Madagascar

By: Ari Nave

Source:

 Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition

Madagascar

Madagascar is 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) long and 570 kilometers (350 miles) wide and has a total area of 587,040 square kilometers (226,658 square miles). The island is both geographically and demographically complex. About 17 million people of Southeast Asian, African, and Arabic descent, along with more recent Indian and Chinese immigrants, are distributed throughout the island’s six microclimates. Eighteen ethnic groups are traditionally identified, each associated with a geographical area. Farmers cultivate predominately patty rice for subsistence. Coffee, cloves, and vanilla are the main cash crops.

A mountain plateau runs along the length of Madagascar, rising steeply from the Indian Ocean on the east and sloping more gently to the western shores. The ridge causes a rain shadow, capturing the moisture of the tradewinds. Consequently, the east coast receives the largest share of the island’s rainfall and is home to tropical rainforests, such as Masoala Peninsula, rich in endangered fauna and flora. Many cash crops, including vanilla, cloves, and coffee, are grown here. Antsirnana Province to the north has fertile volcanic soils, allowing a number of important crops to be grown. Only 29,000 square kilometers (11,000 square miles) of the island’s soils are arable. The northwest region is another important agricultural district. Despite the excellent soils, the southwest lacks precipitation and is used primarily to graze cattle. The area is also rich in minerals and semiprecious stones. ANTANANARIVO, the densely populated capital, is located in the central highlands. Extensive swidden agriculture, a farming method that involves cutting and burning a forested area to clear fields for crops, and the resulting erosion have deteriorated the land where cattle are now grazed. The southern plateau contains the oldest rock formations on the surface of the earth, dating from 1,500 million years ago.

The island of Madagascar separated from the African mainland during the Late Jurassic or Upper Cretaceous periods, about 130 million years ago. The resulting isolation led to the evolution of remarkable endemic species. Most famous perhaps are the island’s population of over thirty types of lemurs. These primates retain many primitive features of early hominoids. Tenrecs, civets, mongooses, and bats also add to the unique wildlife of the island. Of these myriad species, only a fraction can be found anywhere else in the world. To combat the loss of biodiversity, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) began a debt-for-nature exchange program, setting up conservation projects. The island’s unique biogeography is matched only by its colorful history, including the synthesis of a singular blend of African and Asian cultures.

Precolonial History

Due to sparse physical evidence, scholars debate the details of the island’s human history. Linguistic and cultural evidence suggests that the earliest migrants came to the island from Indonesia by the tenth century C.E.. in outrigger canoes. The exact route taken by these pioneers is unclear. The consensus among scholars is that they traveled along the coast of the Indian Ocean Rim, as Indonesian linguistic and cultural traits can be found in southern India, Arabia, and eastern Africa. More radical routes have been suggested—Tom Hobman of New Zealand sailed from Indonesia directly to Madagascar in a traditional craft to support his thesis of a direct route.

Early inhabitants survived using diverse subsistence strategies. The extensive use of swidden agriculture over long periods has resulted in large-scale deforestation. Early inhabitants grew rice, yam, taro, and arrowroot. Pastoralism, foraging, and particularly fishing were also important activities of earlier inhabitants.

Muslim traders of Arab, Bantu, and Persian descent, known as Antolalotra, began to settle in northern Madagascar around 1,000 years ago, adopting the Malagasy language. Goods produced in Madagascar were traded along the Swahili coast and in Arabia.

While searching the Indian Ocean for a spice route to India, the Portuguese navigator Diego-Diaz landed on the island in 1500, naming it Ile Saint Laurent. With the coming of Europeans, Islamic dominance over trade declined. The Portuguese, French, and English all made subsequent attempts to settle Madagascar with limited success. Large numbers of pirates, however, did make Madagascar their home, establishing a republic, Libertalia, in the northeast.

Indigenous monarchical rule appeared among three ethnic groups, the Antimoro, Sakalava, and Merina, by the mid-sixteenth century. Later the Bara, Betsileo, and Betsimisaraka developed similar forms of political organization. As in feudal Europe, these groups competed with each other. The Sakalava expanded to the west, incorporating smaller chiefdoms. Likewise, the Betsimisaraka increasingly controlled the east coast.

Merina Rule

After successfully employing an expansionist and empire-building policy, the Merina became the dominant ethnic group in Madagascar. While the Merina never controlled the country in its entirety, the Merina dialect grew to become the lingua franca.

Along the central plateau, the implementation of patty rice cultivation led to the emergence of surplus, an increased division of labor, and the creation of a large chiefdoms. In 1780 the Merina ruler Andrianampoinimerina began coalescing these chiefdoms into an empire centered around his throne at Ambohimanga. The Betsileo, Bezanozano, and Sihanaka ethnic groups were later incorporated under the Merina political umbrella. A brilliant general and accomplished political leader, Andrianampoinimerina instituted taxation laws, courts, and a network of administrators to maintain his hegemony. Land tenure and marriage rules were codified into law.

His son, Radama I, continued his father’s expansionist policies, incorporating the Sakalava empire to the west during the early 1820s. Ramada established diplomatic relations with the colonial forces that were vying for power in the Indian Ocean. The Merina court benefited from the continual conflicts between the British and French as Madagascar remained an essential source of vital supplies for dependent colonial outposts like Bourbon and the nearby island of Mauritius. Madagascar was also an important source of slaves for nearby colonies.

The British courted relations with Radama, providing military advisers and educational training in exchange for access to resources and a promise to abolish slave trading. The governor of Mauritius, Robert Farquher, sent a general to advise Radama, who in return signed a trade treaty in 1816 and sent his two brothers to be educated in the nearby English colony. In 1817 the British recognized Radama as king. With their support, Radama was able to conquer the Manabe and the Boina, eliminating all major resistance. After defeating the French in the Napoleonic Wars, the British controlled the Indian Ocean; however, the French continued to solicit relations with both Radama and his Sakalava and Betsimisoraka rivals.

Radama was succeeded by his wife RANAVALONA. The queen killed any potential rival to the throne and took an anti-Christian, anticolonial stance. Christians were persecuted, and previous treaties with European powers were declared null and void. In 1857 she exiled all Europeans. Ranavalona was a skilled politician who attempted to assert Malagasy independence from colonial powers. Ultimately, however, she was not successful.

With the death of Ranavalona in 1861, her son, Prince Rakoto, ascended to the thrown as Radama II, reinstating the foreign policies of his namesake. Ramada II signed treaties with both the British and French, ensuring Europeans the right to purchase property and guaranteeing them the right to religious freedom. However, his strong pro-European stance met with popular resistance and led to his assassination in 1863. Radama’s widow, Rasoherina, became queen. She abolished the absolute monarchy and appointed a prime minister, Rainilaiarivony, whom she married. Rainilaiarivony had a long political career, notably marrying Rasoherina’s two successors.

Colonial History

With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, British strategic interest in Madagascar waned. The island continued to interest the French as a potential colony. They used an unremarkable property dispute as an excuse to take control of the island, instigating armed conflict and placing a naval blockade around the island. A settlement was reached in 1885, granting greater authority to the French. Neither side, however, was satisfied with the outcome, and tensions continued to rise. Within a few years, France demanded that the Merina court cease any foreign relations and allow the French navy to establish a permanent presence. The prolonged conflict came to a head in 1895 when French and Malagasy troops entered into combat. Meeting minimal resistance, France secured a surrender in September of that year.

In 1896 Madagascar was formally declared a French colony, a status the island would retain for sixty-four years. Slavery was abolished, and more than one million people were emancipated. From 1896 to 1905 General Joseph Simon Galliéni governed Madagascar, stamping out anti-European sentiment through force. He exiled Ranavalona to Algeria and brought 7,000 troops to quell any resistance. Under Galliéni’s tenure a number of educational, social, and health programs were instituted. He also demanded a head tax from all Malagasy, payable in currency or labor. Despite some improvements in infrastructure, resistance to French rule grew, culminating in the formation of a nationalist political party, the Vy Vato Sakeliak (VVS). In 1915 VVS leaders and hundreds of members were imprisoned.

In 1942, two years after the fall of France during World War II, the British government, fearful that the Japanese would seize Madagascar, dispatched an expeditionary force to the island. In 1943 the British surrendered control to the Free French government. Political reforms were instituted, and in 1946 Madagascar had representation in the French parliament. Merina members of the Mouvement Démocratique pour la Rénovation Malgache (MDRM) won all three seats. Minority fears of Merina domination led to the formation of the Parti des Déshérités de Madagascar (PADESM). Conflicts between MDRM and PADESM members led to riots in 1947. According to the PADESM, two MDRM secret societies, the Parti Nationaliste Malgache (PANAMA) and the Jeunesse Nationale (JINA)—founded by Manja Jaona—instigated the conflict. The riots developed into a low-level guerrilla conflict lasting one year, during which between 80,000 and 100,000 people were killed by a fierce French suppression. MDRM leaders where either killed or imprisoned.

Despite tax and labor incentives, French attempts to develop a plantation economy in Madagascar largely failed. Nor did any significant industries develop. The Malagasy population resented and resisted French rule and administrative practices, which they felt lacked legitimacy. Although many French companies mined Madagascar of natural resources, such recalcitrance undermined the ability of the French to alter the traditional Malagasy economy and create a fiscally successful colony.

Independence

By the end of World War II, Malagasy political leaders were demanding greater autonomy, with an eye cast toward independence. In 1958 Madagascar was granted status as an autonomous state of the French Community and was renamed the MALAGASY REPUBLIC. Independence came in 1960.

Philibert Tsiranana became the first president in 1959, leading the Parti Social Démocrate (PSD) on a pro-Western, anti-communist platform. Ethnic antagonisms shaped the political domain of the Malagasy Republic, with the PSD representing broad-based côtier (non-Merina) interests and the Parti du Congrès de l’Indépendance de Madagascar (AKFM) lobbying for Merina demands, led by Richard Andimanjato.

Tsiranana remained in office until 1972 when discontent turned into riots. Thirty-four people were killed, leading Tsiranana to relinquish power to General Gabriel Ramanantsoa. General Ramanantsoa established a five-year transitional government to write a new constitution; however, continued ethnic conflict between the Merina and côtiers, a poor economy, and internal fractures led to a coup in 1975. Ramanantsoa was forced to hand over the reins of power to Colonel Richard Ratsimandrava, who was assassinated only six days later. General Gilles Andriamahazo stepped in, establishing martial law and banning political parties. Four months later, on June 15 1975, Andriamahazo stepped down and a “supreme revolutionary council” (CSR) was established by Lieutenant Commander Didier Ratsiraka, a PADESM founder.

Ratsiraka formed the socialist Democratic Republic of Madagascar, serving as its only president until ousted in 1992. Martial law was lifted, but the press continued to be censored. Essential industries, such as banks, were nationalized. Whereas the Malagasy Republic had previously taken a strong anticommunist stance, Ratsiraka’s government pursued a policy on nonalignment, courting relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and publishing his own “little red book.” To demarcate a change in political policy, a Second Republic was declared.

Elections were held in 1977 in which Ratsiraka’s Avant-guarde de la Révolution Malgache (AREMA), the only party legal under the constitution, won the majority of seats in the National Popular Assembly. His party won the vast majority of seats again in 1983.

During the 1970s and 1980s, bands of unemployed youths, the Tanora Tonga Saina (TTS—Revolutionary Youths) and the Zatovo Western Andevo Malgasy (ZOAM—Young Slave Cowboys of Madagascar), formed to commit petty crime and extortion. A reactionary group of kung fu, devotees formed vigilante bands, attacking and killing 100 to 250 TTS members before the government intervened. Ratsiraka banned kung fu, and government forces attacked the martial arts centers, killing the leader, Pierre Mizael Rakotoarijaona, and hundreds of devotees.

Social unrest continued in 1986 and 1987. Students protested proposed educational reforms. Famine in the south instigated violent riots. Ethnic tensions also mounted, and several Indians were killed. Despite these turbulent years, Ratsiraka was elected once again in 1989, although with less support. In 1990 multiparty elections became legal once again.

Contemporary Madagascar

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ratsiraka looked increasingly to the West. France agreed to cancel $750 million of debt in return for naval access. In exchange for loans, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded economic liberalization. However, popular resistance to these austerity measures, such as the elimination of rice subsidies, prevented their immediate implementation.

A free press was also reinstated. The ability to express political dissent led to a general strike and a series of large demonstrations in 1991, organized by the Forces Vives (FV), a coalition of opposition parties and labor unions. When Ratsiraka refused to meet the coalition’s demands for his resignation, it created a provisional government, assigning ministers who began to take their posts in various government buildings. Ratsiraka’s army and civil servants refused to intervene. However, several provisional ministers were arrested, and other coalition leaders were murdered.

A number of large and violent demonstrations ensued. Finally, on October 31 1991, an agreement was reached. Ratsiraka retained a ceremonial title as president but relinquished all power. A provisional government developed a new constitution and held elections on November 25 1992. Albert Zafy became the first president of the Third Republic.

In July 1996 Zafy was impeached for violating the constitution, although he immediately ran for president in the next election only a few months later. Capturing 50.71 percent of the votes, Ratsiraka beat out Zafy’s bid for the presidency in the December elections, taking office February 9 1997. After the December 2001 presidential election between Ratsiraka and Marc Ravalomanana, both sides declared victory and set up opposing governments. Rival army units clashed, and Madagascar nearly broke into two separate nations. In April 2002 the High Constitutional Court declared Ravalomanana the winner and new president. In July Ratsiraka fled to France, ending the six-month civil war. In 2003 a court in Madagascar tried Ratsiraka in absentia for embezzling public funds and sentenced him to ten years of hard labor.

In recent years, the economy of Madagascar has suffered both from environmental degradation and a fractured, unstable government. Since the mid-1990s, however, the government has worked to strengthen the economy, liberalizing the market and instituting programs to increase agricultural output and make the country self-sufficient. Madagascar has also followed a World Bank and IMF policy of privatizing public sector industries and has worked to develop tourism. Progress has been made, but more than two-thirds of the population remains below the poverty line. Reducing poverty is one of the central challenges facing the Ravalomanana government.

Ravalomanana, president since 2002, stepped down on arch 17M 2009 with pressure from the military and was replaced by Andry Rajoelina, whom the military supported. Rajoelina has had auditors examining contracts with foreign investors to determine why revenues were so low. The political crisis has dampened tourism and worried investors in the oil industry, and conservationists reported destruction of forests and poaching of unique species as another effect of the political instability. The African Union suspended Madagascar due to the conflict.

See also Bantu: Dispersion and Settlement; Cold War and Africa; Colonial rule; Hunger and Famine; Indian Ocean Slave Trade; Madagascar, Ethnicity in; Slavery in Africa.

Madagascar

view larger image

Madagascar Women, c. 1900.

(Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress)

view larger image

processed xml | source xml