Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies Colonie de Madagascar et dépendances (French) Ny zanatanin'i Madagasikara sy ny miankina aminy (Malagasy)
1897–1958
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "La Marseillaise"
Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies in 1930
Status	Colony of France (1897–1946) Overseas Territory of France (1946–1958)
Capital	Tananarive
Common languages	French Malagasy Comorian Arabic
Religion	Christianity Islam Traditional beliefs
Governor-General
• 1897–1905(first)	Joseph Gallieni
• 1946–1948(last)	Jules Marcel de Coppet
High Commissioner
• 1948–1950(first)	Pierre Gabriel de Chevigné
• 1953–1958(last)	André Soucadaux
Prime Minister
• 1957–1958	Philibert Tsiranana
Historical era	New Imperialism
• Established	28 February 1897
• Autonomy	14 October 1958
Currency	French franc (1897–1925) Malagasy franc (1925–1945) Madagascar-Comores CFA franc (1945–1958)
ISO 3166 code	MG
Preceded by Succeeded by Merina Kingdom Malagasy Protectorate French Comoros Sakalava empire Malagasy Republic French Comoros French Southern and Antarctic Lands Mayotte
Today part of	Madagascar Comoros France French Southern and Antarctic Lands Mayotte

TheColony of Madagascar and Dependencies (French:Colonie de Madagascar et dépendances) was aFrench colony off the coast ofSoutheast Africa between 1897 and 1958 in what is nowMadagascar. The colony was formerly a protectorate of France known asMalagasy Protectorate. The protectorate became a colony, following QueenRanavalona III's exile toRéunion.

In 1958, the colonial administration in Madagascar was abolished, and it became an autonomous territory of theFrench Community as theMalagasy Republic, which existed until 1975.

TheUnited Kingdom had been an ally of Madagascar. In May 1862,John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Britain's foreign secretary, instructed Connolly Pakenham thatRadama II should keep the country away from foreign powers. In 1882, the French started to occupy much of Madagascar's northern and western territories. In 1883, theFranco-Hova Wars commenced between France andMerina Kingdom, but the outcome remained inconclusive. The British government acted as a restraining hand on France's desire to swallow up the island.^[1] On 17 December 1885, QueenRanavalona III signed the treaty in which Madagascar became a French protectorate, although this was disputed by Madagascar, as well as taking out a loan of 10 million francs. In 1888, the queen was granted the grand cross of theLegion of Honour (the Légion d'Honneur), the highest and most prestigious French order of merit.^[2] The queen was reluctantly passionate about preventing her country to fall to France.^[3] The queen tried to cease French incursion; however, this remained futile and in September 1895, the queen was forced to surrender Madagascar's capital, Tananarive, to the French.^[3]

The queen accepted the treaty to preserve her crown and the monarchy in Madagascar. But France's yearning to expand their colonial empire in Africa meant the treaty proved to be nothing but a ruse. Queen Ranavalona was removed from power and was exiled to the French island ofRéunion for two years, thenAlgiers afterwards. As she went into exile, Madagascar formally became a French colony.^[2][3]

French pacification lasted about fifteen years, in response to rural guerrillas scattered throughout the country. In total, the conflicts between the French authorities and Malagasy guerrillas killed more than 100,000 Malagasy people.^[4]

The French abolished slavery in 1896 after taking control of Madagascar. Over 500,000 slaves were freed following the abolition. Many former slaves would remain in their former masters' homes as servants.^[5]

Nationalist sentiment against French colonial rule emerged among a group ofMerina intellectuals. The group, based inAntananarivo, was led by aMalagasy Protestant clergyman, Pastor Ravelojoana, who was especially inspired by theJapanese model of modernization. A secret society dedicated to affirmingMalagasy cultural identity was formed in 1913, calling itself Iron and Stone Ramification (Vy Vato Sakelika, VVS). Although the VVS was brutally suppressed, its actions eventually led French authorities to provide the Malagasy with their first representative voice in government.^{[citation needed]}

Malagasy veterans of military service inFrance during theFirst World War bolstered the embryonic nationalist movement. Throughout the 1920s, the nationalists stressed labour reform and equality of civil and political status for the Malagasy, stopping short of advocating independence. For example, the French League for Madagascar, under the leadership ofAnatole France, demandedFrench citizenship for allMalagasy people in recognition of their country's wartime contribution of soldiers and resources. A number of veterans who remained in France were exposed to French political thought, most notably theanti-colonial and pro-independence platforms ofsocialist parties.Jean Ralaimongo, for example, returned to Madagascar in 1924 and became embroiled in labour questions that were causing considerable tension throughout the island.^[4]

Among the first concessions to Malagasy equality was the formation in 1924 of two economic and financial delegations. One was composed of French settlers, the other of twenty-four Malagasy representatives elected by theCouncil of Notables in each of twenty-four districts. The two sections never met together, and neither had real decision-making authority. Huge mining and forestry concessions were granted to large companies. Indigenous leaders loyal to the French administration were also granted part of the land. Forced labour was introduced in favour of the French companies.^[6]

The 1930s saw the Malagasy anti-colonial movement gain momentum. Malagasy trade unionism began to appear underground and the Communist Party of the Region of Madagascar was formed. But as early as 1939, all organisations were dissolved by the administration of the colony, which opted for theVichy regime.^[4]

French Madagascar played an important role in the war due to the presence of critically important harbors, the contribution of Malagasy troops, and was also the scene of fighting betweenAllied andVichy French forces in 1942. After thefall of France in 1940, Madagascar became a crucial flashpoint in contention between theFree French movement andVichy France.

Only in theaftermath of the Second World War was France willing to accept a form of Malagasy self-rule under French tutelage. In theautumn of 1945, separate French and Malagasy electoral colleges voted to elect representatives from Madagascar to theConstituent Assembly of theFourth Republic inParis. The two delegates chosen by the Malagasy,Joseph Raseta and Joseph Ravoahangy, both campaigned to implement the ideal of theself-determination of peoples affirmed by theAtlantic Charter of 1941 and by theBrazzaville Conference of 1944.^{[citation needed]}

Raseta and Ravoahangy, together withJacques Rabemananjara, a writer long resident in Paris, organised theDemocratic Movement for Malagasy Restoration (MDRM), the foremost among several political parties formed in Madagascar by early 1946. Although Protestant Merina was well represented in MDRM's higher echelons, the party's 300,000 members were drawn from a broad political base reaching across the entire island and crosscutting ethnic and social divisions.^[7]>Several smaller MDRM rivals included the Party of the Malagasy Disinherited (Parti des Déshérités Malgaches), whose members were mainlycôtiers or descendants of slaves from theCentral Highlands.^{[citation needed]}

The1946 constitution of theFrench Fourth Republic made Madagascar aterritoire d'outre-mer (overseas territory) within theFrench Union. It accorded full citizenship to all Malagasy parallel with that enjoyed by citizens in France. But the assimilationist policy inherent in its framework was incongruent with the MDRM goal of fullindependence for Madagascar, so Ravoahangy and Raseta abstained from voting. The two delegates also objected to the separate French and Malagasy electoral colleges, even though Madagascar was represented in the French National Assembly. The constitution divided Madagascar administratively into a number of provinces, each of which was to have a locally elected provincial assembly. Not long after, a National Representative Assembly was constituted at Antananarivo. In the first elections for the provincial assemblies, the MDRM won all seats or a majority of seats, except in Mahajanga Province.^{[citation needed]}

Despite these reforms, the political scene in Madagascar remained unstable. Economic and social concerns, including food shortages, black-market scandals, labour conscription, renewed ethnic tensions, and the return of soldiers from France, strained an already volatile situation. Many of the veterans felt they had been less well treated by France than had veterans from metropolitan France; others had been politically radicalised by their wartime experiences. The blend of fear, respect, and emulation on which Franco-Malagasy relations had been based seemed at an end.^{[citation needed]}

On 29 March 1947, Malagasy nationalistsrevolted against the French. Although the uprising eventually spread over one-third of the island, the French were able to restore order after reinforcements arrived from France. Casualties among the Malagasy were estimated in the 11,000 to 80,000 range. The repression was accompanied bysummary executions, torture, forced regroupings and the burning of villages. TheFrench Army experimented with "psychological warfare": suspects were thrown alive from planes in order to terrorise villagers in the areas of operation. The group of leaders responsible for the uprising, which came to be referred to as the Revolt of 1947, never has been identified conclusively. Although the MDRM leadership consistently maintained its innocence, the French outlawed the party. French military courts tried the military leaders of the revolt and executed twenty of them. Other trials produced, by one report, some 5,000 to 6,000 convictions, and penalties ranged from brief imprisonment to death.^{[citation needed]} According to a source, 90,000 Malagasy people died during the uprising, which was brutally shut down by the French colonial regime.^[8]

In 1956, France's socialist government renewed the French commitment to greater autonomy in Madagascar and other colonial possessions by enacting theLoi Cadre (Enabling Law). TheLoi Cadre provided foruniversal suffrage and was the basis for parliamentary government in each colony. In the case of Madagascar, the law established executive councils to function alongside provincial and national assemblies, and dissolved the separate electoral colleges for the French and Malagasy groups. The provision for universal suffrage had significant implications in Madagascar because of the basic ethno-political split between the Merina and thecôtiers, reinforced by the divisions between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Superior armed strength and educational and cultural advantages had given the Merina a dominant influence on the political process during much of the country's history. The Merina were heavily represented in the Malagasy component of the small elite to whom suffrage had been restricted in the earlier years of French rule. Now thecôtiers, who outnumbered the Merina, would be a majority.^{[citation needed]}

The end of the 1950s was marked by growing debate over the future of Madagascar's relationship with France. Two major political parties emerged. The newly createdDemocratic Social Party of Madagascar (Parti Social Démocrate de Madagascar – PSD) favouredself-rule while maintaining close ties with France. The PSD was led byPhilibert Tsiranana, a well-educatedTsimihety from the northern coastal region who was one of three Malagasy deputies elected in 1956 to the National Assembly in Paris. The PSD built upon Tsiranana's traditional political stronghold ofMahajanga in northwest Madagascar and rapidly extended its sources of support by absorbing most of the smaller parties that had been organised by thecôtiers. In sharp contrast, those advocating complete independence from France came together under the auspices of theCongress Party for the Independence of Madagascar (Antokon'ny Kongresy Fanafahana an'i Madagasikara – AKFM). Primarily based in Antananarivo andAntsiranana, party support centred among the Merina under the leadership ofRichard Andriamanjato, himself a Merina and a member of the Protestant clergy. To the consternation of French policymakers, the AKFM platform called fornationalisation of foreign-owned industries,collectivisation of land, the "Malagachisation" of society away from French values and customs (most notably use of theFrench language), internationalnonalignment, and exit from theFranc Zone.^{[citation needed]}

• Madagascar
• History of Madagascar

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Country Studies.Federal Research Division.

18°56′S47°31′E / 18.933°S 47.517°E /-18.933; 47.517

• French Madagascar
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