Salima Machamba (1 November 1874,

Fomboni Fomboni (population approximately 19,000) is the fifth-largest city in the Comoros. It is also the capital and largest city on the Autonomous Island of Mohéli, of which it makes up more than one third of the population. Characterized as quiet ...

– 7 August 1964,

Pesmes Pesmes () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (, ) is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of ...

) was sultan of

Mohéli Mohéli , also known as Mwali, is an autonomously-governed island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the ...

(Mwali) in 1888–1909. Her official paternal name was ''Salima Machamba bint Saidi Hamadi Makadara''. She was a relative of

Ranavalona I Ranavalona I (born Rabodoandrianampoinimerina; 1778–16 August 1861), also known as Ramavo or Ranavalo-Manjaka I or Ranavalona reniny, was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861. After positioning herself as queen fol ...

, Queen of Madagascar.

Life

Salima Machamba was born on 1 November 1874 in

, to Jumbe Fatima bint Abderremane, Queen (Sultan) of Mohéli (Mwali) and Emile Fleuriot de Langle (1837–1881), a great-grandson of Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle. She was born out of wedlock, but officially bore the name of her mother's husband and was recognised as Salima Machamba bint Saidi Hamadi Makadara. She was chosen as the puppet queen of Mohéli by the French, who made Comoros a French

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

. She fell in love with and married on 28 August 1901 Camille Paule, a French

gendarme A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

,in Saint Denis, Réunion. In 1909 she was deposed by the French government and Comoros was annexed by France. She was deported with her family to France. She gave birth to three children. The French government provided her with a yearly allowance of 3,000 gold Francs. She lived as a simple farmer in

Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Frainc-Comtou: ''Hâte-Saône''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.

, and died in Pesmes on 7 August 1964. She was buried at L'église Saint-Hilaire, Pesmes on 10 August 1964. Her granddaughter Anne Etter represents the royal family of Mohéli in Comoros as the president of Association Développement des Iles Comores.
La France en Union des Comores Ambassade de France à Moroni/Le portrait de la femme du mois
(Access date: 27 October 2014) Cemetery of Pesmes - Ursule Salima Machamba's grave.jpg Cemetery of Pesmes - Ursule Salima Machamba's grave (close-up).jpg

Children

From her marriage to Camille Paule (1 March 1867, Pesmes – 22 September 1946, Champagney, Jura), three children: * Henriette Camille Ursule ''Louise'' Paule (15 July 1902,

Cléry, Côte-d'Or Cléry () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The communes coop ...

− 4 April 1989,

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

), Princess of Mohéli, she has a daughter: ** Christiane * ''Louis'' Camille Paule (1 September 1907, Cléry, Côte-d'Or − 8 April 1983,

Dole, Jura Dole (, sometimes pronounced ) is a commune in the eastern French department of Jura, of which it is a subprefecture (''sous-préfecture''). History Dole was the capital of Franche-Comté until Louis XIV conquered the region; he shifted t ...

), Prince of Mohéli, he has a daughter: ** Anne Ursule Etter (born 1941), President of Association Développement des Iles Comores, wife of Jean–François Etter * Camille ''Fernand'' Paule (16 June 1917, Cléry, Côte-d'Or − 1 April 2007, Dijon), Prince of Mohéli

Notes

Bibliography

* Nivois, Julienne: ''A Pesmes, en Franche-Comté..., Une Reine oubliée par l'Histoire'', Éditions Dominique Guéniot, Paris, 1995.

External links

Comores/Ursule Salima Machamba 1ère, Dernière reine de Mohéli
(Access date: 27 October 2014)

(Access date: 27 October 2014)

(Access date: 27 October 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Salima Machamba 1874 births 1964 deaths Comorian people of Malagasy descent Queens regnant of Mohéli Merina people Monarchs who abdicated Sultans of Mohéli Illegitimate children of monarchs 19th-century women monarchs 20th-century women monarchs 19th-century monarchs in Africa 20th-century monarchs in Africa Daughters of sultans Daughters of queens regnant