Editing Persecution of Christians (section)

===Madagascar===
[[File:Christian martyrs burned at the stake in Madagascar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.18|Christian martyrs [[burned at the stake]] by Ranavalona I in Madagascar]]
Queen [[Ranavalona I]] (reigned 1828–1861) issued a royal edict prohibiting the practice of [[Christianity in Madagascar]], expelled British missionaries from the island, and sought to [[Persecution of Christians in Madagascar|stem the growth of conversion]] to Christianity within her realm. Far more, however, were punished in other ways: many were required to undergo the ''[[tangena]]'' ordeal, while others were condemned to hard labor or the confiscation of their land and property, and many of these consequently died. The tangena ordeal was commonly administered to determine the guilt or innocence of an accused person for any crime, including the practice of Christianity, and involved ingestion of the poison contained within the nut of the tangena tree (''[[Cerbera odollam]]''). Survivors were deemed innocent, while those who perished were assumed guilty.

In 1838, it was estimated that as many as 100,000 people in Imerina died as a result of the ''tangena'' ordeal, constituting roughly 20% of the population.<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> contributing to a strongly unfavorable view of Ranavalona's rule in historical accounts.<ref name="Laidler 2005">Laidler (2005)</ref> [[Malagasy people|Malagasy]] Christians would remember this period as ''ny tany maizina'', or "the time when the land was dark". Persecution of Christians intensified in 1840, 1849 and 1857; in 1849, deemed the worst of these years by British missionary to Madagascar W.E. Cummins (1878), 1,900 people were fined, jailed or otherwise punished in relation to their Christian faith, including 18 executions.<ref name="Sunday">{{Cite magazine|last=Cousins|first=W.E. |title=Since 1800 in Madagascar; 1877–1878|magazine=The Sunday Magazine for Family Reading|publisher=Daldy, Isbister & Co|volume=1|pages=405–410|place=London}}</ref>