Madagascar,officially the Republic of Madagascar,and previously known as the Malagasy Republic,is an island country in the Indian Ocean,approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At 592,800 square kilometres (228,900 sq mi) Madagascar is the world's second-largest island country,after Indonesia. The nation consists of the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana,Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 88 million years ago,allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently,Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot;over 90% of its wildlife is endemic.
The history of Madagascar is distinguished clearly by the early isolation of the landmass from the ancient supercontinent containing Africa and India,and by the island's late colonization by human settlers from the Sunda islands and from East Africa. These two factors facilitated the evolution and survival of thousands of endemic plant and animal species,some of which have gone extinct or are currently threatened with extinction due to the government not allocating resources to help the growing population,causing many people to resort to harmful environmental practices as a way of survival. Trade in the Indian Ocean at the time of first colonization of Madagascar was dominated by large ships,called Djong,coming from Java and Sumatra.
Antananarivo,also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana,is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city,known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra,is the capital of Analamanga region. The city sits at 1,280 m (4,199 ft) above sea level in the center of the island,the highest national capital by elevation among the island countries. It has been the country's largest population center since at least the 18th century. The presidency,National Assembly,Senate and Supreme Court are located there,as are 21 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of many national and international businesses and NGOs. It has more universities,nightclubs,art venues,and medical services than any city on the island. Several national and local sports teams,including the championship-winning national rugby team,the Makis are based here.
Robert Michael Ballantyne was a Scottish author of juvenile fiction,who wrote more than a hundred books. He was also an accomplished artist:he exhibited some of his water-colours at the Royal Scottish Academy.
Ranavalona I,also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I,was sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861. After positioning herself as queen following the death of her young husband,Radama I,Ranavalona pursued a policy of isolationism and self-sufficiency,reducing economic and political ties with European powers,repelling a French attack on the coastal town of Foulpointe,and taking vigorous measures to eradicate the small but growing Malagasy Christian movement initiated under Radama I by members of the London Missionary Society. She made heavy use of the traditional practice of fanompoana to complete public works projects and develop a standing army of between 20,000 and 30,000 Merina soldiers,whom she deployed to pacify outlying regions of the island and further expand the realm. The combination of regular warfare,disease,difficult forced labor and harsh trials by ordeal using a poisonous nut from the Tangena shrub resulted in a high mortality rate among both soldiers and civilians during her 33-year reign,with Madagascar's population reducing from 5 million in 1833 to 2.5 million in 1839.
Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan,was the second president of Pakistan. He was an army general who seized the presidency from Iskander Mirza in a coup in 1958,the first successful coup d'état in the country. Popular demonstrations and labour strikes supported by the protests in East Pakistan ultimately led to his forced resignation in 1969.
A commander-in-chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over armed forces or a military branch. As a technical term,it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership,a head of state or a head of government.
Ranavalona III was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the government of France. As a young woman,she was selected from among several Andriana qualified to succeed Queen Ranavalona II upon her death. Like both preceding queens,Ranavalona entered a political marriage with a member of the Hova elite named Rainilaiarivony,who largely oversaw the day-to-day governance of the kingdom and managed its foreign affairs in his role as prime minister. Ranavalona tried to stave off colonization by strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with foreign powers throughout her reign,but French attacks on coastal port towns and an assault on the capital city of Antananarivo led to the capture of the royal palace in 1895,ending the sovereignty and political autonomy of the centuries-old kingdom.
Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski was a Polish military and political leader.
Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama,commonly known as Frank Bainimarama,is the 8th and current prime minister of Fiji since 2007. A member of the Fiji First Party,he began his career as a naval officer and commander of the Fijian Military Forces.
The Allies of World War I or Entente Powers were a coalition of countries led by France,Britain,Russia,Italy,Japan,and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany,Austria-Hungary,the Ottoman Empire,Bulgaria,and their colonies during the First World War (1914–1918).
Hamid Gul HI(M),SBt,was a three-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army and defence analyst. Gul was notable for serving as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),Pakistan's premier intelligence agency,between 1987 and 1989. During his tenure,Gul played an instrumental role in directing ISI support to Afghan resistance groups against Soviet forces in return for funds and weapons from the USA,during the Soviet–Afghan War,in co-operation with the CIA.
The Axis leaders of World War II were important political and military figures during World War II. The Axis was established with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in 1940 and pursued a strongly militarist and nationalist ideology;with a policy of anti-communism. During the early phase of the war,puppet governments were established in their occupied nations. When the war ended,many of them faced trial for war crimes. The chief leaders were Adolf Hitler of Germany,Benito Mussolini of Italy,and Hirohito of Japan. Unlike what happened with the Allies,there was never a joint meeting of the main Axis heads of government,although Mussolini and Hitler did meet on a regular basis.
The Order of Saint Stephen was an order of chivalry founded in 1764 by Maria Theresa. In 1938,Miklós Horthy took the rights and activities of Grand Master as Regent of Hungary. The name of the Order changed to the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen. The Order was terminated at the time of the proclamation of the Second Hungarian Republic in 1946. It was recreated in 2011 as the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen,and to this day remains the highest order in Hungary.
Rainilaiarivony 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 career mirrored that of his father Rainiharo,a renowned military man who became prime minister during the reign of Queen Ranavalona I.
Rainivoninahitriniony (1824–1868),was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Madagascar between 1852 and 1864. He was the chief engineer of the Aristocratic Revolution initialized upon the attempted assassination of King Radama II. His excesses and participation in the regicide saw him fall from favor,ultimately being relieved of his position and replaced as Prime Minister by his younger brother Rainilaiarivony. Rainivoninahitriniony died in exile on May 5,1868,shortly after an attempted coup meant to enable him to regain his position upon the death of Queen Rasoherina ended in failure.
The Merina Kingdom,or Kingdom of Madagascar,officially the Kingdom of Imerina,was a pre-colonial state off the coast of Southeast Africa that,by the 19th century,dominated most of what is now Madagascar. It spread outward from Imerina,the Central Highlands region primarily inhabited by the Merina ethnic group with a spiritual capital at Ambohimanga and a political capital 24 km (15 mi) west at Antananarivo,currently the seat of government for the modern state of Madagascar. The Merina kings and queens who ruled over greater Madagascar in the 19th century were the descendants of a long line of hereditary Merina royalty originating with Andriamanelo,who is traditionally credited with founding Imerina in 1540.
The Second Madagascar expedition was a French military intervention which took place in 1894–95,sealing the conquest of the Merina Kingdom on the island of Madagascar by France. It was the last phase of the Franco-Hova War and followed the First Madagascar expedition of 1883–85.
Brigadier General Albert Camille Vital is a Malagasy Army officer,politician and civil engineer who was Prime Minister of Madagascar from 2009 to 2011. He is the president of the Parti Hiaraka Isika.
Andriamihaja,also spelled Andrìamihàja,was the first Prime Minister of Madagascar. He was a supporter of Ranavalona I and as a young military officer he was instrumental in her rise. He came to be functionally viewed as her husband,and with her he fathered Radama II. He was executed in 1831.
