Content deleted Content added
Cerebrality (talk | contribs) m Historian Gwyn Campbell |
Tsarivan613 (talk | contribs) m Italicized scientific name |
||
Line 43:
'''Ranavalona I''' (born '''Rabodoandrianampoinimerina''' (also called '''Ramavo'''); 1778 – 16 August 1861), also known as '''Ranavalo-Manjaka I''' and the "'''Mad Monarch of Madagascar"''' was sovereign of the [[Kingdom of Madagascar]] from 1828 to 1861. After positioning herself as queen following the death of her young husband, [[Radama I]], Ranavalona pursued a policy of [[isolationism]] and self-sufficiency, reducing economic and political ties with European powers, repelling a French attack on the coastal town of [[Mahavelona|Foulpointe]], and taking vigorous measures to eradicate the small but growing [[Christianity in Madagascar|Malagasy Christian movement]] initiated under Radama I by members of the [[London Missionary Society]].
She made heavy use of the traditional practice of ''[[Corvée|fanompoana]]'' (forced labor as tax payment) to complete public works projects and develop a standing army of between 20,000 and 30,000 [[Merina]] soldiers, whom she deployed to pacify outlying regions of the island and further expand the realm. The combination of regular warfare, disease, difficult forced labor and harsh [[tangena]] [[trial by ordeal|trials by ordeal]] using a poisonous nut from the ''[[Cerbera manghas]]'' shrub resulted in a high mortality rate among both soldiers and civilians during her 33-year reign, with Madagascar's population reducing from 5 million in 1833 to 2.5 million in 1839.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
Although greatly obstructed by Ranavalona's policies, foreign political interests in [[Madagascar]] remained undiminished. Divisions between traditionalist and pro-European factions at the queen's court created opportunities that European intermediaries leveraged in an attempt to hasten the succession of her son, [[Radama II]]. The young prince disagreed with many of his mother's policies and was amenable to French proposals for the exploitation of the island's resources, as expressed in the [[Joseph-François Lambert#Lambert Charter|Lambert Charter]] he concluded with a French representative in 1855. These plans were never successful, however, and Radama II did not take the throne until Ranavalona's death in 1861 at the age of 83.
| |||