Editing Ranavalona I (section)

==Early life==
Princess Ramavo was born in 1778 at the royal residence at [[Ambatomanoina]],<ref>Campbell (2012), p. 713</ref> about {{Convert|16|km|0|sp=us}} east of [[Antananarivo]],<ref>Campbell (2012), p. 1078</ref> to Prince Andriantsalamanjaka and Princess Rabodonandriantompo.<ref>Académie malgache (1958), p. 375</ref> When Ramavo was still a young girl, her father alerted King [[Andrianampoinimerina]] (1787–1810) to an assassination plot planned by [[Andrianjafy]], the king's uncle, whom Andrianampoinimerina had forced from the throne at the royal city of [[Ambohimanga]]. In return for saving his life, Andrianampoinimerina betrothed Ramavo to his son, [[Radama I|Prince Radama]], whom the king designated as his heir. He furthermore declared that any child from this union would be first in the line of succession after Radama.<ref name="Freeman" />

Despite her elevated rank among the royal wives, Ramavo was not the preferred wife of Radama and did not bear him any children. Upon Andrianampoinimerina's death in 1810, Radama succeeded his father as king and followed royal custom by executing a number of potential opponents among Ramavo's relatives, an act that may have strained their relationship.<ref name="Freeman" /> Unable to find satisfaction in her loveless marriage, the neglected Ramavo and other court ladies spent most days socializing and drinking rum with [[David Griffiths (missionary)|David Griffiths]] and his fellow missionaries in Griffiths' home. These visits established a deep friendship between Ramavo and Griffiths that  endured for three decades.<ref>Campbell (2012), p. 51</ref>

===Accession to the throne===
When Radama died without leaving any descendants on 27 July 1828, according to [[Andriamanelo#Rules of succession|local custom]], the rightful heir was Rakotobe, the eldest son of Radama's eldest sister. An intelligent and amiable young man, Rakotobe was the first pupil to have studied at the [[Education in Madagascar|first school]] established by the [[London Missionary Society]] in Antananarivo on the grounds of the royal palace. Radama died in the company of two trusted courtiers who were favorable to the succession of Rakotobe. However, they hesitated to report the news of Radama's death for several days, fearing possible reprisals against them for having been involved in denouncing one of the king's rivals, whose family had a stake in the succession after Radama.<ref name="Freeman">Freeman and Johns (1840), pp.&nbsp;7–17</ref><ref name="Oliver 1886 42 45">Oliver (1886), pp.&nbsp;42–45</ref> During this time, another courtier, a high-ranking military officer named Andriamamba, discovered the truth and collaborated with other powerful officers – Andriamihaja, Rainijohary and Ravalontsalama – to support Ramavo's claim to the throne.<ref name="rainijohary">{{Cite journal|last=Rasoamiaramanana|first=Micheline|title=Rainijohary, un homme politique meconnu (1793–1881) | journal = Omaly Sy Anio | volume = 29–32 | pages=287–305|date=1989–1990|language=fr}}</ref>

[[File:Ranavalo Manjaka, reine de Madagascar, et ses heritiers presomptifs.jpg|thumb|Queen Ranavalona I with her son and heir Prince Rakoto]]

These officers hid Ramavo and one of her friends in a safe location, then secured the support of several influential power-brokers, including judges and the keepers of the ''[[sampy]]'' (royal idols). The officers then rallied the army behind Ramavo,<ref name="Freeman" /><ref name="Oliver 1886 42 45" /> so that on 11 August 1828, when she declared herself the successor to Radama on the pretence that he himself had decreed it, there could be no immediate resistance. Ramavo took the throne name Ranavalona ("folded", "kept aside"), then followed royal custom by systematically capturing and putting to death her political rivals, including Rakotobe, his family, and other members of Radama's family, much as Radama had done to the queen's own family upon his succession to the throne.<ref name="Freeman" /> Her coronation ceremony took place on 12 June 1829.<ref>Ellis (1838), pp. 421–422</ref>

By succeeding her husband, Ranavalona became the first female sovereign of the [[Merina Kingdom|Kingdom of Imerina]] since its founding in 1540. Her rise to power occurred in a cultural milieu that favored men over women in the political sphere. In the traditional culture of Imerina, rulers were specially endowed with the power to innovate in circumvention of established norms and customs. Sovereigns often mobilized innovation through the creation of new forms of kinship, the traditional basis of the political order. Women, however, were associated with the household, a rigid kinship unit in opposition to the innovating role and power of the sovereign, and so were not viewed as suited to rule.<ref name="Berg" /> Although female rulers had once been common among the ''[[Vazimba]]'', described in oral histories as the original inhabitants of Madagascar, this tradition ended in the central highlands with the reign of [[Andriamanelo]] (1540–1575), founder of the Kingdom of Imerina and successor to his Vazimba mother, Queen [[Rafohy]] (1530–1540).<ref>Bloch (1986), p. 106</ref>