Ratsitatanina

Last updated

Ratsitatanina, also known as Ratsitatane (c. 1790-1822), was a Malagasy nobleman. Initially influential at the Merina court in central Madagascar, he fell from grace due to his opposition to the King's British allies. He was exiled to Mauritius, where he escaped from prison, was captured and was executed. He was the son of minister Andriamambavola and was reputedly the nephew of King Radama I, [1] [2] although the latter belief was challenged by the historian Pier Larson, who identified the two as brothers-in-law instead. [3] The first Prime Minister of Madagascar, Andriamihaja, is believed to have been Ratsitatanina's son. [4]

Contents

Opposition to the British

Ratsitatanina was a divisional chief in King Radama's army as well as a trusted advisor to the King. His fortunes changed from 1817 onwards when governor of Mauritius Robert Farquhar, in a bid to counter the slave traffic from Madagascar and to curb the influence of the French, signed a treaty of friendship with Radama. Farquhar's agent James Hastie became the King's confidant, a development that sidelined Ratsitatanina, who allegedly favoured the French. As a slave-trader, Ratsitatanina was also displeased about the British anti-slavery politics. When he chastened and threatened Hastie over a failed military expedition against the Sakalava people with whom Radama was at war, the King ordered Ratsitatanina's arrest. [5] [3] Possibly, however, Radama's decision to arrest Ratsitatanina was based not on the latter's alleged plot to murder either the British agent or the King himself, but on Radama's distrust and fear of Ratsitatanina and his brothers. [3]

Exile to Mauritius and death

Ratsitatanina was exiled from Madagascar and sent to Mauritius aboard the vessel Menai. He landed in Mauritius on 3 January 1822 and was imprisoned, although he was given some freedom. The British administrators had plans to further exile him to the island of Rodrigues. [6] However, Ratsitatanina escaped and was later captured in the mountains behind the capital of Port Louis by a private militia of maroon-hunters led by Franco-Mauritian lawyer and politician Adrien d'Épinay. [7] An unlikely plot to lead a revolt of slaves and apprentices and to massacre the White inhabitants of Port Louis was imputed to Ratsitatanina and was eagerly believed by the jittery citizens. According to his own testimony, his plan in escaping had been for a boat promised by an accomplice to take him and an entourage of Malagasy slaves and apprentices back to Madagascar. [3] Following a trial, he was beheaded at Plaine Verte on Monday 15 April 1822, keeping his composure even as he watched two alleged accomplices precede him to the block. [8] [3]

Dramatisations

A novel based on his life, Ratsitatane : épisode historique de Maurice by Mauritian author Lucien Brey (pseudonym of Walter Edgar Acton), first appeared as a feuilleton in the magazines Port-Louis Revue (1878) and Le voleur mauricien (1888-1889). A new edition of this novel, edited by Vicram Ramharai, appeared in Port Louis in 2005. [9] Mauritian dramatist Azize Asgarally wrote the play Ratsitatane (1983) in Mauritian Creole. Considered the first historical play of Mauritius, the piece challenges the traditional representation of Ratsitatanina as a savage who abducted a French woman, raped her and drove her to suicide, and instead portrays a shrewd politician who works to rid Madagascar of British influence. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauritius</span> Island country in the Indian Ocean

Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometres off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island, as well as Rodrigues, Agaléga, and St. Brandon. The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, along with nearby Réunion, are part of the Mascarene Islands. The main island of Mauritius, where the population is concentrated, hosts the capital and largest city, Port Louis. The country spans 2,040 square kilometres (790 sq mi) and has an exclusive economic zone covering 2,300,000 square kilometres.

The known and sometimes formally documented history of Mauritius begins with its possible discovery by Austronesians under the Austronesian expansion from pre-Han Taiwan, circa 1500 to 1000 BC, and then by Arabs,, followed by Portuguese and its appearance on European maps in the early 16th century. Mauritius was successively colonized by the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, and became independent on 12 March 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radama I</span> King of Madagascar

Radama I "the Great" was the first Malagasy sovereign to be recognized as King of Madagascar (1810–1828) by a European state, Great Britain. He came to power at the age of 17 following the death of his father, King Andrianampoinimerina.

Mauritius is a multi-ethnic, multilingual and a plural society with a population composed mainly of four major ethnic and religious groups. It is often depicted as a "rainbow nation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate</span> Political party in Mauritius

The Mauritian Social Democratic Party, also known as the Mauritian Conservative Party, is a political party in Mauritius. Conservative and Francophilic, the PMSD is the fourth biggest political party in the National Assembly and currently forms part of the opposition.

Indo-Mauritians are Mauritians who trace their ethnic ancestry to the Republic of India or other parts of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wenceslas Bojer</span> Czech botanist (1795–1856)

Wenceslas Bojer was a naturalist, botanist and botanical illustrator from the Austrian Empire. The standard author abbreviation Bojer is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Mauritius</span> Overview of and topical guide to Mauritius

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mauritius:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrien d'Épinay</span>

Antoine Zacharie Adrien d'Épinay was a Franco-Mauritian lawyer and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Mauritius</span> British colony in Africa from 1810 to 1968

Mauritius was a Crown colony off the southeast coast of Africa. Formerly part of the French colonial empire, British rule in Mauritius was established de facto with the Invasion of Isle de France in November 1810, and de jure by the subsequent Treaty of Paris. British rule ended on 12 March 1968, when Mauritius became independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauritian Creole</span> French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius

Mauritian Creole or Morisien is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. English words are included in the standardized version of the language. In addition, the slaves and indentured servants from cultures in Africa and Asia left a diverse legacy of language in the country. The words spoken by these groups are also incorporated into contemporary Morisien.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Port Louis on the island of Mauritius.

The 1968 Mauritian riots or Bagarre raciale Plaine Verte refers to a number of violent clashes that occurred in the Port Louis neighbourhoods of Cité Martial, Bell Village, Roche Bois, St. Croix, Cité Martial and Plaine Verte as well as in the village of Madame Azor near Goodlands in Mauritius over a period of ten days, six weeks before the country's declaration of independence on 12 March 1968.

The 1999 Mauritian riots were national-scale rioting and protests in Mauritius following the death of the popular "seggae" musician Joseph Réginald Topize, better known by his stage name "Kaya", in police custody. The rioting lasted for four days from 21 to 25 February 1999. Four civilians and one police officer were killed in the riots with hundreds of people suffering injuries. It was the first incidence of mass rioting in Mauritius since the country's 1968 riots. The riots resulted in a majority of the island's police stations being sacked by protesters with 250 prisoners escaping prison. Many businesses were looted and substantial property damage was done with over 200 vehicles being set on fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaëtan Duval</span> Mauritian politician (1930–1996)

Sir Charles Gaëtan Duval QC was a barrister, statesman and politician from Mauritius who was the leader of the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD) political party.

Maurice Curé (1886-1977) was one of the founders of the Labour Party in Mauritius in 1936.

Azor Adélaïde, also known as Azor Adelaide, was a Mauritian Creole political activist who was shot and assassinated along Chasteauneuf Road in the town of Curepipe, Mauritius on 25 November 1971. Although witnesses have provided detailed accounts of the murder it remains unsolved.

Sir William Newton (1842-1915) was a Mauritian lawyer and politician who was elected in British Mauritius to the Council of the Government of Mauritius, the predecessor of modern-day National Assembly or Parliament.

References

  1. ↑ Asgarally, Issa. "1822, l'affaire Ratsitatane: Insurrection, évasion ou mise en scène ?". Ile Maurice Kaya. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  2. ↑ Canabady, Patrice. "Ratsitatanina". Vimeo. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Larson, Pier (2009). Ocean of Letters: Language and Creolization in an Indian Ocean Diaspora. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press.
  4. ↑ Campbell, Gwyn (2020). The Travels of Robert Lyall, 1789–1831. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51648-2. ISBN   978-3-030-51648-2. S2CID   235027465.
  5. ↑ Moheeputh, Anand (13 April 2022). "In 1822: Ratsitatane's trial was a mockery of Justice: Governor Farquhar decided whose heads to cut off". Le Mauricien.
  6. ↑ Asgarally, Issa. "1822, l'affaire Ratsitatane: Insurrection, évasion ou mise en scène ?". Ile Maurice Kaya. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  7. ↑ "Esclavage: Les chasseurs de marrons". Travel-Iles by Côte Nord. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  8. ↑ Valayden, Rama. "Ratsitatane". L'Express. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  9. ↑ "Ratsitatane selon Lucien Brey". L'Express. 18 April 2005.
  10. ↑ Mooneeram, Roshni (2009). From Creole to Standard: Shakespeare, Language, and Literature in a Postcolonial Context. Amsterdam & New York: Editions Rodopi B.V. p. 76.
  11. ↑ Banham, Martin, ed. (2004). A History of Theatre in Africa. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 413.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.