Madagascar: Origin and rise of the Merina Kingdom (c1650-1828)

Updated November 2005

During the course of the 17th century the tiny Merina polities of the highlands of Madagascar, which consisted of one or a more fortified hill-top villages each, were progressively consolidated into the single kingdom of Imerina. The state was founded by Ralambo, and consolidated by his descendents with its capital eventually at Tananarive. Neither this kingdom nor its successors were founded by the Maroseraña who had been responsible for state formation on the coast (Bortolot Undated).

The dynasty created a series of fortifications to maintain control of their territories, drained marshes to create land for rice cultivation, encouraged cattle husbandry and trade and a new caste of artisans was founded to stimulate industry. Perhaps in emulation of the Maroseraña, religious ideology was elaborated into a sacred kingship and the descendents of Ralambo were elevated to a higher caste of nobility. This, and the founding of the artisan caste, was an elaboration on a traditional division, shared with the peoples of the coast, into nobles, commoners and slaves. A key element of the administrative system was the village council or fokonolona, which enabled local nobles and elders to regulate elements of local life such as canals, swamp drainage, trade and defence (Bortolot Undated, Library of Congress 1994, Mulford 1993).

The state, however, descended into civil war in the late 18th century and disintegrated into warring kingdoms that were subject to slave raids from the coastal polities. This anarchic situation continued until about 1780 when a descendent of Ralambo of a junior line, Andrianampoinimerina, usurped one of the four Merina kingdoms and by 1897 was able to reunite the Merina kingdoms (Columbia Encyclopedia 2005, Bortolot Undated, Library of Congress 1994).

Andrianampoinimerina was succeeded in 1810 by his son, the progressive and able Radama I. Renewed interest by France and Britain in the early nineteenth century placed him in a position where he was able to play off the one power against the other to gain endorsement for further expansion of the Merina kingdom to control almost the entire island. In 1817 a treaty with the governor of Mauritius abolished slavery, in return for which the expansion of the kingdom was facilitated by the modernisation and rearming of his military forces with British assistance (Columbia Encyclopedia 2005, US State Department 2005).

He began with the conquest of his highland neighbours, the Bétsiléo people to the south and then subjugated the Sakalava and the Betsimisáraka. To ease the consolidation of power the subjugated peoples continued to be governed by their own ruling classes and the territory of the kingdom was divided into administrative provinces. Only the inhospitable regions of the island, especially in the south, escaped Merina rule. The village councils formed a key element in the administration for it enabled the monarchy to co-opt local governing institutions, utilising their legitimacy while transforming them into tools of central government. The British system of government through a cabinet of ministers responsible for various aspects of government was adopted (Columbia Encyclopedia 2005, Mulford 1993, Library of Congress 1994).

Radama's modernisation drive thus incorporated a certain degree of westernisation. The London Missionary Society was permitted to establish itself, and as a consequence made rapid inroads in court and in society at large. They founded schools along with churches, devised a Latin alphabet for the Merina dialect of Malagasy and established a printing press. Up to 500 000 converts to the Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregational churches were made. A side effect of their encouragement of Merina literacy was the diffusion of Merina culture and dialect throughout the island (Columbia Encyclopedia 2005, US State Department 2005).

References

BORTOLOT, AI UNDATED "Kingdoms of Madagascar: Maroserana and Merina" The Metropolitan Museum of Art [www] http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/madg_1/hd_madg_1.htm [opens new window] (accessed 10 Jun 2010).

COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2005 "Madagascar", Sixth edition, [www] http://www.bartleby.com/65/ma/Madagasc.html [opens new window] (accessed 10 Jun 2010).

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1994 "Precolonial Era, Prior to 1894" IN Country Study: Madagascar [www] http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+mg0013) [opens new window] (accessed 10 Jun 2010).

MULFORD, MR 1992 "Madagascar: A Tradition of Continuity" [www] http://www.frontiernet.net/~mmulford/madag.htm [opens new window] (accessed 10 Jun 2010).

US STATE DEPARTMENT 2005 "Background Note: Madagascar" [www] http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5460.htm [opens new window] (accessed 10 Jun 2010).