HISTORY
Madagascar's population is predominantly of mixed Asian and African origin. Recent research suggests that the island was uninhabited until Indonesian seafarers arrived in roughly the first century A.D., probably by way of southern India and East Africa, where they acquired African wives and slaves. Subsequent migrations from both the Pacific and Africa further consolidated this original mixture, and 18 separate tribal groups emerged. Asian features are most predominant in the central highlands people, the Merina (3 million) and the Betsileo (2 million); the coastal people are of more clearly African origin.
The largest coastal groups are the Betsimisaraka (1.5 million) and the Tsimihety and Sakalava (700,000 each).
The written history of Madagascar
began in the seventh century A.D., when Arabs established trading
posts along the northwest coast. European contact began in the
1500s, when Portuguese sea captain Diego Dias sighted the island
after his ship became separated from a fleet bound for India.
In the late 17th century, the French established trading posts
along the east coast. From about 1774 to 1824, it was a favorite
haunt for pirates, including Americans, one of whom brought Malagasy
rice to South Carolina.
Beginning in the 1790s, Merina
rulers succeeded in establishing hegemony over the major part
of the island, including the coast. In 1817, the Merina ruler
and the British governor of Mauritius concluded a treaty abolishing
the slave trade, which had been important in Madagascar's economy.
In return, the island received British military and financial
assistance. British influence remained strong for several decades,
during which the Merina court was converted to Presbyterianism,
Congregationalism, and Anglicanism.
The British accepted the
imposition of a French protectorate over Madagascar in 1885 in
return for eventual control over Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania)
and as part of an overall definition of spheres of influence in
the area. Absolute French control over Madagascar was established
by military force in 1895-96, and the Merina monarchy was abolished.
Malagasy troops fought in
France, Morocco, and Syria during World War I. After France fell
to the Germans in 1942, Madagascar was administered first by the
Vichy Government and then by the British, whose troops occupied
the strategic island to preclude its seizure by the Japanese.
The Free French received the island from the United Kingdom in
1943.
In 1947, with French prestige at low ebb, a nationalist uprising was suppressed after several months of bitter fighting. The French subsequently established reformed institutions in 1956 under the Loi Cadre (Overseas Reform Act), and Madagascar moved peacefully toward independence. The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on October 14, 1958, as an autonomous state within the French Community. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in 1959 and full independence on June 26, 1960.
