Salima Machamba


Salima Machamba was sultan of Mohéli in 1888–1909. Her official paternal name was Salima Machamba bint Saidi Hamadi Makadara. She was a relative of Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar.

Life

Salima Machamba was born on 1 November 1874 in Fomboni, to Jumbe Fatima bint Abderremane, Queen (Sultan) of Mohéli (Mwali) and Emile Fleuriot de Langle, a great-grandson of Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle. She was born out of wedlock, but officially bore the name of her mother's husband and was recognised as Salima Machamba bint Saidi Hamadi Makadara.
She was chosen as the puppet queen of Mohéli by the French, who made Comoros a French protectorate. She fell in love with and married on 28 August 1901 Camille Paule, a French gendarme,in Saint Denis, Réunion. In 1909 she was deposed by the French government and Comoros was annexed by France.
She was deported with her family to France. She gave birth to three children. Their names were Henriette, Louis Camille, and Camille Fernand, born between 1902 and 1917. The French government provided her with a yearly allowance of 3,000 gold Francs. She lived as a simple farmer in Haute-Saône, and died in Pesmes on 7 August 1964. She was buried at L'église Saint-Hilaire, Pesmes on 10 August 1964. Her granddaughter Anne Etter represents the royal family of Mohéli in Comoros as the president of Association Développement des Iles Comores.

Children

From her marriage to Camille Paule, three children: