Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/730

* MADAGASCAR. 648 MADAGASCAR. PoPi'LATiox. Jladagascar has a population of approximately 2,500,000. Xiie chief races are the liovas, who miinber about 1,000,000, ami live in the central highlands, the JSakalavas, and the Betsimisarakas, A number of them have been converted to Christianity, but the majority are still in a state of paganism, Malagasy, a language clo.scly related to those of the Malay Peninsula and Polynesia, is spoken all over the island. The number of Hindus and Chinese is small, and they are mostly engaged in trade. Antananarivo is the largest city of the island, and is the ca])ital. The administration is inviting French colonists to settle in the more salubrious parts of the isl- and, particularly soldiers whose term of ser- vice in Madagascar has expired. Land is given free to French immigrants. In 1901, 1674 colo- nists were settled upon 135,618 hectares of land and weie doing well, ETiiNOLOciY, The generic term for the natives of Madagascar is Malagasy, Of their three prin- cijial tril)es, the Hovas are Indonesians, more or less mixed with Malay, They are supposed to be the last wave of the Malay migration, coming about eight centuries ago. They have straight black hair and olive yellow skin; their eyes arc ■sometimes narrow: their stature is short, their noses prominent and sharp: their head is globu- lar. Agriculture, cattle-raising, and trading are their occupations. Their principal food is rice, ilany customs and arts pointing to their ances- tral home are preserved, as the square pile house, bellows, outrigger canoe, musical instruments, dress, taboo, infanticide, ordeal, burial, and the like. The Hovas were until recently the ruling people on the island and were gradually sub- jecting the other tribes, to which they are much superior in culture. They were divided into nobles, freemen, and slaves. In recent years, liowever, these class distinctions became weaker and the royal and slave classes were finally abolished by the French, They are nominally Protestants in religion. The principal tribes of the Hovas are the Voroniahevy, Tsimianbolin- lahy, Tsinahafoty, Mandiavato, Marovatana, and others. The Betsileos living to the south should also be placed with the Hovas. The I5et.simisarakas are less pure than the Hovas and are dolichocephalic : they are below the average height and have curly or almost smooth hair and light chestnut complexion. They are rather backward in culture and show influ- ences due to the Ar.abs who settled in Madagas- car about five centuries ago. The principal tribes are the Antambahoaka. Antainioro. Antaifasina. Antaisaka, Antaisara, Antanosi, Tanala. and Si- hanaka. They were conquered by the Hovas early in the nineteenth century. The Sakalavas are dark, long-headed, and of high stature: their hair is frizzly, their lips thick, and their noses Hat, Most strongly of all the Madagascar tribes they show the negro ele- ment. The best-known tribes are the Menabe, Milaka, Ronondra, and ilahafali. Hl.STORT. The identity of ^ladagascar with the ancient Minuthias has been conjectured, but not proved. The island appears on Arabian charts of the twelfth century and it is probable that Arab traders visited the country as early as the eighth or ninth century. Marco Polo used the name }fadeigascnr. but apparently ap- plied it to what is now Mozambique, on the main- land of Africa. The discovery of the island by the Portuguese occurred, not in 1506 as is gen- erally stated, but in 1500, when, according to tirandidier and Keclus, Diego Suarez sighted the land and named it Sao Lourenco. Attempts at .settlement made before 1540 by the Dutch, Eng- lish, and Portuguese failed, but in the seven- teenth century the French set up a claim to ^Madagascar, or Dauphine, as they called it, and in 1642 Louis XIV, granted it to the Compagnie de VOrient. Stations were established at Sainte- Marie and Fort Dauphin, but the rule of the French was so cruel that the natives rose in 1672 and massacred them. France regained Sainte-Marie in 1750, lost it to Great Britain during the Napoleonic wars, and reoccupied it after 1815, together with Tamatave, Fort Dau- phin, and Sainte-Luce. French influence, how- I ever, made little progress owing to the rise of the powerful monarchy of the Hovas, a people of the central plateau. Mho, imdcr the leadership of Andrianarapoinimerina, had subjugated tlie greater part of the island. During the reign of Radama I, (1810-28) the British gained the as- cendency, English officers drilled the Hova troops and English missionaries introduced schools and the Christian religion. Under Queen Rana- valona I, (1829-01) a strong reaction from Euro- pean ideas occurred. Reforms were abolished, the missionaries were persecuted, and trade re- lations with England were broken off. An un- successful attack on Tamatave by the English and French in 1845 led to a general massacre of Christian converts. After 1853. however, the Europeans regained an entrance into the capital, Antananarivo, through the influence of Prince Rakoto, heir to the throne. As Radama II, A Rakoto showed himself friendly to the French, ^ and undertook to restore the reforms of Ra- dama I. He was murdered by the conservative faction at Court. Though Queen Ranavalona II. adopted Christianity in lS(iit, the Hova Govern- ment remained jealous of European aggression and took mea.sures to prevent the foreign acquisi- tion of land in the island. In 1883 the invasion of French territory and the plundering of French citizens led to the bombardment of Tamatave. After two years' fighting Madagascar, by treaty, became virtually a protectorate of France, though it retained its nominal independence. Renewed hostility on the part of the Hovas was followed in 1895 by the dispatch of a French expedition under Duchesne, which occupied Antananarivo and forced Queen Ranavalona III. to confirm the treaty of 1885. In 1896 Madagascar was de- clared a colony of France, though the native Government was retained, and a proclamation Avas issued abolishing slavery. The same year the outbreak of a rebellion in which the Court was found concerned led to the deposition of the Queen and the institution of a military govern- ment. The former Queen was e.xiled to RiJunion, and afterward to Algeria. Bibliography. Three comprehensive works are: Grandidier. Histoire physique, tintnrelle et jiolitique de Madnfiascnr (to he in 50 vols., Paris, 1876 et seq.) : Sibree, The Great African Island (London, 1880) : Oliver, Madat/ascar (London, 1886). which has an excellent bibliography. Mis- sion work and manners and customs are treated in Sibree, iladaqaacar and Its People (London, 1870) : La Vaissiftre, Histoire de Madarjascar, ses habitants et ses missionnaires (Paris, 1884) ;