Editing Ranavalona I (section)

=== Preservation and expansion of realm ===
[[File:Madagascar-expansion of Merina rule under Ranavalona I.png|thumb|Extent and expansion of Merina Kingdom on the island of Madagascar under Ranavalona I, 1828–1840.]]

Queen Ranavalona continued the military incursions initiated under Radama I to pacify neighboring kingdoms and maintain their submission to Merina rule. These policies had a strongly negative effect on economic and population growth during her reign. ''Fanompoana'' labor among the population of Imerina could include conscription into the military, enabling the queen to raise a standing army that was estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers.<ref>Freeman and Johns (1840), p. 25</ref>

This army, which was sent on repeated expeditions into neighboring provinces, exacted harsh penalties against communities resistant to Merina domination. Mass executions were common, and those who were spared were commonly brought back to Imerina as slaves (''andevo''), and their valuables seized as booty to increase the wealth of the Crown. Approximately one million slaves entered Imerina from coastal areas between 1820 and 1853, constituting one-third of the total population in the central highlands and two-thirds of all residents in Antananarivo.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Campbell | first = Gwyn | year = 2013 |chapter = Chapter 4: Unfree labour and the significance of abolition in Madagascar c.1825–97  | editor-last = Campbell | editor-first = Gwyn | title = Abolition and Its Aftermath in the Indian Ocean, Africa and Asia | publisher = [[Routledge]] | location = New York | isbn = 978-1-135-77078-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xmU2Dr_-WxsC }}</ref>

According to Madagascar historian Gwyn Campbell, the number of non-Merina who died in violent conflict during the military campaigns of Ranavalona and her predecessor Radama from 1816 to 1853 was estimated at 60,000. Additionally, a considerable proportion of the population not killed in battle in the subjugated provinces eventually died from famine as a consequence of [[scorched earth]] policies.<ref name="Stats" />

Deaths among the Merina soldiers engaged in military actions were also high, estimated at 160,000 for the period 1820–1853. A further 25–50% of the queen's soldiers stationed in lowland areas were estimated to have died each year due to diseases such as malaria. Although prevalent in the coastal parts of the island, malaria was uncommon in the high-altitude zone around Antananarivo, and Merina soldiers possessed little natural resistance against it.<ref name="Stats" /> An average of 4,500 soldiers died each year for the greater part of Ranavalona's reign, contributing to severe depopulation in Imerina.<ref name="Stats" />

==== Tangena ordeal ====
[[File:Tangena trial by ordeal Madagascar.jpg|thumb|alt=in an ominous and dark tropical forest, a person lays on the ground, surrounded by men with spears, as a crowd looks on|A 19th-century artist's depiction of the ''[[tangena]]'' ordeal.]]

One of the chief measures by which Ranavalona maintained order within her realm was through the traditional practice of [[Trial by ordeal|trial by the ordeal]] of ''[[tangena]]''. A poison was extracted from the nut of the native ''tangena'' (''[[Cerbera manghas]]'') tree and ingested, with the outcome determining innocence or guilt. If nobles or freemen were compelled to undergo the ordeal, the poison was typically administered to the accused only after dog and rooster stand-ins had already died from the poison's effects, while among members of the slave class (''andevo''), the ordeal required them to immediately ingest the poison themselves.<ref name="Stats" />

The accused would be fed the poison along with three pieces of chicken skin: if all three pieces of skin were vomited up then innocence was declared, but death or a failure to regurgitate all three pieces of skin indicated guilt.<ref>Campbell (2012), p. 570</ref> According to 19th-century Malagasy historian Raombana, in the eyes of the greater populace, the ''tangena'' ordeal was believed to represent a sort of celestial justice in which the public placed their unquestioning faith, even to the point of accepting a verdict of guilt in a case of innocence as a just but unknowable divine mystery.<ref name="Stats" />

Residents of Madagascar could accuse one another of various crimes, including theft, Christianity and especially witchcraft, for which the ordeal of ''tangena'' was routinely obligatory. On average, an estimated 20 to 50 percent of those who underwent the ordeal died. In the 1820s, the ''tangena'' ordeal caused about 1,000 deaths annually. This average rose to around 3,000 annual deaths between 1828 and 1861. In 1838, it was estimated that as many as 100,000 people—about 20 percent of the population—in Imerina had died as a result of the ''tangena'' ordeal. Although outlawed in 1863, the ordeal continued to be practised secretly in Imerina and openly in other parts of the island.<ref name="Stats" />

==== Repression of Christianity ====
[[File:Antananarivo Church.jpg|thumb|Andohalo cathedral, built on a cliff in [[Antananarivo]] where Ranavalona had [[Christianity in Madagascar|Malagasy Christian]] missionaries executed.]]

Following a visit by Radama I to Madagascar's first formal school, established in [[Toamasina]] in 1818 by members of the London Missionary Society (LMS), the king invited the first Christian artisan missionaries to the capital city to share their knowledge. Beginning in December 1820,<ref name="press">Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), pp. 196, 208–210</ref> LMS missionaries established workshops in Antananarivo to teach brick-making, European carpentry and other practical skills, and developed a [[Education in Madagascar|network of public schools]] where numeracy and English were taught alongside literacy using portions of the [[Malagasy language]] Bible.<ref>Sharp (2002), p. 43</ref> Despite high attendance at the schools, the LMS were initially unsuccessful in converting pupils to [[Christianity in Madagascar|Christianity]]. Near the end of Radama's reign, the king came to regard the few Malagasy who had been converted as irreverent toward royal authority. He forbade Malagasy people from being baptized or attending Christian services.<ref>Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), p. 206</ref>

Ranavalona's succession initially resulted in a relaxation of state control over Christianity. A printing press, which was imported by LMS missionaries at the end of Radama's reign, was only effectively put into operation in 1828. The press was in heaviest use during the first several years of Ranavalona's reign, when thousands of hymnals and other materials were transcribed and printed.<ref>Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), pp. 208–209</ref> Translation of the New Testament was completed in the second year of her reign, and 3,000 copies were printed and distributed between 1829 and 1830.<ref>Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), p. 196</ref>

From the beginning of her reign, Ranavalona forbade the distribution of books within the military to prevent subversion and preserve discipline. She allowed missionaries free rein in operating the printing press, however, and exempted from military service all Malagasy personnel trained to operate the press. In 1835, translation of the Old Testament was completed and the first copies were printed.<ref name="press" /> The freedom allowed to LMS and Malagasy Christians to print religious materials and teach religion in the state schools during the first six years of Ranavalona's reign allowed the religion to become firmly established among a small but growing group of converts in and around the capital.<ref name="press" /> In 1831 Ranavalona authorized Malagasy attendance at church services, administration of the sacrament, and baptism of her subjects.<ref>Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), p. 221</ref> Within a year, hundreds of Malagasies were baptized;<ref>Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), p. 210</ref> these converts were drawn from all social classes, including slaves, commoners, respected elders, court officials and even sampy guardians, who were considered the bulwarks of traditional culture.<ref name="backlash">Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), p. 222</ref>

{{Quote box | quote  = Christianity involved a repudiation of the ancestral customs of the country, established by previous monarchs who were her ancestors.  The queen's legitimacy depended entirely on her relation to her predecessors, who had given the kingdom to her.  Furthermore&nbsp;... she was queen because she was the descendant of the royal ancestors, who were in a mystical sense the ancestors of all the Merina. To deny her mystical power was to repudiate not only her but also the ancestors, the quintessence of good and blessings&nbsp;... She was the custodian of a holy trust&nbsp;... Christianity was therefore treason&nbsp;... in Ranavalona's words it was "the substitution of the respect of her ancestors, [[Andrianampoinimerina]] and [[Radama I|Radama]], for the respect of the ancestor of the whites: [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]]."  She saw the introduction of a new religion as a political act, and there is no doubt that she was right.|source = Maurice Bloch, ''From Blessing to Violence'' (1986)<ref name="Bloch 1986 p18–19">Bloch (1986), pp.&nbsp;18–19</ref> | width  = 40em | align = right }}

The conversion of major religious, political and social leaders sparked a backlash<ref name="backlash" /> that led Ranavalona to become increasingly wary of the political and cultural effects of Christianity, which she saw as leading the Malagasy to forsake the ancestors and their traditions.<ref name="Larson 1997">{{Cite journal | last = Larson | first = Pier | year = 1997 | title = Capacities and modes of thinking: Intellectual engagements and subaltern hegemony in the early history of Malagasy Christianity | journal = The American Historical Review | volume = 102 | issue = 4 | pages = 996–1002 | doi = 10.2307/2170626 | jstor = 2170626 }}</ref> In October and November 1831 the queen enacted a ban on Christian marriages, baptisms, and church services for soldiers and members of government studying in the Missionary schools,<ref>Ellis (1870), p. 71</ref> and in December extended the ban on church service attendance to all Malagasy.<ref>Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), pp.&nbsp;222–223</ref> From 1832 to 1834, baptisms and church services continued, increasingly in secret.<ref name="secret" /> During this time, several Christians each year were charged with witchcraft and exiled or made to undergo the tangena ordeal,<ref name="secret">Ralibera and De Taffin (1993), p. 223</ref> and Ranavalona requested the departure of three missionaries, retaining only those whose particular technical skills she viewed as valuable to the state.<ref>Campbell (2012), pp.&nbsp;184–186</ref> In 1835, the queen attempted to shut down the press without directly targeting the LMS by banning Malagasy personnel from working at the printing house. The LMS missionaries, capitalizing on the absence of legal decrees against their own work at the press, managed to continue independently printing and distributing materials.<ref name="press" />

In a kabary speech on 26 February 1835, Queen Ranavalona formally forbade the practice of Christianity among her subjects. In her discourse, she was careful to differentiate between her own people, for whom the new religion was forbidden and its practice a capital offense, and foreigners, to whom she permitted freedom of religion and conscience. She furthermore acknowledged the valuable intellectual and technological contributions that European missionaries had made to the advancement of her country, and invited them to continue working to that end on the condition that their proselytizing would cease:<ref name="Koschorko">Koschorko (2007), p. 199</ref>

{{blockquote | text = "To the English or French strangers: I thank you for the good that you have done in my land and my kingdom, where you have made known European wisdom and knowledge.  Do not worry yourselves—I will not change the customs and rites of our ancestors.  Nevertheless, whoever breaks the laws of my kingdom will be put to death—whoever he may be.  I welcome all wisdom and all knowledge which are good for this country.  It would be a waste of time and effort to grab the customs and rites of my ancestors.  Concerning religious practice—baptism or assemblies—it is forbidden for my people who inhabit this land to take part whether on Sunday or during the week.  Concerning you, foreigners, you can practice according to your own manners and customs.  Nevertheless, if skilled handiwork and other practical skills exist, which can profit our people, exercise these skills that good will come.  These are my instructions which I make known to you."|sign = Ranavalomanjaka |source = Kabary, February 26, 1835<ref name="Koschorko" />
}}

James Cameron and other key missionaries preferred to leave rather than remain on the island without authorization to proselytize; most of the London Missionary Society missionaries, whose primary activity was teaching Christian theology and literacy at their newly established schools using the Bible as the principal Malagasy-language text, departed the island.<ref name="Autarky" /> The last two remaining missionaries chose to continue teaching practical skills in the hope that the restrictions might loosen, but one year later, after receiving indirect information that the government desired their departure, they closed the LMS mission and left Madagascar.<ref name="shuttered">Campbell (2012), pp.&nbsp;185–186</ref>

Pursuant to the 26 February decree, those who possessed a Bible, worshiped in congregation or continued to profess adherence to Christianity were fined, jailed, manacled,  subjected to [[trial by ordeal]], or executed.<ref>Oliver (1886), pp.&nbsp;60–63</ref><ref name="Sunday">{{Cite journal | last = Cousins | first = W.E. | title = Since 1800 in Madagascar | year = 1877–1878 | volume = 1 | journal = The Sunday Magazine for Family Reading | pages = 405–410 | publisher = Daldy, Isbister & Co | location = London }}</ref> Lurid accounts of the execution and torture of Christians were reported by missionaries with informants on the island who placed emphasis on what they perceived as the savagery of the Queen's actions.<ref name="Laidler 2005" />  For instance, they reported the public execution of 15 Christian leaders near the Queen's palace who were dangled on ropes 150 feet above a rock-filled ravine before the ropes were cut upon their refusal to renounce Christianity.<ref name="Sunday" /> The Andohalo cathedral was later constructed on this outcropping to commemorate early Malagasy Christians martyred at the site.<ref>Andrew, Blond, Parkinson and Anderson (2008), p. 79</ref> The precise number of Malagasy citizens put to death for religious reasons during Ranavalona's reign is difficult to state with certainty. British missionary to Madagascar W.E. Cummins (1878) places the number executed at between 60 and 80. Far more were required to undergo the ''tangena'' ordeal, condemned to hard labor, or stripped of their land and property, and many of these died. Persecution of Christians intensified in 1840, 1849 and 1857; in 1849, deemed the worst of these years by Cummins, 1,900 people were fined, jailed or otherwise punished for their Christian faith, and 18 were executed.<ref name="Sunday" />