1897 | 26 June 1960 | Malagasy Republic |
Mayotte | 374 | Mayotte and Dependencies
|
25 July 1912 | 27 October 1946 | Territory of the Comoros
|
Anjouan | 424 | ||||
Grande Comore | 1,148 | ||||
Mohéli | 290 | ||||
Glorioso Islands (Banc du Geyser included) | 7 | 1 April 1960 | Administration subordinated to the Prefect of Réunion
| ||
Bassas da India | 0.2 | Directly administered by the French Ministry of the colonies | October 1897 | ||
Europa Island | 30 | ||||
Juan de Nova Island | 4.4 | ||||
Adélie Land | 432,000 | 21 November 1924 | 6 August 1955 | French Southern and Antarctic Lands | |
Amsterdam Island | 58 | ||||
Crozet Islands | 352 | ||||
Kerguelen Islands | 7,215 | ||||
Saint Paul Island | 8 |
See also
References
- JSTOR 24520404. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ a b "In Madagascar, People Remember One of the Deadliest French Colonial Wars in History". globalvoices.org. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "1947, un massacre colonial français à Madagascar". 28 March 2017.
- ^ Shillington, Kevin (2005). Encyclopedia of African history. New York: CRC Press, p. 878
- ^ "Madagascar: Colonialism as the historical root cause of deforestation". Madagascar: Colonialism as the historical root cause of deforestation. World Rainforest Movement. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "Africa awaits closure of French colonial crimes". aa.com.tr. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Bitter reminders of colonialism remain as Madagascar celebrates 60 years of independence". France 24. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.