Africa · Sultanates, sharifs and the Atlantic trade
Merina Kingdom
1792–1897
The Merina Kingdom — the Kingdom of Imerina, also called the Kingdom of Madagascar — was a pre-colonial state in the central highlands of Madagascar that by the 19th century dominated most of the island, ruling from the sacred hill of Ambohimanga and the political capital Antananarivo. (The table's dates 1792–1897 mark the reunified imperial era; the kingdom itself traces to c. 1540 under Andriamanelo, who subdued the highlands' earlier Vazimba inhabitants.)
- Existed
- 1792–1897
- Shown on the map
- 1792–1897
- Peak area
- 429k km²
- Region
- Africa
Overview
The Merina Kingdom — the Kingdom of Imerina, also called the Kingdom of Madagascar — was a pre-colonial state in the central highlands of Madagascar that by the 19th century dominated most of the island, ruling from the sacred hill of Ambohimanga and the political capital Antananarivo. (The table's dates 1792–1897 mark the reunified imperial era; the kingdom itself traces to c. 1540 under Andriamanelo, who subdued the highlands' earlier Vazimba inhabitants.) The monarchy passed through expansion under Ralambo, who created the royal army, capitation tax, and the cult of the twelve royal sampy talismans, and Andrianjaka, who founded the Rova citadel of Antananarivo, before Andriamasinavalona fatally quartered the kingdom among four sons, producing a century of civil war.
History
Reunification came in 1787 when Prince Ramboasalama expelled his uncle and took the throne as Andrianampoinimerina, vowing to make the sea the boundary of his rice fields. His son Radama I (1810–1828), armed and trained by the British — who sought Madagascar trade and an end to slave exports via the 1817 and 1820 treaties — conquered the Betsimisaraka and Sakalava and by 1824 held the western port of Mahajanga, bringing most of Madagascar under the Merina crown. The 33-year reign of Queen Ranavalona I (1828–1861) pursued autarkic isolation, expelling missionaries and revoking the British treaty, while military expansion between 1828 and 1840 reportedly killed over 100,000 and enslaved 200,000. Society rested on a rigid caste system (andriana nobles, hova freemen, and a slave population that reached perhaps half of all Merina) and, until 1869, on traditional religion centered on ancestors and the sampy; that year Queen Ranavalona II publicly burned the talismans and made Protestantism the state religion.
Decline and legacy
After the 1863 aristocratic coup that killed Radama II and burned the French Lambert Charter, real power passed to Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony, who married each successive queen. France, freed by the 1890 Anglo-French agreement from British rivalry, invaded twice in the Franco-Hova Wars (1883–85, 1895); Antananarivo fell, the island became a protectorate in 1896 and a colony in 1897, and Queen Ranavalona III was exiled. The Merina state left modern Madagascar its language, capital, rice-paddy landscape, and a lasting highland-coastal political tension.
Common questions
- What was the Merina Kingdom?
- The Merina Kingdom — the Kingdom of Imerina, also called the Kingdom of Madagascar — was a pre-colonial state in the central highlands of Madagascar that by the 19th century dominated most of the island, ruling from the sacred hill of Ambohimanga and the political capital Antananarivo. (The table's dates 1792–1897 mark the reunified imperial era; the kingdom itself traces to c. 1540 under Andriamanelo, who subdued the highlands' earlier Vazimba inhabitants.)
- When did the Merina Kingdom exist?
- The Merina Kingdom existed 1792–1897. On this map it is drawn 1792–1897.
- How large was the Merina Kingdom?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Merina Kingdom covered about 429,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- Who ruled the Merina Kingdom?
- Reunification came in 1787 when Prince Ramboasalama expelled his uncle and took the throne as Andrianampoinimerina, vowing to make the sea the boundary of his rice fields. His son Radama I (1810–1828), armed and trained by the British — who sought Madagascar trade and an end to slave exports via the 1817 and 1820 treaties — conquered the Betsimisaraka and Sakalava and by 1824 held the western port of Mahajanga, bringing most of Madagascar under the Merina crown.
- How did the Merina Kingdom end?
- After the 1863 aristocratic coup that killed Radama II and burned the French Lambert Charter, real power passed to Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony, who married each successive queen. France, freed by the 1890 Anglo-French agreement from British rivalry, invaded twice in the Franco-Hova Wars (1883–85, 1895); Antananarivo fell, the island became a protectorate in 1896 and a colony in 1897, and Queen Ranavalona III was exiled.
Sources
Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.
- Wikipedia – Imerina (Merina Kingdom) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merina_Kingdom
This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
See the Merina Kingdom in its world
Open the atlas at 1845 and every neighbour, rival and successor is on screen with it — then drag the slider and watch what happens next.
Open the map at 1845 →