Ranavalona II (1829 – 13 July 1883) was Queen of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

from 1868 to 1883, succeeding Queen Rasoherina, her first cousin. She is best remembered for Christianizing the royal court during her reign.

Early life

Ranavalona II was born Princess Ramoma in 1829 at Ambatomanoina, near

Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...

in the central highlands to Prince Razakaratrimo and his wife Princess Rafarasoa Ramasindrazana. As a young woman she, like her cousin Rasoherina, was married to King Radama II and was widowed upon his

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in the nobles' coup of 1863. The prime minister at the time, Rainivoninahitriniony, played a major role in the assassination plot and public condemnation of the action forced him from his post. The position of prime minister was then filled by his younger brother

Rainilaiarivony Rainilaiarivony (30 January 1828 – 17 July 1896) was a Malagasy politician who served as the prime minister of Madagascar from 1864 to 1895, succeeding his older brother Rainivoninahitriniony, who had held the post for thirteen years. His ...

, who married Queen Rasoherina and then, upon her death, helped to designate Ranavalona II the next monarch of Madagascar and consequently married her to retain his position. During her years at court, young Ramoma was tutored by Protestant missionaries who greatly influenced her religious and political views. She became increasingly favorable toward the beliefs of the Christian religion.

Reign

Ranavalona II succeeded to the throne upon the death of Queen Rasoherina on 1 April 1868. On 21 February 1869, she entered into a political marriage with her prime minister,

, in a public ceremony at Andohalo wherein the court officially underwent conversion to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. This conversion was effected to bring the increasingly powerful Protestant faction under the influence of the royal court. Declaring Madagascar a Christian nation, Ranavalona had the traditional royal talismans ('' sampy'') burned in a bonfire in September 1869 and replaced their authority with that of the Bible. Under her rule the problem of deforestation was considered. The queen authorized construction using brick and other durable materials within the walls of

(previously forbidden by King Andrianampoinimerina). She also banned the traditional practice of ''tavy'' (swidden,

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

agriculture), charcoal making and construction of houses within forests. A European visitor to the court of Ranavalona II in 1873 described the queen in the following terms: "I should think the queen was about 45 years of age, with a dark olive complexion, and a face full of kindness and benevolence. She was very queenly, and dressed in a gray shot-silk dress, and a silk lamba fell negligently from her shoulders. Her hair was black, and beautifully arranged; 'crown she did not wear', but from the hair at the top of her head there depended the long fine gold chain ending in a gold tassel, which only the queen can wear."

Death and succession

Ranavalona II died in 1883 and was buried in Ambohimanga. In a bid to desacralize the holy city, in 1897 the French colonial authority disinterred her remains along with those of other monarchs buried in Ambohimanga and transferred them to the tombs on the compound of the Rova of Antananarivo, where her bones were interred in the tomb of Queen Rasoherina. She was succeeded by Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of the kingdom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranavalona 02 1829 births 1883 deaths Converts to Protestantism from pagan religions Protestant monarchs Queens regnant of Madagascar Remarried queens consort Malagasy Protestants Malagasy people of the Madagascar expeditions 19th-century queens regnant 19th-century monarchs in Africa