Last modified: 2022-10-22 by bruce berry
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This flag is described in Alfred Grenser's Die National- und Landesfarben
von 150 Staaten der Erde (published by Verlag von Wilhelm Rommel,
Frankfurt/M., in 1881). This book describes (text only) the coats of arms and flags of countries, but
only shows "landesfarben" on plates instead of flags.
So this flag must have been in use earlier than 1885.
Ralf Stelter, 21 Nov 2002
1885 is the date of the establishment of the French Protectorate of
Madagascar, but Europeans had already settled in Madagascar centuries before.
In 1861, Queen Ranavalona I expelled the Europeans and closed their schools.
From 1865 to 1895, the power was de facto exerted by Rainilaiarivony, who
successively married three queens. He modernized the country, converted
to protestantism but could not avoid the French Protectorate. As mentioned
aove, Smith shows the flag in a column of flags "inspired by
the French Tricolor". Since the Tricolor was definitively adopted as the
French flag in 1830, it is highly probable that French colonists imposed
a flag inspired by their national flag before the official establishment
of the Protectorate.
Another possibility could be that Madagascar had no specific relationship
with the French Tricolore but shared the same colours by pure coincidence.
Ivan Sache, 22 Nov 2002
The French protectorate over Madagascar ended on 29 September 1896.
General Galliéni met Queen Ranavalona
III in the palace of Manjakamiadana (aka the Queen's palace) in
Antananarivo.
By order of Galliéni, the royal bronze eagle surmounting the palace
was taken down the same day and replaced by the French national flag. The
hoisting of the new flag was saluted with 21 gun shots.
Source: La Gazette de la Grande Ile, 27 January 2005.
Ivan Sache, 31 Jul 2005
From a series of Cigarette Silks Iron-on Transfers, the subject of which
is: National Animals & Flags. It shows the Madagascar Protectorate
flag accompanied by a ring tailed lemur.
(source this
site)
Olivier Touzeau, 28 Oct 2002