Editing Ranavalona I (section)

== Legacy ==
Ranavalona's traditionalist policies were abruptly reversed under the reign of her son, King Radama II. A widespread epidemic of "spirit possession" throughout Imerina followed Radama's public conversion to Christianity and was popularly attributed to the outraged spirit of Ranavalona I.<ref>Cole (2001), p. 11</ref>

The queen's foreign contemporaries strongly condemned her policies and viewed them as the actions of a tyrant or even a madwoman, a characterization that persisted in Western historical literature until the 1970s.<ref name="Berg">{{Cite journal | last = Berg | first = Gerald | year = 1995 | title = Writing Ideology: Ranavalona, the Ancestral Bureaucrat | journal = History in Africa | volume = 22 | pages = 73–92 | doi = 10.2307/3171909 | jstor = 3171909 | s2cid = 161997570 }}</ref><ref name="research" /> Although Ranavalona has traditionally been depicted as a cruel and xenophobic tyrant, in more recent historical analyses she is commonly viewed as an early traditionalist and nationalist who refused to tolerate foreign occupation of her kingdom.<ref name="research" /><ref>Sharp (2002), p. 44</ref> In Madagascar today, the Malagasy of the central highlands hold complex and diverse views ranging across this spectrum. Most condemn her reign, in line with negative depictions of Ranavalona in current Malagasy history textbooks; this view is most common among Malagasy Christians. Others admire her effort to preserve Malagasy traditions and independence. The majority, regardless of their feelings toward her domestic policies, consider her a remarkable figure in Malagasy history and commend her strength as a ruler in a period of tension with European powers.<ref name="research">{{Cite journal  | last = Kamhi | first = Alison | title = Perceptions of Ranavalona I: A Malagasy Historic Figure as a Thematic Symbol of Malagasy Attitudes Toward History | journal = Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal  | pages = 29–32 | date = May 2002 }}</ref>

Madagascar historian Gwyn Campbell has argued against European [[character assassination]] attempts, stating that Ranavalona I's economic and military policies were rational approaches to safeguarding Madagascar from European imperial domination.<ref name="w513">{{cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Gwyn |date=November 1, 2023 |title=Ranavalona I of Madagascar: African Jezebel or Patriot? |journal=Monsoon |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=2–25 |doi=10.1215/2834698X-10739225 |issn=2834-698X}}</ref>

A fictionalized account of Ranavalona and her court appears in the novel ''[[Flashman's Lady]]'' by [[George MacDonald Fraser]]. The main character, a soldier and secret agent named [[Harry Paget Flashman]], becomes Ranavalona's military adviser and lover.<ref>MacDonald Fraser (1977)</ref>