Draft:Kingdom of Antankarana

The Kingdom of Antankarana, was a pre-colonial state off the coast of Southeast Africa that, by the 18th century, dominated most of what is now Madagascar. The Antankarana people left Sakalava.

In 1883, France invaded the Merina Kingdom to establish a protectorate. France invaded again in 1894 and conquered the kingdom, making it a French colony, in what became known as the Franco-Hova Wars.

History
The Antankarana were originally a branch of the Sakalava royal line called the Zafin'i'fotsy (children of silver). This group split off from the Sakalava in the 16th century following a dispute with the Zafin'i'mena (children of gold) that ended with the latter's exclusive right to the kingship. Having been refused the right to the throne, the Zafin'i'fotsy left the Sakalava homeland on the southwestern coast to settle just north of the boundaries of Sakalava control. The first Antankarana king, Kozobe (1614–39), claimed a large part of the island's north as his territory, which he split into five provinces each ruled by one of his sons. This territory was rapidly reduced from the south by Zafin'i'mena prince Andriamandisoarivo, who led violent campaigns into bordering Antankarana territory to expand the frontiers of what was to become the Sakalava Kingdom of Iboina at the end of the 17th century. Many Zafin'i'fotsy nobles were killed or quickly surrendered to the advancing Sakalava armies, but oral history celebrates several who resisted, including Andriamanpangy, a descendant of Kozobe. His son Andriantsirotso (1692–1710) founded the Antankarana kingdom, leading the Zafin'i'fotsy further north into the area now protected as Ankarana Reserve and declaring his sovereignty over the north. He was accepted as king both by his own people and by the communities already living in the north, who united together under the name Antankarana (people of the Ankarana rocks). The Sakalava warred with the nascent Antankarana kingdom in its continued effort to claim sovereignty over the territory, but the Antankarana hid themselves in natural shelters formed by the rocks and caves of Ankarana. Eventually they were forced to take refuge at Maroantsetra, a town ruled by a relative named Raholo; Andriantsirotso was able to repel the Sakalava three years later with the support of Raholo's soldiers. Throughout this period Andriantsirotso established the foundations for the kingdom by organizing military cooperation among clans, establishing an administration, developing economic regulations and introducing customs that reinforced a hierarchical social order. According to oral history, at the point when Andriantsirotso was preparing to return to his own capital, a mysterious eight-year-old girl named Tsimatahodrafy arrived in Maroantsetra. She revealed herself to be a sorceress and instructed Andriantsirotso on the rituals to perform en route to ensure his safe return and the establishment of a strong kingdom, including the continuing practice of tying a mat to two tsitakonala trees planted outside the king's house to indicate a royal residence and symbolize the indivisibility of the kingdom. From its founding, the Antankarana Kingdom was ruled by an unbroken series of nobles of Andriantsirotso's line. He was succeeded by Lamboeny (1710–1790), then Tehimbola (1790–1802), Boanahajy (1802–1809) and Tsialana I (1809–1822). The Kingdom of Imerina rapidly expanded over the first several decades of the 19th century, launching regular military campaigns to bring coastal communities under Merina control. As the Merina neared the Antankarana homeland they established posts along major trade routes where taxes were charged to Antankarana and other merchants, establishing economic control over the territory; this was soon followed by the installation of Merina administrators to govern the territory. Tsialana I was forced to become a vassal of the Merina sovereign. From 1835 to 1837, his son and successor, King Tsimiaro I (1822–1882), made repeated attempts to expel the Merina from his territory, but was unsuccessful. The Merina backlash forced Tsimiaro to lead his people to refuge among the rocks of Ankarana in 1838 or 1837, where they lived for over a year. During this time the king was betrayed by one of his own people and the group was surrounded by Merina soldiers. According to oral history, the king prayed for God's help and swore that if they survived, the Antankarana would convert to Islam. Although many of his party were gunned down, the king and most of his subjects escaped to the island of Nosy Mitsio, where they converted; many others were drowned in the attempt to cross. The site of the crossing is most commonly believed to be the village of Ambavan'ankarana, which retains a sacred character and has become a site of pilgrimage and ritual commemoration of the exodus.

In 1838-9 an agreement was signed between the Sakalava king and Seyyid Said, King of Zanzibar, to give Said control over the Sakalava and Antankarana kingdoms; this agreement never came to the attention of Tsimiaro and resulted in no changes in governance on the ground. While in exile on Nosy Mitsio, Tsimiaro traveled to Ile Bourbon to conclude a treaty with the French on 5 April 1841 that guaranteed French protection for the Antankarana in exchange for rights to the islands of Nosy Mitsio, Nosy Faly, Nosy Be and Nosy Komba. The French intercession eventually repelled the Merina, allowing the king to reestablish the capital at Ambatoharaña, but more than 40 years passed before the entire Antankarana had permanently returned to the mainland. Upon his death, Tsimiaro was buried at his request in the Ankarana cave where he had taken refuge from the Merina. Other nobles are mainly entombed in the Islamic cemetery near Ambatoharaña. When the French agreed to recognize Malagasy sovereignty in 1862, they retained their claimed right to the Antankarana and Sakalava protectorates they had established. Tsimiaro was succeeded by his son, Tsialana II, (1883–1924) who was born on Nosy Mitsio in 1843. He collaborated with the French actively during their first expedition against the Merina (1883–85), and again during the successful expedition of 1895 that ended in French colonization of the island and the dismantling of the Merina monarchy. His son Abdourahaman would go on to fight on the side of the French during World War I. Tsialana II was succeeded by Lamboeny II (1925–1938), Tsialana III (1948–1959), Tsimiharo II (1959–1982) and Tsimiaro III (1982-), Issa.