fco_322100 - MADAGASCAR French Union Essai de 5 Francs 1953 Paris

MADAGASCAR French Union

(1946-1958)

Discovered by Diego Dias in 1500, Madagascar was first named the island of Saint-Laurent. In 1643, it became Ile Dauphine with the arrival of the French. Then, it was divided into feudal kingdoms and the interior of the island was a kingdom in the hands of the chief Andrianampoimérina (1787-1810) whose son Radama I became master of most of the island. In 1835, the missionaries were driven out and Christianity became illegal, Presbyterianism only became the state religion in 1869. In 1883, France bombarded Tamatave then in 1885 it obtained control of foreign policy by installing a resident of Antananarivo. The island was annexed by France in 1896 while Queen Ranavalona III was deposed and then deported. Madagascar, which had been occupied by the British and returned to the French in 1943, became a territory within the French Union. A climate of insecurity reigns on the island in the following ten years. In 1957, Madagascar obtained internal autonomy, then independence on June 26, 1960.