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Madagascar History at its initial stages is ambiguous. The Indonesians and the Africans were the early settlers on the island. The European colonizers were a bit late to arrive and the Portuguese sailor Diogo Dias was the first European to come to know of Madagascar in 1500.The Portuguese missionaries desperately tried to convert the native Malagasy people but failed miserably. The French settlers, however, was able to established a stronghold in the island country since the time of their arrival in 1642. They continued to rule there for more than two centuries.
The 17th century Madagascar history witnessed the birth and subsequent rule of several Malagasy kingdoms like Betsileo, Antemoro, Merina and Antaisaka. Of all these kingdoms, those of the Merinas at the time of King Andrianampoinimerina and Radama 1 rose to power, conquered neighboring territories and gradually exerted their influence over them. By 1896, almost the whole of Madagascar came under the Merina dynasty except for the southern part and some parts of the west.
The period between 1894 and 1896 witnessed a battle between the French and the Merina dynasty. The French succeeded in overthrowing the dynasty. The French settlers followed the policy of divide and rule and within a decade they became the main ruler of Madagascar. The years of suppression that the natives experienced in the hands of the French rulers, led to the formation of a radical Merina secret society .However its existence was soon detected and its plans foiled. The time during the World War II saw the rule of Madagascar change hands from the French to the British and again back to the French.
Local political activism slowly began to challenge the French authority. Finally, on 14th October 1958, the country was rechristened as the Malagasy Republic. Two years later, on 26th June, 1960, it gained complete independence. A new constitution framed in 1975 declared that the Malagasy Republic would henceforth be known as The Democratic Republic of Madagascar.
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