Ranavalona

Ranavalona Anger , 1788? - 1861), queen Malgache resulting from the highlands of the Island (in Imerina), was initially indicated name of Mavo (or Ramavo) and then Rabodonandrianampoinimerina (what means the ingenuous little girl of Andrianampoinimerina ), by reference to his/her uncle, the king Andrianampoinimerina. It becomes queen of Madagascar after the death of her husband, Radama Ier. One also indicated it by the title of Ranavalo-Manjaka I (" Ranavalona règnante").

History

Rabodonandrianampoinimerina was born between 1788 and 1790 from a cousin from the king Andrianampoinimerina and was then adopted by Ralesoka, older sister of this last. It is for this reason that it became the holder of the royal legitimacy which it was to transmit by her descent. Andrianampoinimerina thus made of it the principal wife of its son and immediate successor, Radama I. Unfortunately, at the time of the premature disappearance of this one in 1828, the couple did not have heir yet. In order to overcome the crisis of succession which resulted from it, the faithful ones of Andrianampoinimerina decided to put Rabodonandrianampoinimerina itself on the throne. To avoid the civil war then, the other applicants transfer themselves systematically eliminated or had to exile themselves abroad.

It continues, with less success than its predecessors, the territorial expansion of its kingdom and carries out many forwardings to pacify the conquered territories, the such southernmost Ménabe, the Boina and the areas of the North-East of the island. Enthusiastic nationalist, it fights the foreign influence, in particular that of the Christian missionaries whose faithful ones are martyrisés. The power of certain castes increases, like that of the Andriana of the royal family and that of the military chiefs Hova.

Initially, Ranavalona sought to continue the work of modernization of the kingdom started with its predecessor. Very quickly however, it had to face the hostility of the French which, in 1829, undertook via the Admiral Gourbeyre to tackle various points of the Eastern coast of the island. This unexpected aggression sharpened the mistrust of the queen against the European ambitions. And more especially as the work of evangelization of the British missionaries, installed in the middle of the kingdom since 1820 started to bear its fruits. Fearing over all the loss of independence for its country, she denounces the treaty anglo-Madagascan of 1820 and thus asked the British to give up the religious propagation to be satisfied with work of education to which she held much. But the latter refused and, in 1835, the Queen made them expel island, being satisfied to resort to the contribution of independent technicians, such in particular that the adventurer Jean Laborde, to help it to continue work of modernization. This one achieves without the assistance of any technician a considerable work, by equipping Madagascar with a metallurgical and chemical industry and by introducing a great number of technical innovations. To counterbalance the European influence, the Malagasy leaders plan contacts between the port of Majunga and Zanzibar.

Thereafter, to test éradiquer the Christianity in which it distinguished before all the means from infiltration to the service from the European colonial ambitions, it pursued the converted autochtones, considered as traitors with the fatherland ( will mpivarotra tanindrazana literally " salesmen of the ground ancestrale"). As she declared itself in a speech in 1849: Miala amiko ka mba ialako, mahafoy ahy ka mba foiko! (They (Christians) disavowed me as much as symbol living of their fatherland, also I disavow them; they gave up me, I give up them!). Under Ranavalona 1st, the Royaume Merina thus continued to be modernized after a fashion, while continuing the consolidation of its statute as a Royaume of Madagascar. New coastal regions were subjected, so in particular preventing the French from being established there. In 1845, its troops even had to push back joint attacks of the navy French and British, which obliged it to still close more the island with the European trade during ten years. Unfortunately, these campaigns did not fail to heavily allocate the thin resources of the kingdom, whether it is from the financial point of view or as men. Inter alia consequences, it resulted a development from it from the internal trade of the slaves (and clandestinely, also external via the traffickers Arab Swahili and !). This involved a considerable surge of foreign deportees to the heart of the country merina, at the origin then of the development of the community of the Mainty.

With many regards, Ranavalona 1st could thus show the worthy continuatrice of the work of Andrianampoinimerina and Radama. From the national point of view, it seems large sovereign, symbol even of patriotism and national pride (one also retained of it this sentence, in answer to the scorning claims of the Christian missionaries: ny fomban-drazako tsy mba will mahamenatra ahy Na will mampatahotra ahy! (I feel neither shame nor feared about the habits of my ancestors!). One consequently includes/understands why in colonial historiography, one presents it wrongly, it is according to, like a symbol of obscurantism and cruelty, while wanting more particularly with Europeans and the Christians.

The Ranavalona queen makes prepare a dictionary English-Madagascan. The school of language counts 40 pupils who will play a diplomatic part of foreground in second half of the century.

Ranavalona 1st was the mother of Radama II, which succeeded to him its death in 1861.

Random links: