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150-480: Andrianampoinimerina ( Malagasy pronunciation: [anˈɖʐianˌmpuʲnˈmerʲnə̥] ) (c. 1745–1810) ruled the Kingdom of Imerina on Madagascar from 1787 until his death. His reign was marked by the reunification of Imerina following 77 years of civil war, and the subsequent expansion of his kingdom into neighboring territories, thereby initiating the unification of Madagascar under Merina rule. Andrianampoinimerina

300-466: A self-made man who did not rely on his privileges as a prince, his independence, temperament, tenacity and sense of justice made him popular among the commoners and the slaves of Ambohimanga. His popularity stood in contrast to public discontentment with his uncle, King Andrianjafy , who was viewed as a despotic and incompetent ruler. Ramboasalamarazaka frequently made promises to the populace regarding his future reign, which led Andrianjafy perceived as

450-504: A canoe made of silver (rather than the customary hollowed out log) and interred in one of the royal tranomasina tombs at Ambohimanga. Shortly after the French established a colonial presence on the island in 1896, they destroyed Andrianampoinimerina's original tomb in March 1897, removed his remains, and relocated them to the rova of Antananarivo where they were interred in the tomb of his son. This

600-546: A citizen army called the foloalindahy (the "100,000 soldiers"). Men fit for military service were recruited to engage in Andrianampoinimerina's campaigns of conquest between periods designated for public works projects. These campaigns served to enrich Imerina by capturing slaves for labor and service to the Merina andriana and hova classes, or for sale or trade to coastal communities in exchange for firearms. His military

750-451: A conduit of traditional religious power and authority, instead glorifying his administrative practices in an attempt to bring greater credibility to the colonial government as a vehicle for building upon and strengthening the principles of good governance that he introduced. Beginning in the 1970s, historians began to focus more on the spiritual aspects of his role as king, and researchers questioned and compared sources in an effort to arrive at

900-435: A definitive win for either side. In the morning, Andrianjafy moved his army north of Anosy and the two sides clashed again in a battle that lasted two days. The Ilafy army lost the skirmish and retreated to their village. After losing these battles, the residents of Ilafy decided to submit to Andrianampoinimerina. To rid themselves of Andrianjafy, the people encouraged him to travel to Antananarivo and Alasora to seek allies in

1050-414: A distinct personality—and offered their own house with guardians dedicated to their service. Ralambo then transformed the nature of the relationship between sampy and ruler: whereas previously the sampy had been seen as tools at the disposal of community leaders, under Ralambo they became divine protectors of the king's sovereignty and the integrity of the state, which would be preserved through their power on

1200-702: A fair ruler. Andrianampoinimerina regulated commerce and the economy by creating official markets ( tsena ) and standardizing market scales ( fandanjana ) and other units of measurement, including length and volume. King Andrianampoinimerina established the first marketplace in Antananarivo on the grounds today occupied by the Analakely market's tile-roofed pavilions, constructed in the 1930s. Andrianampoinimerina decreed Friday ( Zoma ) as market day, when merchants would come to Analakely to erect stalls shaded with traditional white parasols. This sea of parasols extended throughout

1350-500: A house built at each of the twelve sacred hills. After the political capital of Imerina was shifted back to Antananarivo, Andrianampoinimerina declared Ambohimanga to be the spiritual capital of Imerina. The latter half of Andrianampoinimerina's reign from around 1800 was marked by an effort to unite the island's 18 ethnic groups under his rule. This effort began with the sending of royal messengers bearing invitations to become vassal states under Andrianampoinimerina's sovereignty, or face

1500-425: A large rolled stone disc acting as a barrier) – that rendered the town more resistant to Vazimba attacks. Andrianjaka's policies and tactics highlighted and increased the separation between the king and his subjects. He transformed social divisions into spatial divisions by assigning each clan to a specific geographical region within his kingdom. Andrianjaka unified the principalities on what he later designated as

1650-402: A largely successful war to subjugate the surrounding Vazimba communities and force them to either submit to Hova dominance and assimilate, or flee. Andriamanelo was succeeded by his son Ralambo (r. 1575–1612), whose many enduring and significant political and cultural achievements earned him a heroic and near mythical status among the greatest ancient sovereigns of Merina history. Ralambo was

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1800-440: A local board game believed to develop intelligence and the ability to think strategically. Young nobles being groomed for leadership roles typically learned to perform kabary (a stylized form of public address), including the judicious use of ohabolana (proverbs) to persuasively make a point. Young Merina princes also often learned to play the valiha , a bamboo tube zither then reserved for Merina and Zafimamy nobles. Around

1950-494: A military conquest. The first focus of this expansion was territory that had historically been inhabited by the Merina people but had come under the rule of other groups, particularly including the eastern lands held by the Sihanaka and Bezanozano peoples. Andrianampoinimerina then consolidated Merina power in neighboring southern central Betsileo territories, establishing military outposts to protect Merina settlers as far south as

2100-451: A more factual and balanced history of Andrianampoinimerina and his reign. Innovations during the reign of Andrianampoinimerina were to have long-standing consequences for the structure of Malagasy society in the 19th century. Madagascar specialist Francoise Raison-Jourde attributes the widespread conversions of the masses following the conversion to Christianity of Ranavalona II in 1869 to the precedent established by Andrianampoinimerina of

2250-595: A palace on the site that became the seat of royal power in the Merina kingdom. A significant alteration of the landscape made under the rule of Andrianampoinimerina was the introduction of irrigation systems that allowed for the farming of rice paddies. To the present day rice remains a staple of Malagasy cuisine. The digging of canals and dikes was done by vast numbers of slaves placed under royal servitude, or fanompoana. The landscape of Imerina and its geographical manipulation had significant ritual meaning in Merina culture. The irrigation system introduced to Antananarivo,

2400-415: A position not far removed from enslavement. A clandestine trade thrived in the 1880s until Franco-Merina hostilities broke out in 1882. Andriamanelo Andriamanelo ( fl. 1540–1575) was king of Alasora in the central highlands region of Madagascar . He is generally considered by historians to be the founder of the Kingdom of Imerina and originator of the Merina royal line that, by

2550-498: A preparation reserved uniquely for this holiday. This delicacy was made during the festival by sealing shredded zebu meat with suet in a decorative clay jar. The confit would then be conserved in a pit for twelve months to be served at the next year's fandroana. The marriage tradition of the vodiondry , still practiced to this day throughout the Highlands, is said to have originated with Andriamanelo. According to oral history, after

2700-466: A row on the Rova grounds). To commemorate his greatness, his subjects erected a small wooden house called a small sacred house on top of his tomb. Future Merina sovereigns and nobles continued to construct similar tomb houses on their tombs well into the 19th century. After the conquests of the 19th century, approximately half of the Merina population consisted of the descendants of slaves. This distinction

2850-657: A shipwrecked British sailor who wrote about the Malagasy slave trade of in his journal that would be published and widely distributed in England. It was this fixation on the slave trade in Madagascar that initially drew the British to the Merina, giving the Merina the firepower to extend their empire and trading networks across Madagascar. Though the British later returned the island of Réunion to France, they retained Mauritius and included it in

3000-449: A sister named Rafotsindrindramanjaka. In a bid to counteract further fracturing of their kingdom, Rafohy and Rangita decided that while the Vazimba had historically been ruled by queens, Andriamanelo would inherit the crown upon his mother's death and would be succeeded not by his own child but by his younger brother. This system of succession, ordered by the queens to be followed for all time,

3150-428: A sizable cache of firearms and gunpowder, materials that helped to establish and preserve his dominance and expand his rule over greater Imerina. Political life on the island from the 16th century was characterised by sporadic conflict between the Merina and Sakalava kingdoms, originating with Sakalava slave-hunting incursions into Imerina. By the early 19th century, the Merina were able to overcome rival tribes such as

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3300-436: A state religion in which the sovereign is the head and the people are expected to follow. Similarly, Andrianampoinimerina's decision to empower the hova and the two families of advisers in particular led over the next fifty years to the strengthening of the hova middle class that formed the backbone of the merchant, craftsman, farming and administrative cadres. By the reign of Radama II , hova power rivaled and ultimately exceeded

3450-574: A threat to his authority, leading him to execute citizens of his territory who engaged his nephew in such promises; contrary to his intentions, this response only served to turn popular opinion against Andrianjafy. Although Andrianjafy may have initially intended for Ramboasalamarazaka to succeed him, this appears to have changed following the birth of his son, whom his wife persuaded him to name as successor in disregard of his father's earlier decree. Andrianjafy consequently made several attempts to have his nephew killed, but on each occasion Ramboasalamarazaka

3600-399: Is a cultural hero and holds near mythic status among the Merina people, and is considered one of the greatest military and political leaders in the history of Madagascar. Andrianampoinimerina took power upon deposing his uncle, King Andrianjafy , who had ruled over Imerina Avaradrano (Northern Imerina). Prior to Andrianampoinimerina's reign, Imerina Avaradrano had been locked in conflict with

3750-429: Is an "object of great admiration in the popular imagination." A French trader who had conducted business with him declared in 1808, "He is without doubt the richest, the most feared, the most enlightened, and has the largest kingdom, of all the kings of Madagascar." Malagasy textbooks characterize him as a hero and the originator of the notion of a unified Malagasy national identity. The primary source of information about

3900-403: Is calcified in the present day by the classification of the descendants of slaves as "blacks" and those of freemen as "whites". The use of color to describe social distinction is further supplemented by the racial distinctions of the Malagasy population tracing back to the original settlement of the island, with Austronesian racial features are contrasted by African racial features. Andriamanelo

4050-518: Is credited with introducing astrology in Imerina. The Merina rite of circumcision , described by Bloch (1986) in great detail, continued to be practiced by the Merina monarchy through the end of the 19th century in precisely the way first established by Andriamanelo generations before. Many elements of these rituals continue to form part of the circumcision traditions of Merina families in the 21st century. The origins of these practices can be traced back to

4200-470: Is located in the central highlands of Madagascar. It is notable that the word Imerina is derived from the Malagasy word meaning the "occupancy of a prominent place." Consistent with the name, much of the documented manipulation of the land in the Merina kingdom involve the building of palaces for royalty or of temples. Andrianampoinimerina (c.1745–1809) was the first to use the toponym of Imerina after conquering Antananarivo. He projected his power by constructing

4350-466: Is the written classic of Merina culture, compiled from oral traditions and stories. The Tantara was collected by the Jesuit priest François Callet in the 1860s. The Tantara and other printed works are held in such high regard that very few can be obtained for any price. Present day Malagasy culture is still tied extensively to the past. Many ceremonies involve reenactments of the past, such as tromba , or

4500-555: The Ankaratra mountains and Faratsiho . Kingdoms that united with Imerina as a result of diplomatic efforts included the Betsileo around Manandriana; the Betsileo, Merina and Antandrano Andrandtsay of Betafo; and the western region of Imamo. The Sakalava of Menabe and Manangina rejected these offers and actively resisted Merina domination; the Bezanozano territories likewise resisted, although

4650-613: The Bezanozano , the Betsimisaraka , and eventually the Sakalava kingdom and bring them under the Merina crown. It is through this process that the ethnonym "Merina" began to be commonly used, as it denotes prominence in the Malagasy language . Though some sources describe the Merina expansion as the unification of Madagascar, this period of Merina expansion was seen by neighboring tribes such as

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4800-492: The Merina customs of the time, his parents gave him the humble name Ramboasalama ( Ra-amboa-salama , "The healthy dog") to protect him from attracting the undesirable attention of jealous rivals or evil spirits, before being changed in childhood to Ramboasalamarazaka . Ramboasalamarazaka spent his early childhood in his father's Zafimamy court at Ikaloy . There he received a traditional education, including mastery of fanorona ,

4950-404: The sampin'andriana : the "Royal Sampy") which were all in the possession of the king. These royal sampy, including Kelimalaza , continued to be worshiped until their supposed destruction in a bonfire by Queen Ranavalona II upon her public conversion to Christianity in 1869. Also beginning under Ralambo, the ritual sanctification of the realm occurred through the annual fandroana festival at

5100-441: The twelve sacred hills of Imerina at Ambohitratrimo, Ambohimanga, Ilafy, Alasora, Antsahadita, Ambohimanambony, Analamanga, Ambohitrabiby, Namehana, Ambohidrapeto, Ambohijafy and Ambohimandranjaka. These hills became and remain the spiritual heart of Imerina, which was further expanded over a century later when Andrianampoinimerina redesignated the twelve sacred hills to include several different sites. Under Andriamasinavalona,

5250-455: The vodiondry , still practiced to this day throughout the Highlands, is said to have originated with Andriamanelo. According to oral history, after the sovereign had successfully contracted a marriage with Ramaitsoanala, sole daughter of Vazimba King Rabiby, Andriamanelo sent her a variety of gifts including vodiondry—meat from the hindquarters of a sheep—which he believed to be the tastiest portion. The value placed on this cut of meat

5400-549: The 16th century under Andriamanelo was revised by Andrianampoinimerina, as it had been done by Andriamasinavalona . He decreed new rights and responsibilities for the andriana, including the privilege of placing sculptures or images of the voromahery ( black kite ) on their homes to indicate their noble status. In order to strengthen relationships within clans and communities, and to promote moderation and equitable distribution of resources, Andrianampoinimerina decreed that families should build larger, monolithic stone tombs to hold

5550-406: The 17th century Merina king Ralambo was made a much larger event intended to symbolically renew the nation and the cosmic power that legitimized and strengthened Andrianampoinimerina's reign as well as the power of the state. This served to further unify his citizens while legitimizing and strengthening his rule. The long-established royal Merina tradition of fanompoana (labor as a form of tax)

5700-422: The 19th century, had extended its rule over virtually all of Madagascar. The son of a Vazimba mother and a man of the newly arrived Hova people originating in southeast Madagascar , Andriamanelo ultimately led a series of military campaigns against the Vazimba, beginning a several-decade process to drive them from the Highlands. The conflict that defined his reign also produced many lasting innovations, including

5850-545: The Betsimisaraka as aggressive acts of colonialism. By 1824, the Merina captured the port of Mahajanga situated on the western coast of the island marking a further expansion of power. Under Radama I , the Merina continued to launch military expeditions that both expanded imperial control and enriched military chiefs. The ability of the Merina to overcome neighboring tribes was due to British firepower and military training. The British had an interest in establishing trade with

6000-498: The Hova favored male heirs, and the marriage between Andriamanelo's Vazimba and Hova parents had produced two sons and a daughter. To prevent conflict, the queen decided that Andriamanelo would inherit the crown upon his mother's death and would be succeeded not by his own child but by his younger brother. This system of succession was ordered by the queens to be followed for all time, and applied to families as well: in any instance where there

6150-517: The Kingdom of Imerina in Madagascar's central highlands had generally enjoyed prosperity, expansion and civil peace. This stability and the unity of Imerina collapsed after Andriamasinavalona divided the kingdom among his four favorite sons, leading to 77 years of civil war that weakened the ability of subsequent princes to respond effectively to the pressures of slave trading and a growing population. Merina kings had long intended to extend their kingdom to

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6300-487: The Kingdom of Imerina was composed of six provinces ( toko ): Avaradrano, constituting Antananarivo and land to the northeast of the capital, including Ambohimanga; Vakinisisaony, including the land to the south of Avaradrano and its capital at Alasora; Vonizongo to the northwest of Antananarivo with its capital at Fihaonana; Marovatana to the south of Vonizongo, with its capital at Ambohidratrimo; Ambodirano, south of Marovatana with its capital at Fenoarivo; and Vakinankaratra to

6450-414: The Malagasy highlands in general, ritual circumcision has remained a constant factor in Merina and Malagasy culture. The permanence of the circumcision ritual continues to the modern day. Indigenous silk clothing ( landibe ) is especially important in highland cultures, including with the Merina. It was worn during ancestral funerary ceremonies . The Tantaran'ny Andriana or Histories of Kings

6600-556: The Merina Kingdom signed a trade agreement with the United States in 1867. She replaced the incumbent Prime Minister with his brother, Rainilaiarivony , who retained the role for three decades and married each successive queen. The next sovereign, Ranavalona II , converted the nation to Christianity and had all the sampy (ancestral royal talismans) burnt in a public display. The last Merina sovereign, Queen Ranavalona III , acceded

6750-410: The Merina kingdom due to its central position on the island since 1815. Merina imperial expeditions became more frequent and violent after the renunciation of the second Merina-British treaty . Between 1828 and 1840, more than 100,000 men were killed and more than 200,000 enslaved by Merina forces. Imperial rule was met with resistance from escaped slaves and other refugees from imperial rule numbering in

6900-481: The Merina managed to preserve a tenuous hold over the area. The gradual conquest of surrounding lands by Andrianampoinimerina and his Merina army was vigorously opposed by the Sakalava, who remained a major threat to Andrianampoinimerina and his people. Throughout his reign, bands of Sakalava mounted slave raids in Imerina and brought captured Merina to the coast for sale to European slave traders. Sakalava armies mounted repeated incursions into Imerina and nearly breached

7050-449: The Merina population began holding slaves. As imperial conquests continually increased the supply of slaves captured from neighboring tribes, the population of Antananarivo grew from around 10,000 in 1820 to 50,000 in 1833. The demand in slaves matched the rise in supply as a result of fanompoana , or mandatory military service , being established in the Merina kingdom thereby drawing able bodied free men away from agricultural labor and into

7200-660: The North by absorbing the Zafimamy kingdom of Alahamadintany, and the Zafimamy kings of Alahamadintany had also wished to extend their land to the South by absorbing the Merina Kingdom. The marriage between Ramboasalamarazaka's parents was a political alliance contracted as part of Andriambelomasina's strategy to mitigate the threat of invasions by the Alahamadintany-Zafimamy alliance to the North. The marriage agreement stipulated that after

7350-473: The Rova, and in 1820 he designated the building as the first site to house what came to be known as the Palace School , the first formal European-style school in Imerina. Sovereigns were enthroned in this building and their mortal remains were displayed here before burial, rendering Besakana "the official state room for civil affairs... regarded as the throne of the kingdom." The early Merina fighters under

7500-573: The Tsimahafotsy, inhabitants of Ambohimanga, ensured the defense of the city against efforts by Andrianjafy to reclaim his capital and his authority. Andrianjafy rallied the people of his home village of Ilafy to fight against those of Ambohimanga. Both sides were armed with spears and firearms. An initial battle at Marintampona saw the Ilafy army defeated. Both sides regrouped for a second confrontation at Amboniloha, which took place at night and did not end in

7650-417: The advice of an elder who instructed him to sacrifice a ram to invoke ancestral protection. The elder then gathered the twelve most respected men of Ambohimanga and thirty soldiers, and rallied them to enforce the decree of Andriambelomasina by overthrowing Andrianjafy and swearing allegiance to Ramboasalama. After the success of the coup, the new king adopted his ruling name, Andrianampoinimerina. The support of

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7800-523: The age of 12, Ramboasalamarazaka continued his education under the supervision of his grandfather, King Andriambelomasina , at Amboatany and the royal court in Ambohimanga. As a young man, Ramboasalamarazaka worked as a merchant and may have also traded in slaves. During this period he gained a reputation as a champion of the commoner, committed to defending them against raids by Sakalava warriors and slave traders and fighting against corruption. Regarded as

7950-418: The allegiance and submission of all the territories that had formed Imerina at its largest extent under Andriamasinavalona, effectively achieving the reunification of Imerina. The former kings of Antananarivo and Ambohidratrimo periodically engaged in resistance against his authority in disregard of the treaties they had concluded, prompting Andrianampoinimerina to launch renewed campaigns to eliminate both kings;

8100-434: The army. In the second half of the 19th century, the Merina had begun to import slaves from East Africa . This was driven by an economy that critically relied on slave labor as well as the demands of Merina court officials that had personal financial interests. Emancipation of domestic slaves began in 1877, when an estimated 150,000 slaves were freed. However, these newly freed slaves were made into an imperial labor reserve,

8250-518: The birth of the couple's seventh and final son, Ralambo —the only one of Andriamanelo's children to survive to adulthood. Six earlier pregnancies ended in stillbirth or the death of the child in infancy. Andriamanelo is typically portrayed as a civilizing king in contrast to the primitive Vazimba against whom he waged war. As such, oral history credits him with discovering such diverse arts as silversmithing and astrology ( sikidy ) in addition to iron working. He reputedly introduced knowledge about

8400-440: The capital city on more than one occasion. Andrianampoinimerina launched several campaigns to pacify the Sakalava but none were successful. He also sought to establish peace through marriages intended to form political alliances, but without achieving lasting peace or an end to the slave raids. Certain Merina nobles and several members of the royal family also posed a threat to Andrianampoinimerina's rule. After deposing Andrianjafy,

8550-487: The capital was to serve as a microcosm of his kingdom and a model of urban planning that would be replicated in each new territory. In keeping with sacred Merina symbolism associated with height, space and cardinal orientation, he retained the royal compound - the Rova of Antananarivo - at the crest of the highest hill in the city, and in the center of the urban space that expanded around it. He also undertook significant expansion of

8700-443: The central Highlands was thwarted when he proved unable to seize Analamanga; this Vazimba stronghold would not fall until at last conquered by Andriamanelo's grandson, Andrianjaka . Warfare was not the only strategy by which Andriamanelo sought to expand the territory under his control. Several years into his reign (after the death of his younger brother) Andriamanelo married a maternal cousin named Ramaitsoanala ("Green Forest") who

8850-408: The central authority of Imerina, represented the unification between the Merina royalty and its people. This infrastructural feat paralleled the ritual sprinkling of water known as tsodrano done to represent the unification of land and people. Merina beliefs held the connection between cultural history and the landscape in high regard. The use of water to represent spiritual connections between people,

9000-480: The central highlands where they established hilltop villages interspersed among the existing Vazimba settlements, which were ruled by local kings and queens. The two peoples coexisted peacefully for several generations and are known to have intermarried. In this way, a reigning Vazimba queen (alternately given in the oral histories as Rafohy or Rangita ) married a Hova man named Manelobe. Their oldest son, Andriamanelo (r. 1540–1575), broke this tradition by launching

9150-525: The child from this union would, if female, be wed to his own son Ralambo; if male, he would become Ralambo's successor. A girl was born, and she was promised to Ralambo as his future wife with the stipulation that the child born of their union would rule after Ralambo. In this way Andriamanelo established a tradition of succession that indirectly respected the queens' decree by ensuring that a child of his brother's line (and his own) would rule after him. Because of this decree, Ralambo's first son by his second wife

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9300-487: The child of his son Radama would follow in the line of succession, Andrianampoinimerina had his oldest son, Ramavolahy, killed to prevent any contest for the throne. Certainly, [Andrianampoinimerina's] genius was of a purely Malagasy nature, owing nothing to external influences - except guns. His superior intelligence and great determination, combined with his flexibility of approach and realistic methods of organization, his patience and cunning, and his fundamental contact with

9450-497: The circumcision traditions of Merina families in the 21st century. Many of the innovations attributed to Andriamanelo were not his personal invention. Rather, their origins can be traced back to the southeastern part of the island that the Hova had left behind as they migrated into the central highlands. Astrology, for instance, had been introduced early to the island by way of trade contacts between coastal Malagasy communities and Arab seafarers. Similarly, archaeological evidence proves

9600-468: The city. Each Merina social class had its designated districts: slaves lived south of the rova (a disfavored direction in Merina cosmology), the mainty (royal servant class) lived to the southeast in Amparihy, important hova clans were allotted the district to the west of the royal compound, and each of the seven sub-classes of andriana nobles were assigned to a district to the sacred north and northeast of

9750-552: The condition that the line of sovereigns ensured the sampy were shown the respect due to them. By collecting the twelve greatest sampy—twelve being a sacred number in Merina cosmology—and transforming their nature, Ralambo strengthened the supernatural power and legitimacy of the royal line of Imerina. Oral history recounts numerous instances where sampy were taken into battle, and subsequent successes and varying miracles were attributed to them, including several key victories against Sakalava marauders. The propagation of similar sampy at

9900-491: The construction and use of pirogues , and was the first in the highlands to transform lowland swamps into irrigated rice paddies through the construction of dikes in the valleys around Alasora. The Merina rite of circumcision , described by Bloch (1986) in great detail, continued to be practiced by the Merina monarchy through the end of the 19th century in precisely the way first established by Andriamanelo generations before. Many elements of these rituals continue to form part of

10050-504: The construction and use of pirogues . While these technologies were not discovered during his reign, Andriamanelo may have been among the first sovereigns in Imerina to make wide-scale use of them. Captives from tribal raids were made into the Malagasy slave population. Surpluses of these populations were sent to foreign traders on the coast. These traders were initially Arab and Indian, though Europeans began to join those demanding slaves at

10200-472: The country's most important spiritual and cultural sites, and was recognized as Madagascar's only cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. A major street in Antananarivo, running parallel to the Avenue de l'Independence and one block east, is named after him. Kingdom of Imerina In 1883, France invaded the Merina Kingdom to establish a protectorate . France invaded again in 1894 and conquered

10350-495: The creature's survival, the poison would instead be ingested by the accused himself. Andriamanelo was the first in the highlands to transform lowland swamps into irrigated rice paddies through the construction of dikes in the valleys around Alasora. Under Andrianjaka, the plains surrounding Antananarivo were gradually transformed into vast, surplus-producing rice paddies. This feat was accomplished by mobilizing large numbers of his able-bodied subjects to construct dikes that enabled

10500-436: The crown, and enabled the king to monopolize trade in certain particularly lucrative goods, thereby weakening opportunities for political rivals to amass enough wealth and influence to unseat him. While this soured his relationship with certain andriana, it increased his popularity among the commoner and slave classes. His practice of commonly deciding in favor of commoners in disputes with nobles further strengthened his image as

10650-484: The defense of their town. Once he had departed, the villagers barred the town gates and announced their desire to enforce the decree of Andriambelomasina. Seeking support to recapture the throne, Andrianjafy traveled to Antananarivo, Ambohipeto, Alasora and Anosizato to secure an alliance, but each time he was rebuffed. The conflict came to an end in 1787 when Andrianampoinimerina exiled his uncle; varying sources report that shortly afterward Andrianjafy either died in exile or

10800-457: The designated heir should have a younger sibling who would succeed him. However, this decree proved challenging upon the first instance of its application. According to oral tradition, upon Rafohy's designation of elder son Andriamanelo as her successor, her younger son Andriamananitany initially claimed to accept her decree. However, Andriamananitany soon began building a new village immodestly named Ambohitrandriamanitra ("Village of God") and copied

10950-431: The development of fortified villages in the highlands and the use of iron weapons. Oral tradition furthermore credits Andriamanelo with establishing a ruling class of nobles ( andriana ) and defining the rules of succession. Numerous cultural traditions, including the ritual of circumcision, the wedding custom of vodiondry and the art of Malagasy astrology ( sikidy ) are likewise associated with this king. Andriamanelo

11100-445: The discovery of iron smelting and propagation of the iron-tipped spear against the Vazimba who fought with weapons of clay. He also fortified his capital at Alasora by creating hadivory (dry moats), hadifetsy (defensive trenches) and vavahady (town gates protected by a large rolled stone disc acting as a barrier), thereby rendering the town more resistant to Vazimba attacks. However, his attempt to establish Merina dominance in

11250-423: The existence of iron implements in Madagascar at least four centuries prior to the war between Andriamanelo and the Vazimba, suggesting that while the technology was not discovered during his reign, Andriamanelo may have been among the first sovereigns in Imerina to make wide-scale use of it in military campaigns. Andriamanelo's antecedents, Rafohy and Rangita, had jointly decreed a system of social order whereby

11400-595: The fallen king made an attempt on Andrianampoinimerina's life. This assassination attempt was foiled by an informant who had learned about the conspiracy by chance. Andrianampoinimerina rewarded the informant by marrying his daughter to his son, future King Radama I . Andrianampoinimerina furthermore declared that any child from this union would be first in the line of succession after Radama. The marriage did not produce children, however, and following Radama's death in 1828, this royal wife would rule Madagascar for 33 years as Queen Ranavalona I . Andrianaimpoinimerina's authority

11550-473: The family it was meant to feed, and each family paid taxes to the king in return. Andrianampoinimerina passed laws giving children the right to claim meat from the butcher that had not been sold by the day's end, and allowing the poor to eat cassava from others' fields, provided they took only what they could cook and consume on the spot. In this way, the basic nutritional needs of most citizens were met. The hierarchy of Merina andriana sub-classes established in

11700-401: The first king of Imerina were equipped with iron-tipped spears, an innovation credited to Andriamanelo himself, who may have been the first among the Hova to use smithed iron in this way. Andrianjaka imposed an intimidating change to the traditional form of justice, the trial by ordeal : rather than administering tangena poison to an accused person's rooster to determine their innocence by

11850-444: The first to assign the name of Imerina ("Land of the Merina people ") to the central highland territories where he ruled. Ralambo expanded and defended the Kingdom of Imerina through a combination of diplomacy and successful military action aided by the procurement of the first firearms in Imerina by way of trade with kingdoms on the coast. Imposing a capitation tax for the first time (the vadin-aina , or "price of secure life"), he

12000-464: The greater Highlands, absorbing the Betsileo , Sihanaka , Bezanozano and Bara territories. Having reigned for 23 years at the time of his death, Andrianampoinimerina had successfully reunited Imerina and vastly expanded the Merina kingdom, with the intent to ultimately unify all of Madagascar under Merina rule. His son and heir, Radama I , continued the conquests Andrianampoinimerina had begun, and over

12150-423: The guilty party and his or her family members including forced labor in chains and being reduced to slave status. These harsh penalties were intended to act as a strong disincentive to engage in antisocial acts; the consumption of alcohol, marijuana and tobacco were also outlawed, although they remained prevalent. To judge infractions of his laws, the king often relied on the tradition of tangena , whereby surviving

12300-437: The heart of his new capital city of Antananarivo . Upon his orders, the first structures within this fortified compound (known as the Rova of Antananarivo ) were constructed: several traditional royal houses were built, and plans for a series of royal tombs were designed. These buildings took on an enduring political and spiritual significance, ensuring their preservation until being destroyed by fire in 1995. Andrianjaka obtained

12450-424: The individual wearer only and were commonplace objects possessed by anyone from slave children to kings. After Ralambo received a highly powerful sampy called Kelimalaza that was distinguished by its supposed capacity to extend protection to an entire community, he sought out and amassed a total of twelve others from communities across Imerina believed to have such a quality. These sampy were personified—complete with

12600-420: The ingestion of poison indicated an accused person's innocence. Under Andrianampoinimerina, regulations were established to manage trading in slaves and other commodities. Estimates put the number of slaves traded by the king at around 1,800 per year, mainly in exchange for firearms and principally to French merchants who sold them on to Mauritius and Reunion. This brought order to the kingdom's economy, enriched

12750-645: The island's resources. His liberal policies angered the aristocracy , however, and Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony had the King strangled in a coup d'état . This aristocratic revolution saw Rasoherina , the queen dowager , placed on the throne upon her acceptance of a constitutional monarchy that gave greater power to the Prime Minister. Under her reign, the Lambert Charter was publicly burned in January 1866, and

12900-418: The island. The Merina kingdom nearly consolidated all of Madagascar into a single nation before French colonization in 1895. King Andriamasinavalona quartered the kingdom to be ruled by his four favourite sons, producing persistent fragmentation and warfare between principalities in Imerina. He extended the borders of the kingdom to their largest historical extent prior to the kingdom's fragmentation. It

13050-403: The kingdom to be his royal due. From the time of Andriamanelo forward, it became a marriage tradition for the groom to offer vodiondry to the bride's family. Over time the customary offerings of meat have been increasingly replaced by a symbolic piastre , sums of money and other gifts. Andriamanelo's son Ralambo is credited with introducing the tradition of polygamy in Imerina. He also introduced

13200-421: The kingdom, broadcasting news, announcing new laws and promoting proper social behavior. Andrianampoinimerina developed a legal system that applied throughout the territories he ruled. He was the first Merina king to establish formal civil and penal codes, the latter ameliorated and transcribed by his son Radama. He declared twelve crimes to be capital offenses, while many others entailed collective punishment for

13350-591: The kingdom, making it a French colony , in what became known as the Franco-Hova Wars . Madagascar's central highlands were first inhabited between 200 BC–300 AD by the island's earliest settlers, the Vazimba , who appear to have arrived by pirogue from southeastern Borneo to establish simple villages in the island's dense forests. By the 15th century the Hova people from the southeastern coast had gradually migrated into

13500-399: The land, and ancestors remains common in the present day. By the 1820s, an increased European population had superimposed many Western geographic features onto Imerina. This involved the introduction of non native plants and trees. This proved particularly successful for Europeans as the Malagasy soil and climate were particularly conducive to growing European plants and vegetables. Before

13650-488: The legendary first inhabitants of Madagascar, the Vazimba . However, Ramboasalamarazaka had partial Vazimba ancestry on his mother's side through her antecedent, King Andriamanelo (1540–1575), son of Vazimba Queen Rafohy (1530–1540) and her Merina husband Manelo. He was born during the first quarter of the moon ( tsinambolana ) of the month Alahamady, the sign of a highly auspicious birth according to popular belief. Following

13800-529: The monarchy of Madagascar. Prime Minister Rainilaiarivory had succeeded in playing Great Britain and France against one another, but now France could meddle without fear of reprisals from Britain. In 1895, a French flying-column landed in Mahajanga (Majunga) and marched by way of the Betsiboka River to the capital, Antananarivo , taking the city's defenders by surprise since they had expected an attack from

13950-801: The much closer eastern coast. Twenty French soldiers died in combat while 6,000 died of malaria and other diseases before the Second Franco-Hova War ended. In 1896, the Merina Kingdom was put under French protection as the Malagasy Protectorate and in 1897 the French Parliament voted to annex the island as a colony, effectively ending Merina sovereignty. Andriamanelo established the first fortified rova (royal compound) at his capital at Alasora. This fortified palace bore specific features – hadivory (dry moats), hadifetsy (defensive trenches) and vavahady (town gates protected by

14100-472: The next two decades largely achieved his father's vision. Andrianampoinimerina was born Ramboasalamarazaka (short form: Ramboasalama) around 1745 in Ikaloy , in central Madagascar , to Princess Ranavalonandriambelomasina, daughter of King Andriambelomasina of Imerina (1730-1770), and her husband Andriamiaramanjaka, an andriana (noble) of the Zafimamy royal family in the independent kingdom of Alahamadintany to

14250-419: The north of Imerina. His mother's brother Andrianjafy was named Andriambelomasina's successor and was king of Imerina Avaradrano, the northern quadrant of the former Kingdom of Imerina , from 1770 to 1787. Ramboasalamarazaka was born during a period when conflict and famine afflicted Imerina. For almost a century, from the end of the reign of King Ralambo (1575–1600) to King Andriamasinavalona (1675–1710),

14400-617: The northern coast to France and paid 560,000 gold francs to the heirs of Joseph-François Lambert. Meanwhile, in Europe, diplomats partitioning the African continent worked out an agreement whereby Britain, in order to obtain the Sultanate of Zanzibar , ceded its rights over Heligoland to the German Empire and renounced all claims to Madagascar in favor of France. The agreement proved detrimental for

14550-430: The oral history, he may have imprudently attempted to construct another defensive trench. Due to this provocative behavior, Andriamanantany was murdered by a group of Hova , possibly at Andriamanelo's command. Consumed with remorse, the king sought to rectify the situation by arranging a marriage between his brother's orphaned son and Andriamanelo's own sister (the orphan's aunt), Rafotsindrindramanjaka. He declared that

14700-502: The palace. Within this broad district structure, each clan ( foko ) was assigned a specific neighborhood in an orientation roughly corresponding to the orientation of their home village vis-a-vis the capital city. In the popular imagination of the residents of modern-day Antananarivo, the city in the time of Andrianampoinimerina is envisioned as a perfect and harmonious urban space embodying the best of Merina ingenuity and spiritual significance. The legitimacy of Andrianampoinimerina's reign

14850-463: The people, transformed Imerina and the central plateau. He initiated the idea of central unity. At his death he bequeathed to his son Radama a final thought, which for a century was to direct the island's destiny: 'the sea is the embankment of my rice fields'... — Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. V Historian Bethwell Ogot states Andrianampoinimerina is "regarded as the most important of Imerina's kings". Historian Catherine Fournet-Guérin notes he

15000-426: The power of the nobles, leading to the aristocratic coup d'etat that ended Radama's reign and the absolute power of the monarch, and established a joint system of government in which the hova Prime Minister and his cabinet governed while the sovereign was reduced to a symbolic figurehead of ancestral power and authority. Ambohimanga, which Andrianampoinimerina declared the spiritual capital of Madagascar, remains among

15150-418: The practice and design of cattle pen construction, as well as the traditional ceremony of the fandroana (the "Royal Bath"), to celebrate his culinary discovery. Upon succeeding his father, Andrianjaka (1612–1630) led a successful military campaign to capture the final major Vazimba stronghold in the highlands on the hill of Analamanga . There he established the fortified compound ( rova ) that would form

15300-423: The re-pacification of Antananarivo began in 1794 and achieved definitive success in 1797, with Ambohidratrimo reconquered shortly afterward. By 1800, he had absorbed several other previously independent sections of Imerina into his kingdom. He reinforced alliances with powerful nobles in conquered regions of Imerina through marriage to local princesses, and is said to have wed 12 women in total. He placed each wife at

15450-445: The redirection of rainwater for controlled flooding of planted areas. Andrianjaka was reportedly the first Merina leader to receive Europeans around 1620 and traded slaves in exchange for guns and other firearms to aid in the pacification of rival principalities, obtaining 50 guns and three barrels of gunpowder to equip his army. Andriamanelo is traditionally credited with discovering the technique of silversmithing, iron smithing and

15600-407: The reign of Andriambelomasina's son, Andrianjafy, the throne would pass to his daughter's son, Ramboasalamarazaka. The alliance between these two royal families represented a fair and peaceful compromise: the prince born of this union would rule over both states and unify the two kingdoms. Andrianampoinimerina's Zafimamy ancestors practiced endogamy and therefore rarely mixed with the descendants of

15750-416: The reign of Andrianampoinimerina is Tantara ny Andriana eto Madagasikara , a Malagasy language book relating the oral history of the Merina kings as collected by a Jesuit missionary, Francois Callet, in the late 19th century. Prior to the eventual release of a French language translation in the 1950s, references to the king in academic and popular writing during the colonial period de-emphasized his role as

15900-403: The remains of all family members, and that the construction of these tombs was to be undertaken as a shared responsibility among members of the family to be entombed there. Modifications and expansions on several traditional royal rituals under Andrianampoinimerina enabled him to develop a state religion in which he was the central figure. The tradition of the fandroana festival established by

16050-535: The sacred rova compound and improved its venerable buildings. This included the reconstruction in 1800 of Besakana, the "throne of the kingdom" built by king Andrianjaka in the early 1600s as the first royal residence at Antananarivo - one of several houses used as residences by Andrianampoinimerina at the palace, the other principal residence being Mahitsielafanjaka after he moved his capital from Ambohimanga to Antananarivo. He implanted representatives of ethnic groups he had recently conquered in specified neighborhoods of

16200-447: The second British-Merina treaty of 1820. This treaty declared an end to the export of slaves in Madagascar under the Merina crown. However, the internal slave market still boomed after 1820 despite British efforts. It is estimated that between 6,000 to 10,000 slaves per year were exported from Antananarivo by 1820. In 1828, Ranavalona I revoked the second British-Merina treaty and expelled most foreigners from Madagascar by 1836. Due to

16350-447: The service of less powerful citizens consequently increased throughout Imerina under Ralambo's rule: nearly every village chief, as well as many common families, had one in their possession and claimed the powers and protection their communal sampy offered them. These lesser sampy were destroyed or reduced to the status of ody by the end of the reign of Ralambo's son, Andrianjaka, officially leaving only twelve truly powerful sampy (known as

16500-488: The south and Merimanjaka to the north, the continued presence of a Vazimba stronghold at Analamanga (located between the two halves of his realm and effectively separating them) posed too great a threat to the unity of his kingdom to allow the situation to stand. He resolved to capture Analamanga and drive the Vazimba from his territory, an ambition partially realized during his reign. Popular legend attributes Andriamanelo's military successes to several innovations, including

16650-408: The south of Antananarivo with its capital at Betafo. Andrianampoinimerina reunited these provinces and added Imamo to the west, which has been described by some historians as having been incorporated into Ambodirano, and by others as separate from it; and Valalafotsy to the northwest. Together, these areas constitute the core territory rightly called Imerina, the homeland of the Merina people. Imerina

16800-627: The southeastern part of the island that the Hova had left behind as they migrated into the central highlands. Astrology, for instance, had been introduced early to the island by way of trade contacts between coastal Malagasy communities and Arab seafarers. Under Andriamanelo's son Ralambo, the sovereign became imbued with increasing power to protect the realm. This was preserved by honoring the sampy , traditional amulets made from assorted natural materials. Amulets and idols called ody had long occupied an important place among many ethnic groups of Madagascar , but these were believed to offer protection to

16950-437: The sovereign and others present at the ceremony. Afterward the sovereign would bathe in sanctified water, then sprinkle it upon attendees to purify and bless them and ensure an auspicious start to the year. Children would celebrate the fandroana by carrying lighted torches and lanterns in a nighttime processional through their villages. The zebu meat eaten over the course of the festival was primarily grilled or consumed as jaka ,

17100-432: The sovereign had successfully contracted a marriage with Ramaitsoanala, sole daughter of Vazimba King Rabiby, Andriamanelo sent her a variety of gifts including vodiondry—meat from the hindquarters of a sheep—which he believed to be the tastiest portion. The value placed on this cut of meat was reaffirmed by Ralambo who, upon discovering the edibility of zebu meat, declared the hindquarters of every slaughtered zebu throughout

17250-417: The spirit possession ceremony. Generally, the concept of history in Madagascar places a great emphasis on feeling and experiencing rather than knowing. The line of succession in Imerina used a system called fanjakana arindra ("organized government"), which was established by the Vazimba noblewomen who raised Andriamanelo, founder of Imerina. While the Vazimba had historically tended to favor rule by queens,

17400-556: The start of each year. Although the precise form of the original holiday cannot be known with certainty and its traditions have evolved over time, 18th- and 19th-century accounts provide insight into the festival as it was practiced at that time. Accounts from these centuries indicate that all family members were required to reunite in their home villages during the festival period. Estranged family members were expected to attempt to reconcile. Homes were cleaned and repaired and new housewares and clothing were purchased. The symbolism of renewal

17550-677: The start of the 16th century. Malagasy slaves were exported to Arabia, India, Réunion and Mauritius , and the Americas, primarily Brazil . After the British emerged victorious from the Napoleonic wars , they captured the French Mascarene Islands which lie east of Madagascar. These islands facilitated the export of slaves and agricultural products. Some of the first stories of Madagascar to be told in Britain were those told by Robert Drury ,

17700-476: The structures with deep symbolic and spiritual meaning. As Andrianjaka's residence, the Besakana was particularly significant: the original building was torn down and reconstructed in the same design by Andriamasinavalona around 1680, and again by Andrianampoinimerina in 1800, each of whom inhabited the building in turn as their personal residence. King Radama I likewise inhabited the building for much of his time at

17850-629: The supernatural and ancestral legitimacy of his kingship against inclusiveness of the commoner class by making several hova from the Tsimiamboholahy and Tsimahafotsy clans into powerful and trusted advisers. He also consulted a group of ombiasy (royal advisers of the Antaimoro clan), who were literate in the sorabe script historically used on the east coast to inscribe a series of ancient texts considered to contain powerful magic and specialized scientific and ritual knowledge. The population of Imerina

18000-457: The system of fortifications introduced by his older brother at Alasora, reportedly constructing them even faster than Andriamanelo. Word spread that Andriamananitany wished to undermine his older brother's rule. Upon learning of Andriamanelo's consequent wrath, Andriamananitany promptly abandoned his "Village of God" and sought permission from his brother to build a village called Ambohimanoa ("Village of Submission") where, according to one version of

18150-434: The tens of thousands. These refugees formed raiding brigands that were dealt with by imperial troops who hunted them down in 1835. Notably, the rate of escaping refugees only heightened the demand for slave labor in the Merina kingdom, further fueling campaigns of military expansion. Throughout the middle of the 19th century, continued imperial expansion and increasing control in coastal trade solidified Merina predominance over

18300-412: The thin population density of Madagascar, domestic slavery was a way to broadcast control over resources and manpower. The elite of Imerina relied heavily upon slave labor . Because of this, the Merina king Radama I had little intent to abide by the first British-Merina treaty signed in 1817. Slave ownership became increasingly common in the following decades. As the slave caste expanded, more and more of

18450-531: The three other neighboring provinces of the former kingdom of Imerina that had last been unified under King Andriamasinavalona a century before. Andrianampoinimerina established his capital at the fortified town of Ambohimanga , a site of great spiritual, cultural and political significance that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. The king's original royal lodgings can still be visited at Ambohimanga today. From this position, he progressively extended his domain first over all Imerina and then over

18600-506: The throne at age 22 and was exiled to Réunion Island and later French Algeria following French colonisation of the island in 1896. Angry at the cancellation of the Lambert Charter and seeking to restore property taken from French citizens, France invaded Madagascar in 1883 in what became known as the First Franco-Hova War ( Hova referring to the andriana ). At the war's end, Madagascar ceded Antsiranana (Diégo Suarez) on

18750-509: The traditions of circumcision and family intermarriage (such as between parent and step-child, or between half-siblings) among Merina nobles, these practices having already existed among certain other Malagasy ethnic groups. According to oral history, the institution of lengthy formal mourning periods for deceased sovereigns in Imerina may also have begun with the death of Andrianjaka. He was succeeded by his son, Andriantsitakatrandriana . Despite plenty of religious variation across Imerina and

18900-410: The unification of the Merina kingdom under Andrianampoinimerina, the social structure of the central highlands of Madagascar were distinguished by a class of petty princes and peasant masses. Andriamanelo was reportedly the first to formally establish the andriana as a caste of Merina nobles, thereby laying the foundation for a stratified and structured society. From this point forward, the term Hova

19050-480: The valley, forming what has been called the largest open air marketplace in the world. Traffic congestion and safety hazards caused by the ever-growing Zoma market prompted government officials to split up and relocate the Friday merchants to several other districts in 1997. Prosperity for the masses in Imerina increased throughout Andrianampoinimerina's reign, leading to growth in population density. Finally, he established

19200-441: Was a princess through her astrologer father, King Rabiby (for whom his capital, the village of Ambohidrabiby , is named), and her mother Ivorombe who is described in legends as a Vazimba water goddess. Through this union Andriamanelo ensured he would become master of the lands around Ambohidrabiby upon the death of his wife's father. Ramaitsoanala took the name Randapavola upon her marriage and then became known as Queen Rasolobe upon

19350-408: Was able to establish the first standing Merina royal army and established units of blacksmiths and silversmiths to equip them. He famously repelled an attempted invasion by an army of the powerful western coastal Betsimisaraka people . According to oral history, the wild zebu cattle that roamed the Highlands were first domesticated for food in Imerina under the reign of Ralambo, and he introduced

19500-414: Was also threatened by his adopted son, Rabodolahy, who plotted to kill Radama; when these efforts failed, he attempted to assassinate Andrianampoinimerina, but was discovered and executed. Beginning in 1797, Andrianampoinimerina ruled his expanding kingdom from Antananarivo, the traditional capital of the Kingdom of Imerina. He is credited with major development and reorganization of the city. His vision for

19650-404: Was an elder child and a younger one, the parents would designate an elder child to assume authority within the family upon their death, and that authority would be handed to the designated younger child in the event of the death of the elder child. Ralambo was the first Merina sovereign to practice polygamy, and his second wife was the first to give him a son. While his younger son by his first wife

19800-477: Was bolstered by his characterization of other Merina rulers' claims to power as fanjakana hova - rule by hova (commoners), whose lineages were only weakly tied to the line of succession relative to his own. In addition, like Merina kings before him, he consolidated the power of the sampy (royal idols) and attributed the success and legitimacy of his reign to the proper respect shown toward these conduits of supernatural power. He balanced this strengthening of

19950-493: Was called fanjakana arindra ("organized government") and applied to families as well: in any instance where there was an elder child and a younger one, the parents would designate an elder child to assume authority within the family upon their death, and that authority would be handed to the designated younger child in the event of the death of the elder child. The queen gave the village of Alasora to Andriamanelo to rule as his territory while she still lived, while Andriamananitany

20100-608: Was continued and expanded under Andrianampoinimerina. Major public works were carried out under his reign, including the further expansion of irrigated paddy fields in the Betsimitatatra plains surrounding Antananarivo. He devised systems for organizing work teams, motivated their efforts by setting up competitions between teams, and punished those who failed to contribute their due share of effort. He mobilized groups of hiragasy village musicians to entertain work teams and later employed them to travel among towns and villages across

20250-498: Was done in an effort to desanctify the city of Ambohimanga, break the spirit of the Menalamba resistance fighters who had been rebelling against French colonization for the past year, weaken popular belief in the power of the royal ancestors, and relegate Malagasy sovereignty under the Merina rulers to a relic of an unenlightened past. Andrianampoinimerina was succeeded by his 18-year-old son, Radama I . In order to fulfill his oath that

20400-470: Was equipped with the sizeable stock of arms he procured from coastal traders in western Madagascar. Andrianampoinimerina died in the Mahitsielafanjaka house on the compound of the Rova of Antananarivo on 6 July 1810 at the age of 65, having fathered eleven sons and thirteen daughters by his many wives. In the Vazimba tradition of Merina kings before him, the body of Andrianampoinimerina was placed in

20550-409: Was from this context in 1787 that Prince Ramboasalama, nephew of King Andrianjafy of Ambohimanga (one of the four kingdoms of Imerina) expelled his uncle and took the throne under the name Andrianampoinimerina . The new king used both diplomacy and force to reunite Imerina with the intent to bring all of Madagascar under his rule. This objective was largely completed under his son, Radama I , who

20700-402: Was given the village of Ambohitrandriananahary. Among the distinguishing features of Andriamanelo's reign was the expansion of his territory around the sacred hill of Alasora through a military campaign against the Vazimba to push these legendary, primitive first settlers of Madagascar toward the west of the island. After Andriamanelo had successfully expanded his kingdom to include Alasora to

20850-410: Was governed through a mixture of traditional practices and innovative measures. While all land technically belonged to the sovereign, its administration was carried out by andriana who were assigned a menakely (subdivision of land) to govern. These administrators were themselves overseen by roving royal advisers. The land was cultivated by commoners, who were given a parcel to farm based on the size of

21000-471: Was killed by Andrianampoinimerina's followers. Continuing his conquests in the 1790s, Andrianampoinimerina began establishing control over a comparatively large part of the highlands of Madagascar including the twelve sacred hills of Imerina . Andrianampoinimerina conquered Antananarivo in 1793 and concluded treaties with the kings of Antananarivo and Ambohidratrimo . He shifted the kingdom's political capital back to Antananarivo in 1794. By 1795 he had gained

21150-406: Was particularly embodied in the traditional sexual permissiveness encouraged on the eve of the fandroana (characterized by early 19th-century British missionaries as an "orgy") and the following morning's return to rigid social order with the sovereign firmly at the helm of the kingdom. On this morning, the first day of the year, a red rooster was traditionally sacrificed and its blood used to anoint

21300-493: Was passed over in the line of succession in favor of Andrianjaka , Ralambo's son by Rafotsindrindramanjaka. Andriamanelo was also reportedly the first to formally establish the andriana as a caste of Merina nobles, thereby laying the foundation for a stratified and structured society. From this point forward, the term Hova was used to refer only to the non-noble free people of the society which would later be renamed Merina by Andriamanelo's son Ralambo. The marriage tradition of

21450-500: Was reaffirmed by Ralambo who, upon discovering the edibility of zebu meat, declared the hindquarters of every slaughtered zebu throughout the kingdom to be his royal due. From the time of Andriamanelo forward, it became a marriage tradition for the groom to offer vodiondry to the bride's family. Over time the customary offerings of meat have been increasingly replaced by a symbolic piastre , sums of money and other gifts. Andriamanelo ruled until his death at an advanced age around 1575 and

21600-419: Was shifted by his son Ralambo to Ambohidrabiby, location of the former capital of his maternal grandfather King Rabiby. Andrianjaka moved his capital from Ambohidrabiby to Ambohimanga upon ascending to the throne around 1610. The Besakana, Masoandrotsiroa and Fitomiandalana houses at the Rova of Antananarivo were preserved and maintained over the centuries by successive generations of Merina sovereigns, imbuing

21750-455: Was succeeded by his only surviving son, Ralambo. He was buried in Alasora in an earthen ditch. According to oral tradition, the placement of his tomb may have been to the south-east of the royal compound rather than to the north as was customary. This anomaly may have been intended to symbolically indicate Andriamanelo's "otherness" as a man of mixed ethnic background. A similar tomb to the north of

21900-472: Was the first to admit and regularly engage European missionaries and diplomats in Antananarivo. The 33 year reign of Queen Ranavalona I , the widow of Radama I, was characterised by a struggle to preserve the cultural isolation of Madagascar from modernity, especially as represented by the French and British . Her son and heir, King Radama II , signed the unpopular Lambert Charter giving French entrepreneur Joseph-François Lambert exclusive rights to many of

22050-622: Was the oldest son of the reigning Vazimba queen (alternately given in the oral histories as Rafohy or Rangita ) and her Hova husband Manelobe, who may have had origins in the Zafiraminia people of Anosy . At the time of the marriage between Rafohy and Manelobe, the Hova were a minority clan who had recently moved into the Vazimba-dominated highlands from their ancestral homeland in the southeast. The marriage produced two sons, Andriamanelo and his younger brother Andriamananitany, as well as

22200-435: Was to rule, Ralambo sought to assuage the elder son by declaring that the crown could henceforth only be passed to a child born of the reigning sovereign and a princess from the elder son Andriantompokoindrindra's family line. The practice of sanctifying deceased Merina sovereigns is believed to have originated with Ralambo. Imerina was initially ruled under Andriamanelo from his mother's home village of Alasora. The capital

22350-462: Was used to refer only to the non-noble free people of the society which would later be renamed Merina by Andriamanelo's son Ralambo. The first sub-divisions of the andriana noble caste were created when Ralambo split it into four ranks. Andrianjaka was the first king to be buried on the grounds of the Rova of Antananarivo, his tomb forming the first of the Fitomiandalana (seven tombs placed in

22500-455: Was warned by Andrianjafy's brother and managed to avert the plot. In 1787, when Ramboasalamarazaka was 42 years old, the conflict between the men reached a turning point: Andrianjafy decided to send a group of assassins to Ramboasalama's residence in Ambohimanga . Andrianjafy's brother again took action and warned Ramboasalamarazaka to flee, but rather than leave Ambohimanga, Ramboasalama followed

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