Anôsy is one of the 23 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name Anôsy means "island(s)" in Malagasy.
Due to a strategic sea route running along its coast, Anosy had been an important crossroads for the Malagasy, Muslims, and Europeans. In the mid-1600s, it was the location of the first French colonial settlement in the Indian Ocean. The region was part of the Imerina Kingdom for much of the 1800s and part of the French colony of Madagascar from the late 1800s to 1960.
Its exports have included human slaves (shipped to the Mascarene Islands and the United States in the 1700s), live cattle (exported to Réunion for almost 300 years), sisal, natural rubber, rosy periwinkle, graphite, uranothorianite, lobster, sapphires, and ilmenite. Due to its biodiversity and unique wildlife, efforts commenced in the 1980s to promote environmental conservation and tourism in the region.
The region suffers from poverty; 80% of inhabitants lack access to clean water, 16% suffer from serious respiratory illnesses, and literacy is less than 20%.
History
Early history The early history of Anôsy is based primarily on archeological digs in the Efaho valley, just west of Fort-Dauphin. These 11th–13th century sites on the coastal dunes were small ( in size) and seasonal or temporary, based on the need to move to find food. Activities focused on fishing, cultivation of tubers and hunting. Iron working was also present. Trade was limited to the northeast, along the coast, and formed a very simple economic and social system.Rakotoarlsoa, Jean-Aimé. (1998). Mille ans d'occupation humaine dans le sud-est de Madagascar Anosy, Une île au milieu des terres
Evidence suggests that between the 13th and 15th centuries, those living in Anosy were working chlorite schist which was exchanged through the trade network for Chinese greenware pottery. A Chinese nautical map from 1315 shows Madagascar's coastline, winds and currents. Settlements grew slightly, primarily located on the flood plains and coastal lagoons, with cultivation of sweet potatoes and further development of iron working. In the early 14th century, a Gujarat ship wrecked off the Anosy coast; it has been theorized that the stranded Gujarati went north to found the Zarabehava dynasty of Antesaka, though some scholars disagree.Kent, R.K. (1992). Madagascar and the islands of the Indian Ocean. In Ogot, B.A. (Ed.), General History of Africa-V: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth century. Paris: UNESCO.
Zafiraminia dynasty In the 16th century, the Zafiraminia (descendants of the Muslim Ramini) arrived in present-day Anosy and moved into the Efaho valley after being defeated by the Antambahoaka people to the north.Domenichini-Ramiaramanana, B. (1988). Madagascar. In M. Elfasi (Ed.), General history of Africa * III: Africa from the seventh to the eleventh century. Paris: UNESCO. The Zafiraminia had lived in Madagascar from about the 13th century and had assimilated into the Malagasy population; they did not have Islamic institutions though they retained Arabic script and several socio-religious practices. The Zafiraminia introduced the use of wooden huts, owning cattle as a sign of wealth, and established a dynasty that lasted 200 years.
The Zafiraminia established a stratified society with elaborate rituals, aided by their literacy, which was viewed as a kind of magic.Kent, R.K. (1969). The Anteimoro: A theocracy in southeastern Madagascar. Journal of African History, X(I), 45–65.Lynda. (2010). ZafiRaminia. Their settlements were further inland, in size, and may have been fortified with ditches and wooden palisades.
European contact and Jesuit mission While the Zafiraminia moved into Anôsy from the north, Europeans began arriving from the south. On 10 August 1500, a Portuguese crew – whose ship had been separated from the 2nd Portuguese India Armada during a storm – became the first Europeans to see Madagascar, at the southern coast near present-day Fort-Dauphin. They named it Ilha de São Lourenço ("Saint-Laurent" in French). There were at least five shipwrecks on this coast between 1504 and 1507, and historian Mike Pearson believes some of the Portuguese survivors built the fort Tranovato (English: house of stone), a stone blockhouse located on a hill west of present-day Fort-Dauphin. Others believe it was erected a generation later, but it is likely the first European building on Madagascar, and sheltered shipwrecked sailors awaiting rescue.Canitrot. (1921). Les Portugais sur la côte orientale de Madagascar et en Anosy au XVIe siècle (1500-1613-1617). Revue Francaise d'Histoire d'Outre Mer, 04-06, 203–238. Other shipwrecked sailors were able to assimilate, possibly aided by being light-skinned like the ruling Zafiraminia who claimed to be descended from Arabs. On 4 August 1508, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira arrived on a Portuguese trade mission, recovering two shipwreck survivors who served as a Malagasy translators for contact and resupply. Trading colonies were attempted by the Portuguese and the French, but initial efforts were short-lived and abandoned. Shipwrecks continued and conditions at Anosy led cartographer Jean Parmentier to describe the waters as "the ocean without reason".
In 1613, a Portuguese expedition to Madagascar visited the stone fort at Travovato, which was occupied by a local king, Chambanga.Ramerini, M. & Koster, D. (1998). A Portuguese fort in Madagascar: The fort near Fort-Dauphin. A treaty of friendship was agreed, trade was opened, and a church was built for Jesuit missionaries to begin evangelism. A dispute broke out when the king apparently refused an offer to send his son Drian-Ramaka to Goa for Catholic education; the sailors seized the boy by force and their ship was briefly attacked before sailing to Goa. In April 1616 the Jesuits returned to Anosy to exchange Drian-Ramaka for Chambanga's other sons, which the king refused; following accusations, and realizing their missionary work was in jeopardy, the Jesuits settled for a distant relation of the king. Chambanga became further distrustful when the Portuguese began prospecting for gold and silver; he suspended trade, attempting to starve them out of Anosy. This continued when Drian-Ramaka succeeded his father, and respected the folk religion instead of embracing Catholicism. Suffering in isolation and having baptized only one Malagasy person over a year, the Jesuits left Anôsy in 1617.Camboué, P. (1910). Madagascar. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
Early French settlements
Beginning in 1604, French King Henry IV began sending ships to Madagascar to compete with the Dutch colonies at the Gold Coast of Africa. In 1642, Cardinal Richelieu sought possession of Madagascar for France, granting trading rights to Captain Rigault and associates who created the first French East India Company. A French settlement was established at Manafiafy in Anôsy. There were many deaths in the first months, likely due to malaria and dysentery in the swampy area, and the settlement was moved southwest to the peninsula of Taolanara where they built what was later named Fort Dauphin, France's first colony in the Indian Ocean. The site was above sea level, and with a redoubt built across the peninsula was defensible from sea and land.Rochon, A. & Brunei, M.I. (1793). A voyage to Madagascar and the East Indies, pp. 64-65
The French found Dian Ramaka to be friendly; their settlement sites were at the edge of the Zafiraminia's world and did not cause an affront. Sieur Jacques de Pronis, the first governor of the French East India Company, married a Zafindraminia noblewoman. However, Pronis angered the colonists who put him in chains; following his rescue, the rebels – both French and Malagasy – were banished to Réunion Island. Étienne de Flacourt took over as governor, and sought to establish several colonies in Madagascar to resupply European ships travelling to the Indies, obtaining food from the Malagasy through trade or by force, and selling indigo, tobacco and sugarcane to fund colonial expansion. By this time, rice and cattle had become the primary food sources. According to historian R. K. Kent, Anosy was one of the most-densely populated parts of Madagascar with considerable agricultural surpluses. The Malagasy traded for ceramics from China, England, France and Portugal.
Successive governors of Fort Dauphin in the mid-17th century sought to conquer Anosy by wresting control from the Zafiraminia kings, who had united under Dian Ramack (and later, his son Andriampanolahy). Several military campaigns pillaged and burned villages, killed and enslaved Malagasy, and stole tens of thousands of cattle. The Malagasy made reprisals with massacres, poisonings, and captured and burned Fort Dauphin. During the same period, missionary work was conducted by the Lazarist Congregation of the Mission. In 1674, after the French East India Company had twice been reorganized due to poor profits, the rebuilt Fort Dauphin was evacuated and the colony abandoned. The colonial failure was a bitter experience for the French, who left behind as many as 4,000 French casualties, and was a source of political embarrassment for 200 years.
Feudal rule Conflict continued in Anôsy following the French evacuation. When shipwrecked pirates took shelter at Fort Dauphin in 1697, their leader, Abraham Samuel, a mulatto from Martinique, was installed as a king. Until his death in 1705, Samuel led pirate–Anôsy forces in constant warfare with Antanosy king Diamarang Diamera. The Zafiraminia also attempted to regain control, without success; they faced a number of revolts. The number and size of settlements shrank, and moved further inland.
Frenchman arrived to rebuild Fort Dauphin as a supply base in 1768. He found that there were 35 rulers in Anôsy, many of whom were at war with one another, and none of whom governed more than 3,000 people. He signed 30 treaties with local kings, making alliances by supplying them with muskets (over 10,000 muskets and 50 tons of gunpowder were sold). However, the French government abolished the French East India Company the following year, and Maudave's trading settlement was abandoned. At about the time of the French departure, the Zafiriminia kingdom also fell, having been ravaged by warfare since the mid-1600s.
In 1819, the French again reopened Fort Dauphin, after negotiating with the Zafiraminia chief Rabefania. The chief sought French protection from the Imerina Kingdom which was seeking to conquer the whole of Madagascar. Fort Dauphin continued to export cattle, and also became a slaving base and operated a rum distillery.
Merina control An army of the Imerina Kingdom of central Madagascar, numbering 3,000–4,000 soldiers, moved down the coast of Anosy and took Fort Dauphin on 14 March 1825, at which point the Imerina Kingdom controlled the entire eastern coast of Madagascar. The fort was garrisoned by 800 Imerina troops armed with muskets which, along with garrisons at other coastal towns, controlled shipping & trade. Most of Anosy, however, resisted the brutal treatment by the Imerina and was effectively self-ruled. The Imerina pursued a policy of isolationism and dismantled treaties with England and France.
Successive Imerina monarchs were alternately influenced by the French and English. In 1869, Imerina Queen Ranavalona II converted to Christianity. A church was built at Fort Dauphin and attendance made mandatory. Evangelists from the London Missionary Society later took leadership of the church.
Franco-Malagasy Wars