Rather than providing a complete historical record of Madagasy people, this historical overview's purpose is to list the key occurances and periods that have been instrumental in the construction of the current cultural, political and ecological identity of Madagascar. The dates for the creation of Madagascar as an island and the peopling of Madagascar are still currently under debate by scholars and should not be regarded as absolute. Hence, this page will be adding and removing information as it becomes available. Where a citation is needed, the reference is provided and the full source listed at the bottom of this page. As with any of the pages in this web site, if you have information that you believe should be included or you notice an error, please contact me.

• Pre-Human Habitation of Madagascar (circa 160 Ma - circa 0 AD)
  • circa 150-160 Ma
    • Madagascar split from the African continent (Krause et al. 1997:10).
  • circa 88-94.5 Ma
    • Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent (Krause et al. 1997:10).
  • circa 0 AD
    • Catrostrophic extinction of Madagascar’s megafauna that may have been caused a by catastrophic fire event (Humbert 1927); catastrophic drought in southern Madagascar (Mahé & Saudat 1972); first-contact overkill (Martin 1984); hypervirulent disease (MacPhee & Marx 1997); and/or the synergistic effect of the arrival of humans (Burney 1997; 1999).
• Human Settlement of Madagascar (circa 0 AD - 1500 AD)
  • circa 0 AD
    • Earliest evidence of human activity in Madagascar are the four radiocarbon dated dwarf Hippopotamus femurs that show human modification (MacPhee & Burney 1991).
  • circa 500 AD
    • Possible early settlement in Sarodrano, but this date can not be confirmed as the site was destroyed by a cyclone (Battistini & Vérin 1967).
  • 800 - 900 AD
    • Early settlements in Irodo (Tafianatsirebeka) - a northeast coast settlement that produced shellfish, farming and chloro-schistite vessel production and trade; Andransosoa - a southeast inland cattle pastorialists; and Talaky - a southern coast fishing village (Dewar 1984:583).
  • 1000 - 1200 AD
    • Permanent occupation sites along the entire Madagascar coast and one central highland have yielded evidence of rice agriculture, bovid herding, fishing, iron smelting and local trading, but no direct link to Southeast Asia, East Africa, South Asia, or the Near East (Dewar & Wright 1993:440-442).
  • 1300 - 1400 AD
    • Settlements during this period were associated in clusters surrounding a central site, which may have been the politically and/or socially elite (Dewar & Wright 1993:448). In addition, trade goods originating in South China, Southeast Asia, the Near East and Europe are evident throughout Madagascar by this time (Dewar & Wright 1993:450).
• The Rise of Madagascar as an Independent Trader (1500 - 1895)
  • 1500
    • The first Europeans arrive in Madagascar
  • 1500-1600
    • Many coastal groups were heavily involved in trade with the Europeans (mostly French, Dutch and Arabs).
  • 1500-1700
    • The southern kingdoms of Madagascar did not consolidate their power and remained divided throughout the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries.
  • 1550 - 1750
    • The Sakalava kingdoms of Menabe and Biona are established during this period.
  • mid 1600's
    • The beginnings of what has been termed the "Bara state" collapsed due to disputes between the sons of the dead ruler and subsequently the interior Maroserana ruler, Andriamanely, captured the area and installed his family members as local rulers (Marks & Gray 1975:461).
  • 1650 - 1700
    • The first Betsileo kingdoms are established.
  • circa 1700
    • The power of the Menabe group expands.
  • 1712
    • The Betsimisaraka Confederation is formed by Ratsimilaho
  • 1750 - 1850
    • The Merina are united under Andrianapoinimerina and become the dominant tribe in Madagascar; expansion of Merina power continues under Radama I
  • circa 1800
    • The capital of the Merina kingdom is moved to Antananarivo
  • 1817
    • Britain recognises Madagascar under Merina rule
  • 1817
    • The Merina army, under Radama I, gained control over Toamasina, which was the main export center for slaves on the east coast of Madagascar (Campbell 1981:208).
  • 1820-1825
    • The Merina were able to gain control of the Betsimisaraka and Sakalava kingdoms to extend their rule from the west to east coast of Madagascar (Campbell 1981:208). However, difficulties in the Merina kingdom soon arose from 1820 treaty between Mauritius and Radama I, which ended the slave trade in Madagascar.
  • 1828-1840
    • In effect, the Merina court was attempting to remove any foreign interests within their territory. Under the rule of Ranavalona I, campaigns against rebels and other tribes resulted in over 100,000 men killed and over 200,000 people enslaved between 1828-1840 (Campbell 1981:211).
  • 1890
    • Britain recognises France as the sole European power in Madagascar
  • 1895
    • In September, the French forces seized Antananarivo and ended the attacks and slavery in Madagascar (Campbell 1981:226).
  • 1895
    • In November, Menalamba rebels begin a series of insurrections aainst colonialism and the loss of Merina power, lasting until 1898
• French Colony
  • 1895
    • With Madagascar as a protectorate of France, in 1895, the Queen, Ranavalona III, maintained internal control of Madagascar while France took control over external relations (Esoavelomandroso 1985:228-229).
  • 1896
    • Queen Ranavalona III lost her control due to the insurrection by other tribes and the rural population. With such civil unrest, France seized the opportunity and took it upon itself to treat Madagascar as a colony rather than a protectorate (Deschamps 1985:531). General Joseph Galliéni, was sent to Madagascar by the French minister of the Colonies, André Lebon, to bring order to Madagascar (Deschamps 1985:531).
  • 1926
    • A decree in 1926 stated that all land not owned by the Malagasy was conceded to the colonial administration and resulted in the encroachment on Malagasy ancestral land for which the Malagasy held no title (Esoavelomandroso 1985:242).
  • 1947
    • First major Malagasy rebellion against the French pressence
• Independence and the First Republic
• • June 26, 1960
    • Madagascar becomes an independent and newly formed republic with Philibert Tsiranana as the first president.
  • 1960-5
    • In the early years of Tsiranana’s leadership, five types of protected areas, differing by their allowed use, were created to supplement the 11 Réserves Naturelles Intégrales: 5 national parks (tourism and limited forest product use by local villagers only), 23 special reserves (all access, but protected from introduced species), 158 classified forests (limited forest product use), 77 reforestation and restoration zones (watershed and erosion control), and 4 no hunting reserves (free access, no hunting) (Kull 1996:54-55).
  • 1965
    • Philibert Tsiranana is re-elected as president of Madagascar, but opposition forces not happy with Tsiranana's leadership begin to gain strength
  • 1972
    • Strong opposition of the Tsiranana lead government culminated with the revolt in 1972 of more than 400 students and the arrival of 50,000 Malagasy demonstrators in Antananarivo who "demanded Tsiranana’s resignation, a revision of the Accords with France and the removal of French troops" (Gow 1984:683). As a result of this revolt, the government was handed to Tsiranana’s army commander, General Gabriel Ramantsoa, who eventually saw the to changes that had been the subjects of revolt (Gow 1984:683).
  • 1974
    • After several revolts by Malagasy calling for the removal of any French influence in the country, Ramantsoa handed power to the Interior Minister and head of the Gendarmerie, Colonel Richard Ratsimindrava, who was assassinated by unknown assailants within one week of taking office.
• Second Republic
  • 1975
    • After the year long military rule, the military leader that rose to power was Admiral Didier Ratsiraka, who continued the reforms of his predecessors. These reforms lead to the severing of ties with France and the increased relations with communistic states, such as the former Soviet Union and China (Gow 1984:684).
  • 1980-5
    • By the early 1980’s, the economic crisis had become so desperate that socialist reforms were abandoned and measures were taken to acquire aid from the World Bank, which only minimally assisted the distraught Malagasy economy.
  • 1989
    • The re-election of President Ratsiraka sparks riots.
  • 1990-1
    • By the early 1990’s Ratsiraka’s public and political support had waned, and in 1991, he stepped down from his presidential post and was forced into exile.
• Third Republic
  • 1993
    • Albert Zafy, professor of the University of Antananarivo, is elected president on a second ballot with 67% of the votes, copared with 33% for Ratsiraka.
  • 1993-6
    • Due to the long-term economic crisis, Zafy was neither able to pay-off international loan debt nor increase exports, which is directly linked to the public’s dissatisfaction of his leadership.
  • 1996
    • After Zafy’s impeachment by his own parliament, Ratsiraka was returned to power in 1996 and assumed a humanitarian governmental ethic.
  • 1998
    • A constitutional referendum calls for more autonomy for the provences.
  • 2001
    • A contested presidential election results in a close vote between Ratsiraka and Marc Ravalomanana, a Malagasy entrepreneur with no direct links to the university or military..
  • 2002
    • After nearly six months of revolts by Ratsiraka from his coastal home base of Tamatave, Ravalomanana was recognized by the international community as the legitimate president of Madagascar and Ratsiraka was again forced into exile.
  • 2003
    • Under Ravalomanana's leadership, Madagascar is attempting to extridite Ratsiraka from France to be tried for his involvement in riots after the presidential election.

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  Sources Cited

  Battistini, R. & P.M. Vérin. 1967. Ecologic Changes in Protohistoric Madagascar. In Pleistocene Extinctions (eds) P.S. Martin & H.T. Wright. New Haven: Yale University Press.

  Burney, D.A. 1997. Theories and Facts Regarding Holocene Environmental Change before and after Human Colonization. In Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar (eds) S.M. Goodman & B.D. Patterson. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution.

  Burney, D.A. 1999. Rates, Patterns, and Processes of Landscape Transformation and Extinction in Madagascar. In Extinctions in Near Time (ed.) R.D.E. MacPhee. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

  Campbell, G. 1981. Madagascar and the Slave Trade, 1810-1895. Journal of African History 22, 203-227.

  Deschamps, H. 1985. Madagascar and France, 1870-1905. In The Cambridge History of Africa (eds) R. Oliver & G.N. Sanderson. New York: Cambridge University Press.

  Dewar, R.E. 1984. Extinctions in Madagascar: The Loss of the Subfossil Fauna. In Quaternary Extinctions: A Prehistoric Revolution (eds) P.S. Martin & R.G. Klein. Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press.

  Dewar, R.E. & H.T. Wright. 1993. The Culture History of Madagascar. Journal of World Prehistory 7, 417-466.

  Esoavelomandroso, M. 1985. Madagascar, 1880s-1930s: African Initiatives and Reaction to Colonial Conquest and Domination. In UNESCO General History of Africa VII: Africa Under Colonial Domination 1880-1935 (ed.) A.A. Boahen. New York: United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Heineman Educational Books.

  Gow, B.A. 1984. Madagascar [c.1940-c.1975]. In Cambridge History of Africa (ed.) M. Crowder. New York: Cambridge University Press.

  Humbert, H. 1927. Destruction d'une Flore Insluaire par le Feu: Prinipaux Aspects de la Végétation à Madagascar. Mem. Acad. Malgache 5, 1-80.

  Krause, D.W., J.H. Hartman & N.A. Wells. 1997. Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from Madagascar: Implications for Biotic Change in Deep Time. In Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar (eds) S.M. Goodman & B.D. Patterson. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution.

  Kull, C. 1996. The Evolution of Conservation Efforts in Madagascar. International Environmental Affaires 8, 50-86.

  MacPhee, R.D.E. & D.A. Burney. 1991. Dating of Modified Femora of Extinct Dwarf Hippopotamus from Southen Madagascar: Implications for Constraining Human Colonization and Vertebrate Extinction Events. Journal of Archaeological Science 18, 695-706.

  MacPhee, R.D.E. & P.A. Marx. 1997. The 40,000-Year Plague: Humans, Hyperdisease, and First-Contact Extinctions. In Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar (eds) S.M. Goodman & B.D. Patterson. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution.

  Mahé, J. & M. Saudat. 1972. Sur L'Extinction des Vertébrés Subfossiles et L'Aridification du climat dans le Sououest de Madagascar. Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr. 14, 295-309.

  Marks, S. & R. Gray. 1975. Southern Africa and Madagascar [c.1600-c.1790]. In Cambridge History of Africa (ed.) R. Gray. New York: Cambridge University Press.

  Martin, P.S. 1984. Prehistoric Overkill: The Global Model. In Quaternary Extinctions: A Prehistoric Revolution (eds) P.S. Martin & R.G. Klein. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.