Madagaskar 
Travel
Madagaskar Travel · Informations · History
Madagascar's history
Geological history
Madagascar arose when today's continents split off from the original single
continent Gondwana, starting some 80 -120 million years ago. As a splinter
piece of this already rich animal kingdom , the land mass of Madagascar formed
the break between Africa and Asia. The 400 km broad stretch of Mozambique (Mocambique)
arose between Madagascar and Africa. The development of the flora and fauna on
Madagascar and its surrounding islands reflect the various changes of
environment on the fragments of the original continent. The most prominent
natives of Madagascar are the lemurs (prosimians). They are described the most
developed mammals of the original continent. Today some 30 lemur species with
their rich social lives can be found on Madagascar.
Many species of snakes also date from primeval times. Various lizards and
chameleons (more than 200 species), up to the fully-grown Nile-crocodile can
be found here, as can countless amphibians. A large number of unusual species
have developed on Madagascar. Among other things, there are more than 2,000
butterfly species on Madagascar.
Early history
Based on environment factors and historical developments, different population groups arose on Madagascar. They show many common cultural traits and essentially speak the same language, albeit in different dialects. Smaller kingdoms organised themselves from the 16th century onwards. The organisation went beyond exclusive family structures.
As descendants of the first immigration wave, the Vazimba, are still native. They were regarded by the later immigrants to be "masters of the land". The kingdoms were organised into three classes: Nobility, farmers and slaves. The king regarded himself as absolute ruler over the country and its residents. Whoever didn't want to submit to the king fled into the forests, which were almost impenetrable.
The founders of the feudal empires in the south were Arabian in origin. With the help of firearms, which had been shipped to Madagascar, they founded little kingdoms. The most important dynasty, the Maroseranana, claimed to derive its descent from a God-creator and manifested many cultural features in common with the Merina. From the 17th to the 19th century this dynasty brought the whole south and the west of the island under her rule. The ancestors of the Mahafaly were enslaved and the Sakavala were marginalized.
The
Besileo live in the southern part of the highlands where they lay out their
paddy-fields in the terraced style in the high mountains. The Antankarana live
in the northern residential areas of the Betsileo. Their ancestors were
presumably Sakalava and Betsimisaraka who mixed with Arab immigrants. They
were also affiliated to the Merina empire at the beginning of the 19th
century. The Komosy, descendants of the Vazimba, who were in turn displaced by
the Merina, also live there.
The Tsimihety hold that they are largely the descendants of European pirates,
who have interbred with the Vazimba group which had been pushed into the north
of the island by the Merina in the 17th century. They settled at Mandritsara
to secure more independence. They cultivate rice, Zebu cattle, grow coffee and
work their paddy-fields.
Little is known of the Bara. They live predominantly as shepherds on the wide planes and high areas of the Horombe plateau and in the Bongolova mountains today. Their villages consist of few houses. Small paddy-fields and kitchen gardens lie in the hollows of valleys.
A group of the Antonosy migrated of the Southeast to the Onilah river at Bezaha where they grow great paddy-fields, fruit and vegetable plantations today. The Antaisaka are already mentioned in the 17th century. They lived at Ihosy at that time. In the forest of the highland on the east slope, the Tanala and the Zafimaniry are to be found, both known for their wood carvings in largely inaccessible high-altitude valleys.
A number of smaller, independent groups in the east coastal region were supposedly united by Ratsimilaho, the son of an English pirate and a Madagascan princess, under the name Bestimisaraka. The empire held only during his lifetime and disintegrated in the year 1750. Great numbers of Betsimisaraka warriors are said to have made the islands of the Komoren unsafe at the time. Trading bases on the East coast of Africa were also robbed by them. Their rule was ended by the extension of the Merina empire.
The history "of the kings" has been verbally handed down and
it mentions many consequences for early rulers, up to Rafohy and her daughter
Rangita This particular one belongs to Merina residents of the highlands.
Rafohy and her daughter Rangita are both names as rulers. Their joint reign is
from 1520 to 1540. They still supposed to have belonged to the first
population of the Vazimba. Rangitas son Andriamanelo oversaw an improvement
in the rice cultivation methods and the organisation of his empire during his
period of office 1540 to 1575. His son Ralambo extended his period of rule
from 1575 to 1610. The son Andrianjaka served the craftsman classes like iron
blacksmiths, potters, weavers and house builders, who specialised in their
jobs and the new group of the rice farmers. An complex feudal system imposed
irrigation laws, and duties and taxes required for diking rivers, building
canals, sluices and diked paddy-fields. Andrianjaka expanded the dominance of
the Merina further, to the rulers' Andrianampoinimerina (1787-1810), and by
the end of the 18th century his influence extended to far parts of the island
and justified the dynasty. The rule came to an end only with French
settlement one hundred years later.
European and Arabian interest
Already before the first European put his foot on Madagascan soil almost 500 years ago, news of the existence this island was had been given by the Venetian traveller Marco Polo (1254-1324) when he reached Europe. He had done a journey to China from 1271 to 1295 and his reports of many areas are well known. In his description of the island, gleaned by hearsay, "Madeigascar" truth and legend mix. Since animals like elephants, giraffes and camels which have never existed there are mentioned, we have to assume that there are mistakes in his report, as there were with other African regions. On the other hand, he reported the mythical rock bird. A large, long-extinct running bird actually did live on Madagascar. Under Polo's given name, Madagascar was correspondingly recorded on a map of the world as early as 1492. The German georgrapher Martin Behaim (1459-1507) worked with Marco Polo's notes to make a globe in Nuremberg. The first European to spot the island in 1500 was Bartolomeu Diaz, a Portuguese seafarer who was on his way to India.
Madagascar had already been mentioned in the 9th century in Arabian sources and was part of the influence area of Arab slavetraders. Around 750 AD Arabian groups settled in the eastern coastal region of Madagascar, imported new plants and established a busy spice trade. This history comes form a historical source written in the Madagascan language, found within an Arabic document.
With technological progress in European shipping came the search for a sea
route to India as an alternative to the dangerous land route along which the
most popular raw materials from Asia came to Europe. Madagascar was within the
range of European merchant ships. Initial attempts by the Portuguese, Dutch,
English and French to set up trade branch offices on the island were
unsuccessful, however.
French Encroachment
The French gained a temporary foothold on the island in 1642 but were driven out in 1674. They finally acquired a few trading bases along the east coast in the following century. Their sphere of influence was restricted, however, as a result of the rise of a powerful monarchy among the Merina, a people of Malay origin in the central plateau. From 1810 to 1828, during the reign of the Merina king Radama I, who was hostile to the French, the British gained influence. British officers trained Merina troops, and British missionaries introduced schools and Christianity. Following the death of Radama, a strong reaction against European culture developed. Reforms were abolished, the missionaries were persecuted, and trade relations with Britain were severed. On the accession of Radama II (in 1861), a generally progressive ruler, some of the early reforms were reinstituted. Radama II, who was friendly to the French, was subsequently murdered by the conservative faction at the Merina court. A protracted period of strained relations and recurrent hostilities with the French culminated in 1895 in submission by the reigning monarch, Queen Ranavalona III. In 1896, as a result of popular uprisings, Madagascar was proclaimed a colony of France; military rule was instituted, and the queen was exiled.
Various reforms and improvements were introduced in Madagascar during the following decades, but discontent with French rule gradually assumed serious proportions. In 1916 a secret nationalist society was outlawed, and hundreds of its members were jailed.
In May 1942, two years after the fall of France in 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. The postwar period was marked by a resumption of nationalist agitation.
Movement Toward Independence
Under the provisions of the French constitution of 1946, Madagascar and some dependencies became an overseas territory of France. The constitution established elective Madagascan provincial assemblies with limited powers. In March 1947, nationalists in east Madagascar began an armed revolt against the French that was not suppressed until August. After the revolt the government emphasized efforts to improve the economy by extending the road system and by exploiting coal deposits more systematically.
During the 1950s France took measures to increase self-government on the island. Elections held in 1951, 1952, and 1957 generally favoured those who advocated gradual attainment of independence. The constitution of the Fifth Republic of France was approved by 78 percent of the Madagascan electorate in a referendum held on September 28, 1958. A subsequent congress of the members of the provincial councils proclaimed Madagascar, renamed the Malagasy Republic, a semi-autonomous member of the French Community. Philibert Tsiranana, leader of the Social Democratic Party, was inaugurated as president and head of state on November 1. On June 26, 1960, the republic became fully autonomous while retaining a cordial association with France. In September it was admitted to the United Nations.
Military government
After a decade of political stability, Malagasy underwent serious unrest in the early 1970s, although Tsiranana was reelected for the second time in January 1972. In the spring, however, student unrest grew into general rioting, and Tsiranana was forced to turn power over to the army chief of staff, General Gabriel Ramanantsoa. Ramanantsoa was ousted by other elements of the military in early 1975; in June, Lieutenant Commander Didier Ratsiraka was named head of state. On December 30, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, and on January 4, 1976, Ratsiraka began a seven-year term as president.
Economic pressures in the late 1970s added to political unrest, to which the government responded with a series of alerts and arrests; alleged antigovernment plots were reported in 1977, 1980, and 1982. Reelected in November 1982 and March 1989, Ratsiraka suppressed another coup attempt in May 1990. After massive anti-government demonstrations, he promised in August 1991 to institute democratic reforms; a transitional government took office in November, and a new constitution was approved by popular referendum in August 1992. Albert Zafy defeated Ratsiraka in a presidential run-off election in February 1993.
The transition to civilian rule was marked by opposition from troops loyal to Ratsiraka and by conflicts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the exchange rate of the Malagasy franc. In September 1996 the National Assembly impeached Zafy for, among other things, failing to reach an agreement with the IMF. Zafy officially stepped down in October, and new presidential elections were held in December. Ratsiraka defeated Zafy and was proclaimed president once again in January 1997.
Ratsiraka also struggled with the IMF, and delays in obtaining IMF relief funds led to an erosion of support for his administration. In December 2001 presidential elections Ratsiraka finished second to Marc Ravalomanana, the popular mayor of Antananarivo. However, because the vote count showed that neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off election was required. But Ravalomanana rejected the results of the vote count, claiming to have won more than 50 percent of the vote. Backed by the overwhelming support of Antananarivo residents, he had himself sworn in as president in February 2002. Ratsiraka refused to step down, demanding that the run-off election take place. Supported by rural and coastal provinces, Ratsiraka established a rival government at the port city of Toamasina. Madagascar’s High Constitutional Court conducted a recount and in April declared Ravalomanana the rightful winner with more than 51 percent of the vote. Most of the international community recognized Ravalomanana’s presidency over the subsequent months. Ratsiraka fled Madagascar for France in July.
Parts of this text taken from : Microsoft® Encarta® Enzyklopädie 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. (All rights reserved)
| BW GmbH - Madagaskar Travel · Last changed: 30.04.2009 21:47 | Contact · Site map · up |