Tonga Soa!
French or English ? That is the question... (Part One)
King Radama 1st opened his state to the British influences via Sir Robert Farqhar in sending young boys to study in Great Britain, in accepting missionaries. The Merina Army was modernized with British and French counselors. The Malagasy history and geopolitics cannot be separated from the Franco-British rivalry of the early 19th century. The French Catholic settling has been helped by some nobles of the Queen court which saw with an evil eye the Reformed religion which became a religion of state with the Rainialiarivony and Ranavalona II conversion. The "Entente cordiale" of Napoleon III and Queen Victoria left the ground free for the French missionaries. The ignorance by Rainialaiarivony of meanders of the Western diplomacy and of the British non interference in this Western part of the Indian Ocean did not facilitate hi task vis-a-vis the appetites of the French imperialism.
The conflicts as well within the Merina nobility as between the clans commoners which lead the army and the economy were a compost favourable with corruption and nepotism.
In 1895 The Merina army, ordered by officers who did not have any military formation and who were more accustomed with living rooms and affairs, did not make the weight against the French battalion of the General Duchesne.
With the annexation of August 1896 and the exile of the Queen and her morgan Prime Minister ended a monarchy which had opened to the British influence, in the single intention for exploiting the secular competition of the two great European nations.
This island of the end of the world did not interest the "Perfidious Albion" more concerned about overcoming Boers in South Africa to connect Cape Town to Cairo in its aim of Africa's colonization.
The fragile “Anglo-Merina” civilization (as qualified it the historian Simon Ayache) was cut down without mercy by a French administration, republican in its principles but as much, if not more tyrannical in its management of the colony.
The Merina establishment formed "à la Britannique" was condemned to perish or to collaborate with the new Master.
In the first years of the 20th century French having a tepid confidence towards Merina imagined to form a coastal elite all devoted to France Reny Malala (Motherland).
But they realized very quickly that it was unrealistic because the education which was with the hands of the missionaries has been related mainly to the Central Highlands.
The conflicts as well within the Merina nobility as between the clans commoners which lead the army and the economy were a compost favourable with corruption and nepotism.
In 1895 The Merina army, ordered by officers who did not have any military formation and who were more accustomed with living rooms and affairs, did not make the weight against the French battalion of the General Duchesne.
With the annexation of August 1896 and the exile of the Queen and her morgan Prime Minister ended a monarchy which had opened to the British influence, in the single intention for exploiting the secular competition of the two great European nations.
This island of the end of the world did not interest the "Perfidious Albion" more concerned about overcoming Boers in South Africa to connect Cape Town to Cairo in its aim of Africa's colonization.
The fragile “Anglo-Merina” civilization (as qualified it the historian Simon Ayache) was cut down without mercy by a French administration, republican in its principles but as much, if not more tyrannical in its management of the colony.
The Merina establishment formed "à la Britannique" was condemned to perish or to collaborate with the new Master.
In the first years of the 20th century French having a tepid confidence towards Merina imagined to form a coastal elite all devoted to France Reny Malala (Motherland).
But they realized very quickly that it was unrealistic because the education which was with the hands of the missionaries has been related mainly to the Central Highlands.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Leuck on -
I look forward to hearing Part 2 :-) Its impressive how many gasy are trilingual in the major cities. It seems many people have decided to embrace both English and French. It wasn't just people in the hotels. I met bar tenders and restaurant owners that switched effortlessly from Malagasy to English to French. A couple of them are members of this community.
I noticed some Malagasy people speak French rather than Malagasy even when speaking to each other, which I found interesting. Is the trend toward emphasizing French or Malagasy in schools?
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