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A short history of Madagascar

The origins of the Malagasy people causes always discussions between the specialists.

Madagascar has not always been an island, it comes from the successive parceling out of Gondwana, a continental unity gathering South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica.

The myths and the oral traditions of the numerous ethnics of the island are related to the men who have always been there. For example the famous “vazimba” who represented the memory of a primitive population who were later exterminated by the new comers.


Few times later, successive migrations (Asian, Arabian, African,…) happened in the Island till the arrival of the Deutch, English and French navigations among them was the Portuguese Diego Diaz , who really discovers Madagascar.


Since that date, the clans and the tribes had formed kingdoms? The king Andrianampoinimerina had tried to unify the island and finished to set there monarchy by the end of the 18th century. It was from that date that the kings and Queens had succeeded till the end of the 19th century. The European attempts of invasion weakened the kingdom until the removal of the last sovereign Ranavalona III from her office by the General Gallieni.

 
Madagascar became an annex of France in 1896 and the monarchy was abolished in 1897. The country got its independence in 1960.