Sakalava empire
The Sakalava empire was a polity along the western coast of Madagascar, consisting of two large Sakalava kingdoms and various others ruled by members of the Maroserana dynasty. Characterised by scholars as either a confederation or empire, the three broad divisions were Iboina, Menabe, and Fiherenana, with Sakalava rule stretching anywhere between inland.
The Kingdom of Menabe was founded sometime before 1600 along the Morondava River. Maroserana rule grew following a succession dispute in Menabe which resulted in the expulsion of the king's brother, who expanded north to found Iboina. The details of how territory in the south was acquired are disputed. The king of Menabe re-established relations with his brother, and the Sakalava came to dominate trade. The empire expanded in part via the ceremony, which incorporated local rulers into the dynasty. In the 18th century Imerina's efforts to gain greater control over the island's trade posed a great threat to the Sakalava. Amid Britain and France's rivalrous competition to control Indian Ocean trade, Britain allied Imerina in 1817, forcing Sakalava to ally France. Imerina rapidly expanded throughout the 19th century, gaining nominal rule over Menabe and expelling the rulers of Iboina to surrounding islands. France invaded and defeated Imerina in the late-19th century, and after a 5-year-long war conquered Menabe in 1902, consolidating their rule over the island by 1904.
History
Origins
In Madagascar, the period from 1500 to 1800 saw the island's populations go from being mobile and unsettled to having organised largely into states. Sakalava tradition holds that the ruling dynasty, the Maroserana, originated from overseas and migrated to southwest Madagascar. The proto-Sakalava are thought to have originated from Sadia. Historian Solofo Randrianja considers the Maroserana to have lived in south-central Madagascar, while Raymond Kent thought they originated in the southwest and first came to power among the Mahafaly. He also considered the Maroserana to have migrated and met the proto-Sakalava near the Mangoky River, who all traditions agree were skilled warriors. Together they arrived at the land between the Morondava and Tsiribihina rivers, noted for its good quality soil, which they named Menabe. Traditions detail how a kingdom was founded along the Morondava River before 1600, with early leaders holding ritual power through priests and their protective amulets, overtime developing into divine kingship.Prior to the 17th century, Indian Ocean trade along the north-western coast of Madagascar was controlled by the Antalaotra, Muslim Swahili-speakers who had migrated to the region around the 10th century and intermarried with the locals. The south-west, predominantly inhabited by Zebu pastoralists, was excluded from this foreign trade prior to the arrival of Europeans. In the mid-to-late 16th century, European merchants began using the newly-named St. Augustine Bay at the mouth of the Onilahy River as a stopping-point and traded with the communities there. Cattle and supplies were exchanged for beads and silver and the bay became a prominent trading port. Conflict over trade erupted along the Onilahy River in the 17th century, mostly in the form of cattle raids. On occasion the Andriana solicited direct or indirect military support from Europeans, who sought to protect trading alliances, further destabilising the region.
Further north, raiding from groups engaged with the north-western trade network likely spilled over into Sakalava territory, necessitating a strong military. In the late-16th or early-17th century, founded and centralised the state. Andriamandazoala is said to have considered it his divine destiny to rule central-western Madagascar. His rule likely coincided with the increased cultivation of maize and manioc introduced from the Americas, and that of labour on royal fields. It is plausible that a long-term high birth rate among the Maroserana royal family led to many princes without administrative positions, incentivising expansion. With his followers Andriamandazoala embarked on a series of conquests, as Sakalava rulers gave their subjects slaves and cattle gained. They also aimed to maintain good relations with original inhabitants, who rulers intermarried with and adopted their culture and religious beliefs. This saw Andriamandazoala extend his control in Menabe. A tradition collected in the 19th century held that a son of Andriamandazoala,, settled along the "Sakalava River" which he named his village after, and his followers are said to have adopted the name. Historians disagree about whether Andriamisara was part of the royal line, and Michael Lambek says that he was a diviner and advisor to the early monarchs. He is the most revered out of any figure in Sakalava history due to his purported role as the "architect of political order".
Further expansion
One of Andriamandazoala's nephews, , ascended to the position. He is credited with expanding the kingdom beyond Menabe and monopolising trade along the west coast. Though initial encounters with Europeans were violent, Andriandahifotsy soon desired to attract their business and welcomed them. He established Morondava as a port city, and Mahabo inland as his capital, coming to control long-distance and coastal trade. His death caused a succession conflict between brothers. The initial succession system of primogeniture had broken down, possibly due to incest within the royal family. In 1683 succeeded in driving his brother/s out of the kingdom. One brother,, with his followers took this opportunity to expand north. During the conquests he deferred decisions to an ombiasy, and his forces raided for cattle and slaves which were then traded at conquered port cities. In 1685 Andriamandisoarivo reached Mazalagem Nova and killed the Antalaotra sultan. He established Tongay as his capital and Majunga as his main port, founding the Kingdom of Boina. He also sent soldiers to expand inland. The Sakalava are said to have respected those they conquered, and in the north rulers gradually incorporated Islamic elements into their institutions. After the conflict they aimed to avoid disrupting the Antalaotra trade, instead only taking tribute, and at Majunga Muslims practiced their religion freely. The influx of pirates expelled from the Caribbean in the late-17th century saw some given patronage by the Sakalava to assist in the control of trade, but they were driven out of the north by the British navy in the 1720s. Andriamandisoarivo died around 1710.According to Raymond Kent, another brother was , who crossed to the east of the island across the Ihorombe Plateau, and his grandson, Berahava, established Nosipandra as the capital of the Antesaka kingdom. Jane Hooper lends credence to Drury's accounts, and says that an unnamed brother expanded southwards, intending to capture the key trading port of St. Augustine Bay. The Sakalava continued to expand southwards, ignoring the inhabitants' pleas for a meeting between leaders to end the conflict. Accordingly the brother established the port city of Toliara just north of the Bay. Peace was reportedly established by the early-18th century, and the ruler of Toliara held the title of "King Baba", functioning as a tributary who managed trade with the Europeans. Gwyn Campbell said that the southward expansion led to the founding of the "kingdom of Fiherenana". However Solofo Randrianja says that the kingdoms in the south were derived from the Maroserana's initial migration to the southwest. Kent and Hooper say that the local rulers of the Fiherenana Valley in the south were incorporated into the Maroserana dynasty via a 'blood brotherhood ceremony' called, which acted as a guarantee of safety and assistance from the monarch.
Hooper says that Andriamanetriarivo re-established relations with his brothers, reportedly in order to gain forgiveness from his now-deceased father. This alliance facilitated trade and defence. From this commercial dominance Sakalva kings had greater access to import firearms, and built strong militaries that could engage in slave raiding amid rising demand. Andriamanetriarivo further expanded, becoming so powerful that his subjects complained that his unchecked authoritarian rule superseded traditional institutions. Subjects were treated as slaves due to the abundance of royal work, and the king could dictate the halting of trade. Tales recount Andriamanetriarivo ordering executions while sitting under a tamarind tree. His reign is thought to have ended around 1712 and Sakalava tradition remembers him as a cruel man.
Successors of Andriamanetriarivo in Menabe struggled to control the expansive yet loosely-organised empire, and deaths of rulers continued to result in civil wars, which disrupted trade. In the north, the Sakalava of Boina sought to expand eastwards to gain control of trade routes in the interior, and therefore supply for trade. Iboina also looked to the ports of Vohemar and further north which enjoyed commercial relations with the eastern coast, whose communities traded slaves, rice, and amber gris. The Sakalava pressured states in the north and east to become tributaries, incorporating their rulers into the Maroserana dynasty via the fatidra ceremony. Boina king Toakafo is considered to have been the most powerful king in Madagascar during his reign, and by 1720 possibly controlled the entire northern third of the island.
Decline and Merina conquests
Following the failure of France's colony in Marotte/Nosy Mangabe, they began establishing trading posts along the east coast. Toakafo died c. 1733, and his successor, Ndramahatindriarivo, moved the capital to Marovoay. Hooper interprets the Sakalava to have raided Antongil Bay for rice to trade, causing starvation among the communities there. According to Hooper these attacks led to the formation of the Betsimisaraka Confederation to counter Sakalava aggression in the 1730s. Accordingly, after the Betsimisaraka defeated the Sakalava in Antongil Bay, they entered negotiations and formed an alliance, and the confederation's leader, Ratsimilaho, underwent the fatidra ceremony. However Stephen Ellis discussed reports from 1715 of a right-hand man to Toakafo called "Simialoe", who he considered to have been Ratsimilaho and to have used this alliance to come to power. Ndramahatindriarivo's reign saw increased factionalism due to the many sons Toakafo had had, however Iboina after his death remained unified. Further east, the Betsimisaraka Confederation was subject to internal conflict and collapsed after Ratsimilaho's death in the 1750s, disrupting trade which the French harboured ambitions to control. The Sakalava were hostile to French attempts to set up trading posts on the northwest coast, and conflict between the two erupted in the 1770s, however after a few battles it ended inconclusively.During the 17th century the Sakalava extracted tribute from the kingdoms in the interior's highlands; the 18th century saw the expansion and consolidation of the Merina Kingdom in the region, although in the late 18th century they were still a nominal vassal of Iboina. Imerina used ports' reliance on supply from the highlands to gain control over trade on the eastern coast. The period also saw rivalry between the French and the British over the wider Indian Ocean trade, of which Malagasy trade had proved decisive during the Carnatic Wars. Under Boina queen the west coast remained relatively peaceful and prosperous as the Sakalava made new alliances with Comorian and East African sultans. Some Sakalava began converting to Islam, possibly due to Omani influence. The supply of slaves from the highlands halted due to the conclusion of Imerina's consolidation, and they were instead imported from East Africa. The attacks of Imerina's Andrianampoinimerina against the Sakalava failed and did little to disrupt coastal trade, although sometimes resulted in an amiable peace. Following the death of Menabe's king in 1809 the succession conflict involved Imerina's Andrianampoinimerina. Battles were however inconclusive, and Sakalava's ascended to the position. The 19th century saw rapid growth of the slave trade and pressure from European commercial expansion, and in 1810 the British capitalised on French weaknesses to capture Mauritius off the east coast. The British allied with King Radama of Imerina in 1817 and recognised him as "King of Madagascar" with the stated aim of abolishing the slave trade, posing a great threat to Sakalava's dominance over trade, resulting in the Sakalava forming an alliance with the French..
After coming to rule Merina Radama began a wave of expansion, first east to Toamasina, then west against Menabe, and, after large failed attacks in 1820 and 1821, obtained Ramitraho's submission in 1822. Radama next campaigned to conquer numerous Sakalava ports from Iboina with support from the British navy. He captured Majunga from the recently-converted Muslim Boina king in 1824, who had been weakened by friction between Muslim and traditionalist Sakalava elites. Radama outlawed any external trade that didn't pass through the port and Merina rule was repressive, causing Andriantsouly to flee to Zanzibar and many Sakalava and Antalaotra fled to the Comoro Islands, East Africa, and other parts of Madagascar. The lack of a supreme ruler in Iboina caused it to rapidly fragment and disintegrate. Radama continued his expansion, coming to claim control over the whole island, however his rule over Menabe was only nominal and they revolted in 1825.