Final Multi-Media Project: Written Portion


   
   Madagascar is a beautiful island located about 250 miles off the east African coast in the Indian Ocean. It is the fourth largest island in the world. The capital of Madagascar is called Antananarivo and is in the Central Highlands. The island is approximately 227,000 square miles and can have mountains that reach over 8,000 feet. Madagascar only experiences two climatic seasons a year: there is a hot and rainy season that lasts from November to April and a dry, cooler season that lasts from May to October. Because of its location, Madagascar often experiences cyclones created by the southeast trade winds. These cyclones have, in the past, often caused a lot of damage. While Madagascar has cyclones on one part of the island, there is also an area that Madagascar is very well known for, the tropical rain forest located in the eastern part of the country. This rain forest is home to over 150,000 species of flora and fauna, most of which are unique for they are only found on the island of Madagascar due to its geographic isolation.


   
   Madagascar is home to the Malagasy people of African, Arab, Indian, and European descent. Some of the Malagasy people are also Comoran and Southeast Asian.[1] With this many different types of people mixing together, the Malagasy people have come to have a rich culture that combines these influences. The national languages of Madagascar are Malagasy, which is a tongue of Malayo-Polynesian origin and French. The dominant religion is Christianity, which is primarily Catholicism and Protestantism, but Islam and Buddhism are also practiced in parts of the country.

    
   The economy of Madagascar is centered around fishing, forestry, and agriculture. Their traditional food staple is rice, but the main exports are cloves, cocoa, coffee, sugarcane, and vanilla. Other crops grown are bananas, beans, and cassava. Madagascar also supports its economy through tourism, textiles, and mining.
    
   Most of the Malagasy people live in rural areas but their conditions of living can vary from region to region. In regions where a lot of the cash crops are grown, they are well-linked with the cities. Other areas in Madagascar can be isolated and suffer with famine. The Malagasy people rely heavily on agriculture but of course parts of the island suffer natural disasters like the cyclones. Even though there is support for the economy there, Madagascar is one of the poorest nations with a lot of its population living in poverty.
   
   Over 2000 years ago, the island of Madagascar was uninhabited until Indonesian seafarers arrived around the first century A.D. and then brought their families over. This migration continued from the Pacific and Africa which furthered the mixture of the Malagasy peoples.
   
   The seventh century A.D. brought to Madagascar a form of written history called sarobe, which used a form of Arabic script. It was not until the 1500’s that Europeans first encountered Madagascar and the Malagasy people. A Portuguese sea captain, named Diego Dias, sighted the island when his ship became separate from a fleet that was bound to India. Since then there has been numerous instances of contact between the Malagasy people and European nations.[2]
   
   Europeans became like a bothersome lot to the Malagasy people. Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French traders had discovered that a trade method was already set up on Madagascar and had been engaging in long-distance trade for a long time throughout the Indian Ocean.[3] They all wanted in on this and tried many times to establish trade ports and settlements on Madagascar but the Malagasy people time after time fought them off.
   
   During the 16th and 17th centuries, Madagascar, Ile Sainte-Marie, became a lair for pirates. The nationality of the pirates that settled there was vast, there were Europeans, people from the Caribbean, Africans, and even North Americans.
Pirate Cemetery - Ile Sainte-Marie, Madagascar 

   
   Also, during this time, three main kingdoms appeared on Madagascar, Merina Kingdom, Sakalava Kingdom, and the Betsimisraka Kingdom.[4] The pirates that settled on Ile Sainte-Marie often interacted with these kingdoms for trade reasons and even took Malagasy women to wed. Eventually Merina became the primary kingdom on Madagascar under the rule of Andrianampoinimerina and his son, Radama I.

Statue of Andrianampoinimerina

Radama I


   
  Great Britain and France often fought over Madagascar which resulted in a war in 1883 and two years later a treaty that handed Merina over to French control. This deal basically gave France Madagascar and Great Britain could claim Zanzibar as protectorate.[5] France held onto its control over Madagascar, even during WWI and most of WWII. During WWII British troops took control of naval ports in Madagascar to keep Japan from using them. Eventually France regained control of their ports from the British. Their control would not last for much longer for France was weakened during the war.[6]
   
   Madagascar gained its independence in the referendum of 1958. The Malagasy people voted for a new constitution and became and autonomous republic until in 1960 when Madagascar became a sovereign independent nation and was elected to UN membership. The new constitution they then adopted provided for a strong presidential form of government. Not all has been smooth sailing for the Malagasy people, since their independence.
 
  Their first president, Philibert Tsiranana, remained in power until 1972 when protests broke out that led to the fall of the Tsiranana government. For a while, Madagascar went without a president and in January of 1975, Gabriel Ramantsoa was placed as the head of state. Later that same year, the Malagasy people voted to become the Democratic Republic of Madagascar.

   Didier Ratsiraka was elected as president of this new Madagascar nation.[7] That was not the end of the political unrest in Madagascar, even recently there have been some issues between politicians running for president.
   
  Madagascar has and abundant amount of religious and spiritual beliefs. Even though Christianity was challenged in their history, today, the Malagasy people can practice it, but they have blended traditions with their faith.[8] They believe that there is a supreme God, but they call him Zanahary (Creator) or Andriamanitra (Sweet, Fragrant, or Lord). The Malagasy people have this tradition and belief that the living and the dead have close ties. They believe that the dead play a part in intermediary between humans and the Supreme God. The dead have the power to affect the fortunes of the living either for good or for bad.
            
  The burial tombs of the dead are links between the living and the dead and the tombs are built with great care and expense. Sometimes these tombs can even cost more than the house that a Malagasy person lives in. The looks of these tombs can differ greatly from the materials used to build them and the décor on the inside and the out. One very interesting custom some of the Malagasy people in the highlands practice is called famadihana, meaning the placing or turning of the dead.[9] What they do is they take the dead from the tomb they are resting in and move it to another tomb, sometimes rewrapping the remains.









[1] Taylor, Franklyn. "Madagascar." In Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures, and Contemporary Issues, edited by Steven Danver. Routledge, 2013.
[2] Dewar, Robert E., and Alison F. Richard. "Madagascar: A History of Arrivals, What Happened, and Will Happen Next." Annual Review of Anthropology 41 (2012): 495-517.
[3] Dewar, Robert E., and Alison F. Richard. "Madagascar: A History of Arrivals, What Happened, and Will Happen Next." Annual Review of Anthropology 41 (2012): 495-517.
[4] Hooper, Jane. "Pirates and kings: power on the shores of early modern Madagascar and the Indian Ocean." Journal of World History 22, no. 2 (2011): 215+. U.S. History In Context (accessed May 17, 2018).
[5] "Madagascar - History." Nations Encyclopedia. Accessed May 17, 2018.
[6] Posso, R. Michael. "French Conquest of MADAGASCAR." Military History 22, no. 7 (October 2005): 46-73. Academic Search Alumni Edition, EBSCOhost (accessed May 17, 2018).

[7] "Madagascar - History." Nations Encyclopedia. Accessed May 17, 2018.
[8] Domenichini-Ramiaramanana, Bakoly. 1993. "The Church and Malagasy Culture." Exchange 22, no. 1: 46-64. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed May 17, 2018).

[9] Golden, Christopher. 2014. "Spiritual Roots of the Land." Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture & Ecology 18, no. 3: 255-268. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed May 17, 2018).





Bibliography
Madagascar. (2012). (). Washington: Superintendent of Documents. Retrieved from ProQuest Central; SciTech Premium Collection; Social Science Premium Collection.

"Madagascar - History." Nations Encyclopedia. Accessed May 17, 2018. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Madagascar-HISTORY.html.

U.S. relations with Madagascar. (2017). Washington: Superintendent of Documents. Retrieved from ProQuest Central; SciTech Premium Collection; Social Science Premium Collection. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1910738929?accountid=12085.

Covell, Maureen Ann, Jean Dresch, Hubert Jules Deschamp, Raymond K. Kent, and Aidan William Southall. "Madagascar." Encyclopaedia Britannica. September 14, 2017. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/place/Madagascar/Local-government.

Bialuschewski, Arne. "Pirates, Slavers, and the Indigenous Population in Madagascar, C. 1690-1715." The International Journal of African Historical Studies 38, no. 3 (2005): 401-25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40033964.

Dewar, Robert E., and Alison F. Richard. "Madagascar: A History of Arrivals, What Happened, and Will Happen Next." Annual Review of Anthropology 41 (2012): 495-517. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23270724.

Domenichini-Ramiaramanana, Bakoly. 1993. "The Church and Malagasy Culture." Exchange 22, no. 1: 46-64. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed May 17, 2018).

Golden, Christopher. 2014. "Spiritual Roots of the Land." Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture & Ecology 18, no. 3: 255-268. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed May 17, 2018).

Hooper, Jane. "Pirates and kings: power on the shores of early modern Madagascar and the Indian Ocean." Journal of World History 22, no. 2 (2011): 215+. U.S. History In Context (accessed May 17, 2018). http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/A261951169/UHIC?u=vic_liberty&sid=UHIC&xid=a8943ca8.
Morris, J. L., Short, S., Robson, L., & Andriatsihosena, M. S. (2014). Maternal health practices,
beliefs and traditions in southeast madagascar. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 18(3),

Posso, R. Michael. "French Conquest of MADAGASCAR." Military History 22, no. 7 (October 2005): 46-73. Academic Search Alumni Edition, EBSCOhost (accessed May 17, 2018).

Taylor, Franklyn. "Madagascar." In Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures, and Contemporary Issues, edited by Steven Danver. Routledge, 2013. http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sharpegmcv/madagascar/0?institutionId=5072

Thomas, Martin. "Imperial Backwater or Strategic Outpost? The British Takeover of Vichy Madagascar, 1942." The Historical Journal 39, no. 4 (1996): 1049-074. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2639867.

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