Ranavalona I

Rasoherina

Ranavalona III

The kings in the History

The most important period of the Malagasy history is situated between 1500 and 1800 At the beginning of this time, the little tributes became kingdoms, there was two important kingdom: "The Sakalava Kingdom divided in two part the Menabe and the Boina", and the Merina kingdom. In 1785,Andrianampoinimerina was the king of the Merina kingdom; his name means "the king chosen by the Merina". He decided to conquer the other kingdoms and to bring the Island together, what he said illustrates very well his ambition: " The sea will be the boundary of my sovereignty". To conquer the little kingdoms he married the daughter of the petty king, but he had to fight against the Sakalava warriors to conquer this big West kingdom. To lead this war against the West, he sent 1000 soldiers to fight. The Sakalava were defeat and he succeeded. Then he establishes his capital in the main town of the Imerina (the name of the Merina kingdom) and called it "Antananarivo" which means: the city of the thousand, in commemoration of the 1000 soldiers. Antananarivo is surrounded by twelve hills; each one was the residence of one of the petty king's daughter he married. Now, these twelve hills are sacred because the graves of these "little queens" are there. The reign of Andrianampoinimerina was a period of prosperity and happiness. This king dead in 1810 and his soon Radama I became king. Radama I welcomed the European: British and French, because he wanted them to share what they knew to his people: writing, reading and Christianity. The English converted the nobility and the family of the king to Protestantism; the royal family began to pray. But when Radama I dead, his wife Ranavalona I succeed him to the throne. Ranavalona were afraid of the European, she felt that later they would take his kingdom, so she dismissed them and forbade them to come back. Only one French was allowed to stay: Jean Laborde. Jean Laborde developed the Malagasy industry and built the palace of the queen "Palais de la reine" in Antananarivo. This palace was called "Manjakamiadana", which means "reigns in peace". But this palace burned in 1995. After Ranavalona I, her son Radama II became king. During his reign, the European were allowed again to come, but the Malagasy didn't like this king: he reigned only two years and was murdered by his own courtiers. A prime minister succeeded to him. Officially, the queen Ranavalona II reigns but, it was the Prime minister Rainilaiarivony who governed. He was at the top of the country for more than 30 years because he married the three successive queens: Ranavalona II, Rasoherina and Ranavalona III. He assured the evolution of the kingdom and dealt with the European. But in 1883, Madagascar had a conflict with the French, it was resolved by a temporary protectorate in 1885. Ten years later, the protectorate became definitive and the August 6th 1896, Madagascar was declared as a French colony, and the queen Ranavalona III was exiled to Algeria, where she dead.