Madagascar

Under French Rule.

Gen. Gallieni had a difficult task. Among the first steps he took were to put the country under martial law, to abolish royalty and all semblance of Hova gov ernment, and to declare Madagascar to be henceforth a colony of France. Queen Ranavalona III. was exiled to Reunion, and subsequently to Algeria, where she died in 1917. Meanwhile, by 1890, the authority of France was established throughout the island. Gen. Gallieni, whose firm and vigorous administration, and desire to treat the Malagasy justly and kindly, made him liked, retired in 1905. and was succeeded as governor-general by Victor Augagneur, the late mayor of Lyons. The Malagasy, though regretting the loss of independence, conformed fairly readily to the new order under French rule. Justice was adminis tered, on the whole, with fairness and impartiality; but the taxation was heavy, the staff of officials was excessive, and various monopolies interfered with the habits of the people and tended to produce discontent. But the most serious cause for dislike of the Government was the interference by the governor-general, in 1907, with their religious customs, by the suppression of hun dreds of their congregational schools, and the closing of numbers of their churches. In July 1910 Augagneur was replaced as gov ernor-general by N. Picquie, who had served with acceptance as deputy governor-general of French Indo-China, and who had a reputation for tact and impartiality. Under him the anti-clerical policy of his predecessor was modified. It may be noted that when Madagascar became a French possession the French Protest ant Churches had begun (in 1896) to take part in the evangelizing of their new colony, and about half the area, for long occupied by the London Missionary Society, was transferred to the Paris Society. It is also to be noted that the bulk of the Malagasy Christians are Protestants, probably three-fourths or four-fifths of those (over 500,000) professing Christianity. The anti-cleri cal policy of the French Government crippled to a large extent, and for many years, the educational work of the missions, both Protestant and Roman Catholic. Certain of the schools, medical and technical, hospitals and other establishments of the mis sionaries, were taken over by the Government.

From the time of the appointment of Picquie as governor general, French policy was directed not only to material develop ment and to attracting French settlers to the island, but also to the training of the natives to ways and outlook essentially French. While the Hova were not neglected, special attention was paid to the Sakalava, the Betsimisaraka and other tribes. In accordance with the usual French colonial system the tribes were all placed under direct control of French officials, but large numbers of natives were employed in the French administration, and the few Malagasy who became thoroughly assimilated were given French citizenship (there were about 150 native French citizens in 1924).

Notwithstanding these measures the growth of a sense of Ma lagasy nationality could be discerned. Dislike of French rule con tinued strong for many years after the conquest of the island in 1896. This discontent culminated during the World War in the formation of an anti-French secret society, whose members in cluded a large proportion of the native officials. The existence

of the society which, it was alleged, plotted the simultaneous "removal" of the Europeans by means of poison, was discovered early in 1916. The society was rigorously suppressed, and hun dreds of Malagasy were condemned to hard labour in the Comoro islands. Gradually, conditions on the island improved. Gradually, too, a better class of European official was sent out. The number of French functionaries was, however, still large, and was a drain on the scanty colonial revenue.

Malagasy troops were employed in considerable numbers in France during the World War and subsequently in Morocco and in Syria. They formed, however, inferior fighting material, and the influence of the returned soldiers on their countrymen was not good. Other disturbing factors were the spread of alcoholism and of malaria and pulmonary disease among the people, leading to a marked decrease in the number of Hova and other races.

A brighter prospect was, however, shown in the marked atten tion the French to education, and largely by this means the party among the natives attached to the French connection was built up. Education was made compulsory between the ages of 8 and 14, and the primary schools were supplemented by excellent regional schools—where lads were trained to become officials—and at Tananarivo and other towns there were means for higher education, including medical and agricultural schools.

Support of the administration is promoted also by decorations, including the Dragon of Annam, the Star of Anjouan and the Etoile Noire, with Honneurs (12 classes), and medals like the merite agricole, merite indigene and la medaille du travail.

Marcel Olivier, who became governor-general in Feb. adopted a policy of decentralization of the administration— greater local autonomy and the employment of more natives and in more responsible posts. While there was no form of popular representation an Economic and Financial Delegation was cre ated in May 1924 as an advisory body. It consisted of 24 Euro peans and an equal number of Malagasy, and it did good work. By laying before the delegation his annual programme, Olivier engaged the interest of the Malagasy in practical reforms.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.—As regards the scientific aspects of the country, almost everything of value in previous books and papers is included in the magnificent work (Paris, 5875-5957) in many vols., by Alfred Grandidier (1836-1921), entitled Histoire naturelle, physique et po litique de Madagascar, and founded on his exploration of Madagascar in 1865-70 and subsequent researches. Several of the volumes consist of coloured lithograph plates illustrating the natural history of the country, as well as atlases of maps from the earliest period. Grandidier also edited a Collection des ouvrages anciens concernant Madagascar (9 vols., 5903-20). See also J. Sibree, A Madagascar Bibliography (Antananarivo, 1885) ; G. Grandidier, Bibliographie de Madagascar (2 vols., 1905 and 1907) ; J. S. Gallieni, Neuf ans a Madagascar (1908) ; J. Sibree, Fifty Years in Madagascar (1924). Also consult the works cited under Madagascar in the Annuaire General (Paris, yearly) and the Journal of the African Society (quarterly).