Malagasy Republic

Flag of the Malagasy Republic

Emblem of the Malagasy Republic

The **Malagasy Republic** (Malagasy: *Repoblika Malagasy*, French: *République malgache*) was a state situated in Southeast Africa. It was established in 1947 after the Proclamation of National Independence on the 29th of March 1947 that led to the relatively bloodless and quick Malagasy Insurrection that led to German evacuation of the island on May 1947.

## Background

The overall policy for Madagascar remained the same throughout the French and later German "protectorate" in which both administrations collaborated with the Merina elites and relied on the compliance of the local Merina nobles and bureaucrats to administer the island.

This "special relationship" was further advanced by the newly-appointed Gouverneur des Madagaskar Schutzgebeit, Eduard Haber in 1937. He ratified the collaboration between the Merina civil service and German administration on paper.

This primacy of the Merina would cause the other tribal groups to see the Merina with distrust, but in another way, It would also strengthen the Merina-dominated secret nationalist group, the VSS (*Vy Vato Sakelika*, Iron and Stone Sections) that has entrenched itself among the Malagasy intellectuals and slowly infiltrated the colonial administration, an infiltration facilitated by Haber's Merinaphilic policies.

The VSS's rapid growth was by all means dubiously legal, which shielded it from German crackdown. At the head of the VSS movement was Jean Ralaimongo - a teacher - who was famous for protecting the Malagasy little man from brutal colonial landlords. Ralaimongo had previously been arrested for sedition and was recently given amnesty along with Haber's appointment in 1937. Ralaimongo travelled through Madagascar, championing democracy and in accordance with the Government's liberal stance on the Malagasy people, toned down the rhetoric on self-determination and focused more on perfection and fostering unity amongst the many tribal groups of Madagascar.

The peace on Madagascar would last long, as Haber's policies - despite its liberality - would create a profitable colony, with impressive growth; urbanization grew, railroads and public works were built and very small progress towards industrialization occurred. Most of all, Madagascar was relatively stable during Haber's long administration.

The colonial administration though would face challenges as on the African mainland, as Deutsch-Mittelafrika descended into chaos and settler revolts in 1944. As colonial wars start to erupt around Africa in 1946, the Generalverwaltung of Madagascar found itself faced with growing native self-determination. Ralaimongo's suspicious death in 1944 has caused increased dissent, with his second-in-command, Ravoahangy, taking over the leadership of the Sections. Ravoahangy was notably more militant and was imprisoned even a couple more times than Ralaimongo himself.

As Haber dies of a stroke on January 1947,

## Footnotes

1. ↑ While theories on Ralaimongo's death range from poisoning to an accident during a meeting with the German Generalverwaltung, it is widely accepted that Ralaimongo's death was indeed caused by malaria.