Madagascar+History


 *  History **
 * = History = || = Geography  = || = Culture  = || = Economics  = || = Politics  = || = ClassActivities  = || = Resources  = ||

Madagascar was first settled by humans about 2,000 years ago by Indonesians or people of mixed Indonesian/African descent. In the late 1600's, pirates controlled the eastern coast of the island. The pirates used the island as a base for attacking European ships bringing back goods from India. During the 1700's, the Sakalavas of the western coast, established the first kingdom of Madagascar. The Sakalavas rivals, the Merina, established a kingdom in 1810 over the rest of the island. The Merina king, Radama I, established relations with the British and allowed Christian missionaries into the country. The missionaries spread Christianity throughout the island and transcribed Malagsy into written language. In 1883, the French invaded Madagascar and took control over the country, turning it into a French colony. The French used the island as a resource for timber and vanilla. In 1918 and 1947 two uprisings occurred against the French. However, Madagascar did not gain its independence until 1960.

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**© 2012 Amanda Richter - Revised April 25th, 2012 ** **Email: amandarichter@ilstu.edu ** **Ph: 309-638-2749 **