Editing History of Madagascar (section)

====Queen Ranavalona I (1828–1861)====
{{main|Ranavalona I}}
[[File:Christian martyrs burned at the stake in Madagascar.jpg|thumb|180px|Christians burned at the stake by Ranavalona I]]
The 33-year reign of Queen [[Ranavalona I]], the widow of Radama I, was characterized by an increase in the size of the Kingdom of Madagascar as it conquered neighboring states as well as an effort to maintain the cultural and political sovereignty of Madagascar in the face of increasing foreign influence. The queen repudiated the treaties that Radama I had signed with Britain and, in 1835 after issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity in Madagascar, she expelled British missionaries from the island and began persecuting Christian converts who would not renounce their religion. Malagasy Christians would remember this period as ''ny tany maizina'', or "the time when the land was dark".

During her reign, constant warfare, disease, slave labor, and harsh measures of justice resulted in a high mortality rate among the Malagasy population; the population of the island is estimated to have declined by half from 5&nbsp;million to 2.5&nbsp;million between 1833 and 1839.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Campbell |first = Gwyn |date = October 1991 |title = The state and pre-colonial demographic history: the case of nineteenth century Madagascar |journal = Journal of African History |volume = 23 |issue = 3 |pages = 415–445|doi = 10.1017/S0021853700031534 }}</ref>

Unbeknownst to the queen, her son and heir, the crown-prince (the future [[Radama II of Madagascar|Radama II]]), attended Roman Catholic masses in secret.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} The young man grew up under the influence of French nationals in Antananarivo. In 1854, he wrote a letter to [[Napoleon III of France|Napoléon III]] inviting France to invade and uplift Madagascar.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} On 28 June 1855 he signed the [[Lambert Charter]]. This document gave Joseph-François Lambert, an enterprising French businessman who had arrived in Madagascar only three weeks before, the exclusive right to develop all minerals, forests, and unoccupied land in Madagascar in exchange for a 10-percent royalty payable to the Merina monarchy. In years to come, the French would show the Lambert Charter and the prince's letter to Napoléon III to explain the Franco-Hova Wars and the annexation of Madagascar as a colony. In 1857, the queen uncovered a plot by her son (the future Radama II) and French nationals in the capital to remove her from power. She immediately expelled all foreigners from Madagascar, sparing her son. Ranavalona died in 1861.