Malagasy Uprising

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Monument commemorating the uprising.

The Malagasy Uprising (or Revolt of Madagascar) was an attempted revolution against the French by nationalists on the island of Madagascar between 1947 and 1948. It was crushed by Paul Ramadier's Socialist government, resulting, according to certain sources, in 80,000 to 90,000 dead ^[1]. More recently, however, historians have been proposing the much lower figure of 30,000 to 40 000 ^[2].

1 The MDRM uprising
2 Trials and executions
3 Casualties
4 A traumatism
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] The MDRM uprising

The Mouvement Democratique de la Renovation Malagache (MDRM), whose objective was independence for Madagascar, formed in 1946 in response to the island becoming a French overseas territory. On March 29, 1947, Malagasy nationalist "tribesmen" revolted in the eastern part of the island. One third of the island was seized before French soldiers stationed on the island received reinforcements from France, and were able to quell the rebellion. The loss of life was high - thousands were killed.

The colonial authorities violently crushed the rebellion, in particular during the first six weeks, engaging in several occasions in war crimes ^[2]. Thus, on 6 May 1947, in Moramanga, the militaries machine-gunned MDMR officials detained in wagons, killing between 124 to 160, mostly innocent MDRM activists ^[2]. In Mananjary, a hundreds of Malagasy were killed, among them 18 women and a group of prisoners thrown from planes ^[2]. Other massacres occurred in Farafangana, Manakara, Mahanoro, etc., with each time between 35 and 50 casualties ^[2].

Five North-African regiments arrived in the island at the end of July 1947, enabling the French to take again the initiative ^[2]. However, the French Army remained modest: 16,000 soldiers at the beginning of 1948 ^[2]. The French strategy inspired itself from the "oil spot" method of the first governor of the island, the General Gallieni (1896-1905) — the only novelty being the use of several old Junker 52, which bombings demoralized the population ^[2]. The last rebel stronghold, named Tsiazombazaha ("That which is inaccessible to Europeans"), fell in November 1948 ^[2].

[edit] Trials and executions

From July to October 1948, the French organized in Tananarive a large, public trial of the uprising, charging 77 officials of the MDRM — whom, for the most part, had nothing to do in the revolt ^[2]. Ravoahangy, a charismatic leader who had not engaged himself in the uprising, was sentenced to death, as well as Raseta and four other insurgents ^[2]. In July 1949, these convictions were commuted to life sentences ^[2].

In fact, the leaders responsible for the uprising have never been conclusively identified. Although the MDRM leadership consistently maintained its innocence, the party was outlawed by the French colonial rulers.

Beside this important "trial of the parliamentaries," military courts relayed by civilian courts condemned 5,765 Malagasys (865 by military courts and 4,891 by civilians ^[2]). 44 death penalties were handed out by the military courts, but finally only 8 of them executed, while 16 of the 129 death penalties pronounced by the civilian courts were enacted ^[2]. Through amnesties and remissions, all prisoners — except the leaders — were freed in 1957 ^[2].

[edit] Casualties

In 1948-1949, the French authorities alleged that 80,000 to 10,000 persons had been killed. In reality, this claim resulted from military estimates. The French Army calculated that 80,000 Malagasy escaped to their control in the insurgent zone. Therefore, in December 1948, the high commissariate Pierre de Chevigné boasted in the radio that not a single square centimeter of the island escaped to the French military control, leading to the assertion that the 80,000 missing people were all dead ^[2]. Chevigné blamed this high number on the Malagasy leaders of the insurrection ^[2].

Historian Jean Fremigacci, however, has recently contested this estimate, highlighting the difficulties of historical research on the matter (due to dispersion of archives, etc.) The disappearance of 80,000 people (2% of the population) would have been felt on the demographic curve, but population growth began again and even accelerated from 1946 to 1949 ^[2]. The demographist Alfred Sauvy spoke of an "innovative percussion" (percussion novatrice) concerning this event: the colonial administration then engaged important means, in 1948-1949, in the struggle against malaria ^[2].

In 1951, the Minister of Oversea Territories François Mitterrand advanced before the National Assembly the number of 15,000 deaths ^[2]. Historian Fremigacci now evaluates the casualties to 30,000 to 40,000 deaths, among which 10,000 were accountable to violent death, and the other to diseases and malnutrition striking the population residing in insurgents' zones ^[2]. According to him, "there have been war crimes in Madagascar in 1947 but no will of extermination. ^[2]."

[edit] A traumatism

The Uprising and its repression have caused still present traumatisms in the Malagasy population. On one hand, many Malagasy fought between themselves ^[2]. On the other hand, the leaders who proclaimed Madagascar's independence in 1960 were issued from the Padem, a political party favorized by the colonial administration after the crushing of the revolt ^[2].

During an official visit to Madagascar on 21 July 2005, French President Jacques Chirac qualified as "unacceptable" the repression of the Malagasy uprising.