1 Antananarivo, hotel accommodation.

2 Andasibe, hotel accommodation, visit to reptile park. B

3 Andasibe, hotel accommodation, visit the National Park (Perinet Reserve) B

4 Antsirabe, hotel accommodation. B

5 Ambositra, hotel accommodation. B

10 One night camping excursion into the fantastic Isalo National Park. Camping B L D

11 Isalo National Park excursion. Hotel accommodation.BL

12 Itafy coast via Tulear. Hotel accommodation. B

13 Itafy coast and beaches. Hotel accommodation B

14 Flight from Tulear to Antananarivo. Hotel accommodation B

15 Antananarivo. Hotel accommodation. B. End of Services.

This tour is co-booked with clients from Wildlife Adventures, utilising English/French speaking guides.

Itinerary as specified. All highlighted text is included, tour guide, all accommodation, all camp meals, and National Park entrance fees, meet and greet, all airport transfers with internal flights. Accommodation is on a bed and breakfast basis. Lunches and dinners are included on day 10 and 11 only. (All other meals will be to the clients account.

B: Breakfast. L: Lunch. D: Dinner).

Most clients arrive a day or so prior to the official start day. This is to give them plenty of time to relax, acclimatize from the flight and enjoy all that Antananarivo has to offer. Caraville can arrange any accommodation and activities you may require if you want to arrive early or stay on in Africa after your tour ends. Please contact us for assistance.

Arrive at your hotel. "Tana" (as Antananarivo is known to the locals) is a colourful, bustling city boasting cobbled streets, marvellous French cuisine and lively markets packed with local crafts. All meals are to your own expense on day 1.

On the first day of this tour (Day 1), all clients should meet at 9 pm for the pre-departure meeting:

This will give you all a chance to meet your fellow travelers and get to know your guide. The meeting will cover all the aspects of the trip. Please bring with you to this meeting: your passport with relevant visa’s and evidence of medical and personal insurance, as well as the local payment in USD.

If you have any questions regarding arrival prior to the tour or any other questions whatsoever please contact our offices.

If you are unable to attend the pre-departure meeting, please let Caraville know at least one week prior to your departure.

After breakfast we start with our first day on the road traveling east, through beautiful landscape of hills with dense tropical rainforest. If the group wants to buy a picnic hamper (such as bread, cold meets cheese and drinks), we will make a short stop in Ambohimangakely; otherwise lunch will be in Moramanga at one of the village restaurants serving Malagasy cuisine.

During the morning we will visit a reptile park, which is owned by one of Madagascar’s most respected naturalists, Andre Peyrieras. This center provides an opportunity to photograph some of Madagascar’s most extraordinary reptiles and invertebrates. The main focus of the park is the breeding of comet moths and various butterflies. We will arrive in Moramanga at approximately 12:30 where we will stop for lunch. Continuing on we should arrive in Andasibe and our hotel at around 16:30. The rest of the day is yours to explore. Dinner tonight can be taken in various restaurants in the area, with a choice of Malagasy and Chinese cuisine. There is a great French restaurant at the Buffet de la Gare. If the group decides to eat away from the hotel, the vehicle is available for transfers. Our hotel is Hotel Feony'Ala . We stay in wooden bungalows on the edge of the forest where, in the early morning, you will hear the songs and calls of the Indri. (Indri indri is a species of lemur)

Breakfast. All other meals are to the client’s own expense.

The National Park of Andasibe-Mantadia (Perinet Reserve) is situated here and covers an area of 810 hectares at an elevation of about 1000 m (3300ft). It is the best place to see the ‘Indri indri’ Lemur, an endangered species and also the largest of the lemurs. These black and white ‘teddy’ like creatures can be seen bounding from tree to tree and their territorial calls can be heard at least a mile away. Because some Indris in the Perinet Reserve see people frequently, one can follow them unobtrusively and watch for hours as they go about their business. Indri lemurs live in small family groups and feed on a wide variety of leaves and fruits. This mountainous massif has many tree ferns and orchids not to mention the many bird, chameleon and invertebrate species.

We will have breakfast at the hotel and then depart for the entrance to the Park (1.5 km journey). There are various optional walks available, a 2-hour walk, 3-½ hour walk and a 5-hour walk. WildLife Adventures includes an official obligatory guide for the group – if any individuals wish to walk separately from the group they would need to hire a guide at the Park office. The vehicle will wait at the gate for the last of the group to finish and then return you to your hotel. It is also possible to take a walk to the village and back to the hotel on foot.

The rest of the afternoon is free at your leisure to have lunch and visit the village.

In the evening you will have a rare opportunity to observe the lemurs at night. Dinner will be after this excursion – and again there are many choices available. Breakfast is included. All other meals are to the client’s own expense.

 

Today we depart Andasibe traveling via the vibrant capital of Tana and head south to Antsirabe. It is a long traveling day, but the stunning scenery will make up for the journey. We should arrive in Antisrabe at approximately 18:00 where we will check into the hotel. The rest of the evening is free to explore and take dinner - there is a large selection of restaurants from steak houses, to French/Malagasy and Chinese cuisine.

Breakfast.

We have a free morning in Antisrabe to explore. This elegant French City is famous for its gem stones such as tourmaline, beryl, amethysts, rose, and quartz. You can watch skilled craftsmen cutting and polishing these beautiful stones in the local ‘bijouterie’ shops. Here is the place to hire the famous local transport – the "pousse- ousse"(rickshaw - prices vary from USD 2 to USD 10 per person.) Alternatively you could take an optional excursion to one of the volcanic lakes of the region, the spectacular 262 ft deep crater lake of Tritriva. After lunch we will depart for Ambositra, Madagascar’s capital for crafts and woodcarving. We should arrive at approximately 16:30 at our hotel and have the afternoon free to walk around the village and try your hand at bargaining for crafts.

Up early for a guided walk to some of the woodcarvers, where you are free to view or buy the collection of carvings, mainly from the Zafimaniry region. After this we travel south to Ranomafana and its National Park with impressive waterfalls, thermal baths and a wide variety of Lemurs and bird species.

Breakfast.

 

 

The Ranomafana National Park covers an area of 41 000 hectares and has dense rainforest of medium altitude with waterfalls and rapids. It is home to 12 species of Lemur including the golden bamboo hap lemur and is also an exceptional area for spotting 118 species of bird. Of these 68 are endemic to Madagascar. Well built trails allow you to see plenty of variety of vegetation and scenery, but it’s the sheer majesty of the forest itself that makes the Park so beautiful. Orchids, tree ferns, palms, mosses and a huge variety of flowering plants and bamboo, not to mention geckos, chameleons and beautiful little colored frogs. Ranomafana means ‘hot water’ and as it’s name suggests there are also hot thermal baths supposedly reported to have healing qualities. Its possible to hire a masseuse for an hour of pampered relaxation! Once again there are options for the length of walk you can do - 2 hours, 3 ½ hours and 5 hours. WildLife Adventures includes the services of a guide for the group. The rest of the day is free to visit the village or the thermal baths and to have lunch. We will head back to the Park at approximately 16:30 for an early evenings viewing of nocturnal lemurs, after which dinner is at your leisure.

Today we head south for Fianarantsoa (meaning ‘place of good learning’) and the capital of the Betsileo people. This is the second largest town in Madagascar and an education centre. The town is situated in the middle of the islands richest tea and wine producing area and the town is a maze of cobbled lanes, steep alleys and medieval architecture. You are free to explore the town and markets at your leisure. It’s also a good place to change money at and catch up with communications, and there is a large selection of restaurants and food stalls.

Breakfast.

Fax: (+261 20) 75 514 86

Departing after breakfast we head for Ranohiro. The journey will be broken up by a visit to a local paper factory in Ambalavao – this is an open-air factory, which is well worth the visit for a chance to see the step-by-step ancient paper making process. The people in this area are Betsileo, but their papermaking copies the coastal Antaimoro tradition, which goes back to the Muslim immigrants who wrote verses from the Koran on this paper. This Arabic script was the only form of writing known in Madagascar before the LMS developed a written Malagasy language nearly five hundred years later using the Roman alphabet. Antaimoro paper is traditionally made from the bark of the avoha tree from the eastern forests. After the bark is pounded and softened in water it is smoothed on to linen trays to dry in the sun. While still tacky, dried flowers are pressed into it and brushed over with a thin solution of the liquid bark to hold the flowers in place.

The village of Ranohira is situated on the edge of the Isalo National Park. This park covers 81,540 hectares of the wildly eroded Jurassic sandstone massif. The wildlife encountered here are the Fosa (largest mammal predator in Madagascar), the ring-tailed lemur, Verreaux’s Sifaka and the brown lemur. There is also an abundance of bird and chameleon species in the park.

We will arrive in Ranohira at approximately 17:30 and check in to your hotel. Dinner can be taken at the Isalo Ranch restaurant.

place where sandstone ridges have been sculpted by wind and water into weird and fantastic forms. As you may expect, there are a host of superstitions (locally known as ‘faddy’) and one tradition requires the placing of stones on existing mounds to worship the ancestors who guard the paths. Many of the rocks also play host to lots of old concealed Sakalava tombs.

Today we will start our 2-day and 1-night camping excursion into the fantastic Isalo National Park. After an early breakfast we depart for the Canyon entrance. It’s possible to divide the group up depending on levels of fitness. We will return to the hotel on day 11.

 

We will depart after breakfast for the southwest coast town of Tulear. The roads are badly potholed but the scenery is beautiful. We will arrive in Tulear and have three hours for lunch and exploring. Tulear is one of Madagascar’s main seaports. Banks, restaurants and souvenirs are available.

In the afternoon we’ll depart at for the coastal paradise of Itafy.

Itafy is fast becoming very popular for its stunning beaches and scuba and snorkel dive sites. You can take a walk along the gorgeous beaches, which stretch into tiny fishing villages. For the adventurous take a visit to the fascinating spiny forest, which is an amazing collection of baobab trees in weird and wonderful shapes.

It is also possible to go scuba diving, and snorkeling on the reefs by local pirok. For meals – there are great restaurants that all specialize in fresh seafood.

Today’s schedule depends on the flight departure times from Tulear to Antananarivo. We will have a chance for a last swim in the ocean before we head back to Tulear and await our outbound domestic flight back to "Tana"

The flight time is approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. We will be collected at the airport in Antananarivo and transferred to our hotel, and there should be enough time to visit a local craft market.

The rest of the day and evening is free to experience at your leisure in "Tana".

Breakfast.

Today’s schedule also depends on your flight departure times from Antananarivo. Your vehicle will be available for the morning and if your flights are later it is possible to visit the holy hill of Ambohimanga. We will then transfer you to the airport and assist with check-in procedures. A fond farewell to all of you from beautiful Madagascar! Breakfast.

This pre- departure information has been designed to assist you in preparing for your trip. All the information contained herein is given in good faith and has been carefully compiled. It must be accepted that details will change from time to time.

All clients are responsible for reading and understanding this pre departure information, and also reading and signing the standard booking terms and conditions. Your participation in this tour is based on these terms and conditions. Please note that we are offering this tour on a co-booking basis with Wildlife Adventures and our Madagascar ground operators. Guides are locally qualified and speak both English and French.

You should budget at least 300 – 400 US$ cash for the Madagascar Adventure, to cover all the optional activities you might like to try, as well as your drinks and the restaurant meals, crafts and souvenirs.

There are no other hidden expenses on this tour.

All travelers will require a full passport, and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have valid visas for all countries visited on your holiday, and / or sufficient blank pages for any visas and for entry/departure stamps. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after the end of your holiday. If you have more then one passport, we recommend that you use one passport only for the entire journey, this will save problems and potential delays at border crossings. Requirements differ depending on your nationality - check with the appropriate Embassies for details.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of the correct visas for your holiday and onward travel. WildLife Adventures cannot accept responsibility for anyone who is refused entry to a country because they lack the correct documentation. Please check the actual requirements with the necessary Embassy.

Please also do not assume that any inaccuracies within your documentation will be detected or can be rectified - you must ensure, that your "paper-work" is in order.

There will be times during the trip, when your passport will be collected e.g.: by your tour leader, hotel reception staff, or police.

Whilst we have been specific about which camps, lodges or hotels we may use whilst on tour, please note that accommodation on tour could change from that stated in this dossier or in our brochures. Hotels on average are of a good 2 star basis – do not expect any luxuries. Caraville can book hotel accommodation before and after the tour ends on your behalf. Please contact us.

All transport will be in 8 or 20 seater Toyota mini-buses that are NOT AIRCONDITIONED. Please note that roads can be good to bad on occasions, one should therefore not expect a first world coach tour.

We make every effort to follow the intended route of the itinerary in our brochure, however changes sometimes need to be made due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. This may result in missed areas and activities, diversions, and variations on night stops. Occasional operational uncertainties make it impossible to run adventure trips exactly to the intended itinerary, so when booking a trip you must accept that itineraries may differ from that published.

All of our trips are designed so that you can choose according to your own particular budget, which excursions you wish to partake in. Any activity marked ‘optional’ will be to the client’s expense. Your are able to assist with information of all the options on offer. We can book these excursions as an extra service to our clients.

Any one participating in an adventure safari must be in good health. Please see our terms and conditions for further information on this. Please note that Caraville Tours is not qualified to give you medical advice and you must contact your own doctor for information.

Clients are advised to bring a simple personal first aid kit. Malaria prophylactics are essential and must be taken prior to the trip and throughout its duration.

Recommended vaccinations and other health protection vary from country to country. We recommend that you contact your doctor and gain the correct medical advice about vaccinations. We do recommend that you have Tetanus, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Meningitis, and Hepatitis A and B.

All clients MUST have full medical and travel insurance cover before joining the tour. See booking terms and conditions for further information. Please inform your guide in confidence of any medical condition.

We do not advise that you bring highly valuable items with you on your trip. Use any hotel or lodge safes available. We suggest that at all other times you keep your money worn close to your body in a money belt or similar.

Sometimes political or civil unrest and other circumstances beyond the control of Caraville Tours will mean the group having to make alternative travel plans. We recommend that you bring emergency funds or have access to funds that you do not intend to use. Most insurance policies refund only after you have paid out.

Space in the vehicle is limited and we request that you pay particular attention to the following guidelines.

We suggest your luggage is restricted to 15 kilos (so you can comfortably carry it).

We recommend that you utilize old or inexpensive luggage. Suitcases are NOT suitable. You may use a small/ medium sized rucksack, provided that it has no frame.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY EXCESS LUGGAGE OVER THE ABOVE SPECIFIED WEIGHT LIMIT WILL NOT BE LOADED INSIDE THE VEHICLE. EXCESS LUGGAGE WILL BE STORED AND ANY COSTS INCURRED WILL BE THE PASSENGERS RESPONSIBILITY.

IMPORTANT

Please take your sleeping bag and toiletries with you on board the plane (sleeping bags and toiletries are difficult to replace in Africa should they be lost on your flight over).

1 sleeping bag & pillow. A warm sleeping bag is essential during the winter months (May-September). A small pillow, if required, may be packed in your sleeping bag or luggage. Some nights can be very cold.

1 day pack, to contain money, travel documents, water and camera equipment, etc. This will be allowed inside the vehicle.

1 waist pouch or money belt.

Most people make the mistake of taking along too much clothing. Take along comfortable, casual and semi-casual, "wash & wear" clothes. Bright colors and white are not suitable for game viewing. Please also avoid clothing resembling army uniform (i.e. army jackets, caps, and trousers).

This list below is purely a guideline:

1 pair of smart/casual trousers

3 pairs of shorts

7 shirts/T-shirts (any combination)

1 light cotton dress for the ladies

2 fleece / jersey for the cool evenings

1 wind-breaker / water proof jacket

1 warm jacket

1 pair of walking/running shoes

1 pair of sandals/ reef shoes (useful for showers)

Underwear and socks

1 swimming costume

1 sun hat

1 towel

IMPORTANT: Please dress appropriately when crossing borders (no bare feet, bare chests, no bikini tops, no sunglasses or hats), when visiting markets, villages, and towns and when traveling in the vehicle.

1 litre water bottle (essential)

1 torch with batteries (essential)

toilet paper

bath soap

toothbrush/toothpaste

shampoo & hair conditioner

deodorant

comb/hair brush

razor & blades (preferable battery operated shaver)

Suntan lotion/sun-block

Lip-balm

Hand cream & moisturising cream

Insect repellent

Tissues or disposable moist tissues (e.g. Wet Ones)

Washing powder

Plastic bags (to pack wet/dirty clothing)

Sunglasses

Spectacles (if worn) – some people have trouble with contact lenses & dust

Pen for immigration formalities

Note book

We suggest that you take along the following:-

Plasters/band aids

Aspirins/paracetamol

Anti-diarrhoea pills (consult your pharmacist for advice)

Throat lozenges

Antiseptic cream

Insect repellent

Anti-malaria tablets (refer to the MALARIA section)

Insect repellent (Jungle Formula)

Fungal infection powder

Rehydration powder

Eye drops

Sunscreen

Moisturiser

Any other medicines & toiletries you regularly use (e.g. tampons or condoms)

BANKING AND CURRENCY

Local currency is the Malagasy franc. Visitors must declare all foreign currency upon arrival. Some stores, hotels, and banks in the capital and in major cities accept traveller’s cheques. VISA cash advances can be obtained from a limited number of ATMs in Antananarivo, one of which (located in the lobby of the Madagascar Hilton) offers 24-hour service.

1 USD = MGF 6885

1 Euro = MGF 5900

1 Aus $ = MGF 3300

Officially the rainy season is from November through March and the dry season is April though October – in the high- lying areas the temperature can fall quite low and in Winter in Antananarivo the night time temperature falls to 0 degrees Celsius occasionally. The eastern coast tends to have a far wetter summer and winter than the rest of the country and the west coast generally has a shorter rainy season November through February. In the dry central areas very little rain is expected during the summer rains November through February.

Please note that the itinerary is flexible and will depend on local conditions. Traveling in Africa is sometimes unpredictable. By the very nature of traveling in remote areas there are unforeseen challenges to overcome and passengers must have a taste for adventure. Unforeseen circumstances due to problems with road conditions; weather, mechanical breakdown or accidents can delay and change the performance of the safari. Please be prepared for long drives on certain days. Please come prepared and pack a sense of humor!

Whilst we will make every effort to stick to the itinerary given please remember we are in Africa and things do not always run to plan! On rare occasions it may be necessary to make changes due to weather, health and security. These changes will be made in conjunction with the group but your Tour leaders decision will be final.

We are guests in each country we visit and it is only good manners that we comply with their customs. All participants are required to obey the law and regulation of the countries visited and any passengers contravening such laws may be required to leave the tour immediately with no right to refund of the tour fare.

As a form of respect and general courtesy towards local inhabitants and village dwellers, we do not encourage the complete invasion of their privacy and homes by tourists. There are certain villages that allow tourist visits at a minimal fee. Many tourists are happy to pay for this small charge for the opportunity of seeing the way in which local inhabitants live. If in doubt ask your guide for advice.

Most countries are members of CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Please do NOT purchase products made from ivory and skins. These may be confiscated by customs. Please be aware that the purchase of large wooden carvings places a strain on forest resources, and coral and shells are destructive to the reefs.

Please do not hesitate to discuss (in private) with the safari guide, any problem you may be experiencing on safari, in order that the leader can attempt to rectify the matter for you.

Please bring your own film, as sources can be expensive and unreliable in Africa. Please remember that taking photos of people can sometimes cause great offence and permission should be asked beforehand. In addition to this some African governments do not allow photos to be taken at any government, police or army post, borders, bridges or military roadblocks. If in doubt ask your guide.

Facilities in the remote areas that you will be visiting are somewhat primitive and at times non-existent. PLEASE COME PREPARED! At times we will stay in camps with facilities (e.g. hot and cold running water, showers, toilets, etc.). Participants are usually very quick to adapt themselves to the conditions of the safari. It’s all part of the adventure!

Any client with any special requirements, dietary or otherwise, should notify our Head Office in writing at least one week prior to departure. We will do our very best to accommodate you.

If you are looking for an extended visit to Africa or would like to try more then one adventure, you can. Our trips are scheduled so that you can connect with other departing adventures.

THE REPUBLIC OF MADAGASCAR, formerly known as the Malagasy Republic and the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, has undergone significant socioeconomic and political changes during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Occupying a strategic location off the southeast coast of Africa, the island historically became the target of British and French imperial ambitions. Ultimately, the competition resulted in French colonization at the end of the nineteenth century. The country gained full independence from colonial rule on June 26, 1960. Philibert Tsiranana headed the conservative regime of the First Republic, which was superseded in 1975 by a Marxist-oriented military regime under Lieutenant Commander Didier Ratsiraka.

In the face of rising political dissent and socioeconomic decline that reached its height at the beginning of the 1990s, the Second Republic succumbed to the wave of democratization spreading throughout the African continent. On March 27, 1993, the inauguration of Albert Zafy as the third elected president of Madagascar since independence marked the beginning of the Third Republic.

The ruins of fortifications built by Arab traders as far back as the ninth century underscore Madagascar's historical role as a destination for travelers from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Not until the beginning of the sixteenth century, however, did European ships flying Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French flags explore Madagascar's shoreline. Beginning in 1643, several French settlements emerged; the best known of these, Tolagnaro (formerly Faradofay) on the southeast coast, lasted for more than thirty years. The settlement survived in part because the colonists had taken pains to establish cordial relations with the Antanosy, the ethnic group inhabiting the area. Relations deteriorated later, however, and in 1674 a massacre of nearly all the inhabitants ended French colonization endeavors for more than a century; survivors fled by sea to the neighboring territory of Reunion.

This early checking of French imperial designs coincided with the spread of piracy into the Indian Ocean. In the absence of a significant naval power in waters remote from Europe, privateer vessels attacked ships of many nations for nearly forty years. The favorite hunting grounds were in the north in the Arabian Sea and Red Sea areas, but Madagascar was a popular hiding place where crews could recuperate and replenish supplies for another attack. By this time, the institution of slavery also had been implanted on the island. Madagascar became a source of slaves, not only for the neighboring islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, but also for more distant points, including the Western Hemisphere.

Madagascar's social and political structure facilitated the slave trade. Within several small coastal kingdoms, stratified societies of nobles, commoners, and slaves gave allegiance to a single king or queen. For example, the Sakalava ethnic group dominated the western and northern portions of Madagascar in two separate kingdoms. Menabe, on the barren western grasslands, had its first capital at Toliara; Boina, in the northwest, included the port of Mahajanga. The towns became centers of trade where cattle and slaves, taken in war, were exchanged with European merchants for guns and other manufactured goods. These political domains were occupied by the Betsimisaraka kingdom along the east coast and the southern coastal kingdoms dominated by the Mahafaly and the Antandroy ethnic groups.

The most powerful of Madagascar's kingdoms--the one that eventually established hegemony over a great portion of the island--was that developed by the Merina ethnic group. Before the Merina emerged as the dominant political power on the island in the nineteenth century, they alternated between periods of political unity and periods in which the kingdom separated into smaller political units. The location of the Merina in the central highlands afforded them some protection from the ravages of warfare that recurred among the coastal kingdoms. The distinction, recognized both locally and internationally, between the central highlanders (the Merina) and the côtiers (inhabitants of the coastal areas) would soon exert a major impact on Madagascar's political system. Organized like the coastal kingdoms in a hierarchy of nobles, commoners, and slaves, the Merina developed a unique political institution known as the fokonolona (village council). Through the fokonolona, village elders and other local notables were able to enact regulations and exert a measure of local control in such matters as public works and security.

Two monarchs played key roles in establishing Merina political dominance over Madagascar. The first, who ruled under the name of Andrianampoinimerina (r. 1797-1810), seized the throne of one of the Merina kingdoms in 1787. By 1806 he had conquered the remaining three kingdoms and united them within the former boundaries of Imerina, the capital established at the fortified city of Antananarivo. Radama I (r. 1816-28), an able and forward-looking monarch, succeeded to the throne in 1810 upon the death of his father. By adroitly playing off competing British and French interests in the island, he was able to extend Merina authority over nearly the entire island of Madagascar. Radama I first conquered the Betsileo ethnic group in the southern part of the central highlands and subsequently overpowered the Sakalava, an ethnic group that also sought at times to assert its hegemony over other groups. With the help of the British, who wanted a strong kingdom to offset French influence, Radama I modernized the armed forces. In 1817 the peoples of the east coast, facing an army of 35,000 soldiers, submitted with little or no protest; Radama then conquered the entire southeast as far as Tolagnaro. Particularly barren or impenetrable parts of the island escaped conquest, especially in the extreme south, but before his death Radama I succeeded in bringing the major and more hospitable portions of the country under Merina rule.

Radama I's interest in modernization along Western lines extended to social and political matters. He organized a cabinet and encouraged the Protestant London Missionary Society to establish schools and churches and to introduce the printing press--a move that was to have far-reaching implications for the country. The society made nearly half a million converts, and its teachers devised a written form of the local language, Malagasy, using the Latin alphabet. By 1828 several thousand persons, primarily Merina, had become literate, and a few young persons were being sent to Britain for schooling. Later the Merina dialect of Malagasy became the official language. Malagasylanguage publications were established and circulated among the Merina-educated elite; by 1896 some 164,000 children, mainly Merina and Betsileo, another ethnic group, attended the mission's primary schools. Along with new ideas came some development of local manufacturing. Much productive time was spent, however, in military campaigns to expand territory and acquire slaves for trade.

The reign of Radama I's wife and successor, Queen Ranavalona I (r. 1828-61), was essentially reactionary, reflecting her distrust of foreign influence. Under the oligarchy that ruled in her name, rivals were slain, numerous Protestant converts were persecuted and killed, and many Europeans fled the island. The ruling elite held all the land and monopolized commerce, except for the handful of Europeans allowed to deal in cattle, rice, and other commodities. Remunerations to the queen provided the French traders a supply of slaves and a monopoly in the slave trade. Enjoying particular favor owing to his remarkable accomplishments was French artisan Jean Laborde, who established at Mantasoa, near Antananarivo, a manufacturing complex and agricultural research station where he manufactured commodities ranging from silk and soap to guns, tools, and cement.

During the reign of Radama II (r. 1861-63), the pendulum once again swung toward modernization and cordial relations with Western nations, particularly France. Radama II made a treaty of perpetual friendship with France, but his brief rule ended with his assassination by a group of nobles alarmed by his pro-French stance. He was succeeded by his widow, who ruled until 1868, during which time she annulled the treaty with France and the charter of Laborde's company.

After 1868 a Merina leader, Rainilaiarivony, ruled the monarchy. To avoid giving either the French or the British a pretext for intervention, Rainilaiarivony emphasized modernization of the society and tried to curry British favor without giving offense to the French. He made concessions to both countries, signing a commercial treaty with France in 1868 and with Britain in 1877. Important social developments under his leadership included the outlawing of polygamy and the slave trade; promulgation of new legal codes; the spread of education, especially among the Merina; and the conversion of the monarchy in 1869 to Protestantism.

The French largely ended the attempts of Malagasy rulers to stymie foreign influence by declaring a protectorate over the entire island in 1894. A protectorate over northwest Madagascar, based on treaties signed with the Sakalava during the 1840s, had existed since 1882. But Queen Ranavalona III refused to recognize the 1894 effort to subordinate her kingdom to French rule. As a result, a French expeditionary force occupied Antananarivo in September 1895. A wave of anti-foreign, anti-Christian rioting ensued. In 1896 France declared Madagascar a French colony and deported the queen and the prime minister--first to Reunion, then to Algeria.

Nationalist sentiment against French colonial rule eventually emerged among a small group of Merina intellectuals who had been educated by Europeans and exposed to Western intellectual thought. The group, based in Antananarivo, was led by a Malagasy Protestant clergyman, Pastor Ravelojoana, who was especially inspired by the Japanese model of modernization. A secret society dedicated to affirming Malagasy cultural identity was formed in 1913, calling itself Iron and Stone Ramification (Vy Vato Sakelika--VVS). Although the VVS was brutally suppressed, its actions eventually led French authorities to provide the Malagasy with their first representative voice in government.

Malagasy veterans of military service in France during World War I bolstered the embryonic nationalist movement. Throughout the 1920s, the nationalists stressed labor reform and equality of civil and political status for the Malagasy, stopping short of advocating independence. For example, the French League for Madagascar under the leadership of Anatole France demanded French citizenship for all Malagasy people in recognition of their country's wartime contribution of soldiers and resources. A number of veterans who remained in France were exposed to French political thought, most notably the anti-colonial and pro-independence platforms of French socialist parties. Jean Ralaimongo, for example, returned to Madagascar in 1924 and became embroiled in labor questions that were causing considerable tension throughout the island.

Among the first concessions to Malagasy equality was the formation in 1924 of two economic and financial delegations. One was composed of French settlers, the other of twenty-four Malagasy representatives elected by the Council of Notables in each of twenty-four districts. The two sections never met together, and neither had real decision-making authority.

Only in the aftermath of World War II was France willing to accept a form of Malagasy self-rule under French tutelage. In the fall of 1945, separate French and Malagasy electoral colleges voted to elect representatives from Madagascar to the Constituent Assembly of the Fourth Republic in Paris. The two delegates chosen by the Malagasy, Joseph Raseta and Joseph Ravoahangy, both campaigned to implement the ideal of the self-determination of peoples affirmed by the Atlantic Charter of 1941 and by the historic Brazzaville Conference of 1944.

Raseta and Ravoahangy, together with Jacques Rabemananjara, a writer long resident in Paris, had organized the Democratic Movement for Malagasy Restoration (Mouvement Démocratique de la Rénovation Malgache--MDRM), the foremost among several political parties formed in Madagascar by early 1946. Although Protestant Merina was well represented in MDRM's higher echelons, the party's 300,000 members were drawn from a broad political base reaching across the entire island and crosscutting ethnic and social divisions. Several smaller MDRM rivals included the Party of the Malagasy Disinherited (Parti des Déshérités Malgaches), whose members were mainly côtiers or descendants of slaves from the central highlands.

The 1946 constitution of the French Fourth Republic made Madagascar a territoire d'outre-mer (overseas territory) within the French Union. It accorded full citizenship to all Malagasy parallel with that enjoyed by citizens in France. But the assimilationist policy inherent in its framework was incongruent with the MDRM goal of full independence for Madagascar, so Ravoahangy and Raseta abstained from voting. The two delegates also objected to the separate French and Malagasy electoral colleges, even though Madagascar was represented in the French National Assembly. The constitution divided Madagascar administratively into a number of provinces, each of which was to have a locally elected provincial assembly. Not long after, a National Representative Assembly was constituted at Antananarivo. In the first elections for the provincial assemblies, the MDRM won all seats or a majority of seats, except in Mahajanga Province.

Despite these reforms, the political scene in Madagascar remained unstable. Economic and social concerns, including food shortages, black-market scandals, labor conscription, renewed ethnic tensions, and the return of soldiers from France, strained an already volatile situation. Many of the veterans felt they had been less well treated by France than had veterans from metropolitan France; others had been politically radicalized by their wartime experiences. The blend of fear, respect, and emulation on which Franco-Malagasy relations had been based seemed at an end.

On March 29, 1947, Malagasy nationalists revolted against the French. Although the uprising eventually spread over one-third of the island, the French were able to restore order after reinforcements arrived from France. Casualties among the Malagasy were estimated in the 60,000 to 80,000 range (later reports estimated 11,000 casualties, of whom 180 were non-Malagasy). The group of leaders responsible for the uprising, which came to be referred to as the Revolt of 1947, never has been identified conclusively. Although the MDRM leadership consistently maintained its innocence, the French outlawed the party. French military courts tried the military leaders of the revolt and executed twenty of them. Other trials produced, by one report, some 5,000 to 6,000 convictions, and penalties ranged from brief imprisonment to death.

In 1956 France's socialist government renewed the French commitment to greater autonomy in Madagascar and other colonial possessions by enacting the loi-cadre (enabling law). The loi-cadre provided for universal suffrage and was the basis for parliamentary government in each colony. In the case of Madagascar, the law established executive councils to function alongside provincial and national assemblies, and dissolved the separate electoral colleges for the French and Malagasy groups. The provision for universal suffrage had significant implications in Madagascar because of the basic ethno political split between the Merina and the côtiers, reinforced by the divisions between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Superior armed strength and educational and cultural advantages had given the Merina a dominant influence on the political process during much of the country's history. The Merina were heavily represented in the Malagasy component of the small elite to whom suffrage had been restricted in the earlier years of French rule. Now the côtiers, who outnumbered the Merina, would be a majority.

The end of the 1950s was marked by growing debate over the future of Madagascar's relationship with France. Two major political parties emerged. The newly created Democratic Social Party of Madagascar (Parti Social Démocrate de Madagascar--PSD) favored self-rule while maintaining close ties with France. The PSD was led by Philibert Tsiranana, a well-educated Tsimihety from the northern coastal region who was one of three Malagasy deputies elected in 1956 to the National Assembly in Paris. The PSD built upon Tsiranana's traditional political stronghold of Mahajanga in northwest Madagascar and rapidly extended its sources of support by absorbing most of the smaller parties that had been organized by the côtiers. In sharp contrast, those advocating complete independence from France came together under the auspices of the Congress Party for the Independence of Madagascar (Antokon'ny Kongresy Fanafahana an'i Madagasikara-- AKFM). Primarily based in Antananarivo and Antsiranana, party support centered among the Merina under the leadership of Richard Andriamanjato, himself a Merina and a member of the Protestant clergy. To the consternation of French policy makers, the AKFM platform called for nationalization of foreign-owned industries, collectivization of land, the "Malagachization" of society away from French values and customs (most notably use of the French language), international nonalignment, and exit from the Franc Zone

After France adopted the Constitution of the Fifth Republic under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle, on September 28, 1958, Madagascar held a referendum to determine whether the country should become a self-governing republic within the French community. The AKFM and other nationalists opposed to the concept of limited self-rule mustered about 25 percent of votes cast. The vast majority of the population at the urging of the PSD leadership voted in favor of the referendum. The vote led to the election of Tsiranana as the country's first president on April 27, 1959. After a year of negotiations between Tsiranana and his French counterparts, Madagascar's status as a self-governing republic officially was altered on June 26, 1960, to that of a fully independent and sovereign state. The cornerstone of Tsiranana's government was the signing with France of fourteen agreements and conventions designed to maintain and strengthen Franco-Malagasy ties. These agreements were to provide the basis for increasing opposition from Tsiranana's critics.

A spirit of political reconciliation prevailed in the early 1960s. By achieving independence and obtaining the release of the MDRM leaders detained since the Revolt of 1947, Tsiranana had co-opted the chief issues on which the more aggressively nationalist elements had built much of their support. Consistent with Tsiranana's firm commitment to remain attached to Western civilization, the new regime made plain its intent to maintain strong ties to France and the West in the economic, defense, and cultural spheres. Not entirely sanguine about this prospect, the opposition initially concurred in the interest of consolidating the gains of the previous decade, and most ethnic and regional interests supported Tsiranana.

Similar to other African leaders during the immediate independence era, Tsiranana oversaw the consolidation of his own party's power at the expense of other parties. A political system that strongly favored the incumbent complemented these actions. For example, although the political process allowed minority parties to participate, the constitution mandated a winner-take- all system that effectively denied the opposition a voice in governance. Tsiranana's position was further strengthened by the broad, multiethnic popular base of the PSD among the côtiers, whereas the opposition was severely disorganized. The AKFM continued to experience intraparty rifts between leftist and ultra nationalist, more orthodox Marxist factions; it was unable to capitalize on increasingly active but relatively less privileged Malagasy youth because the party's base was the Merina middle class.

A new force on the political scene provided the first serious challenge to the Tsiranana government in April 1971. The National Movement for the Independence of Madagascar (Mouvement National pour l'Indépendance de Madagascar--Monima) led a peasant uprising in Toliara Province. The creator and leader of Monima was Monja Jaona, a côtier from the south who also participated in the Revolt of 1947. The main issue was government pressure for tax collection at a time when local cattle herds were being ravaged by disease. The protesters attacked military and administrative centers in the area, apparently hoping for support in the form of weapons and reinforcements from China. Such help never arrived, and the revolt was harshly and quickly suppressed. An estimated fifty to 1,000 persons died, Monima was dissolved, and Monima leaders, including Jaona and several hundred protesters, were arrested and deported to the island of Nosy Lava.

Another movement came on the scene in early 1972, in the form of student protests in Antananarivo. A general strike involving the nation's roughly 100,000 secondary-level students focused on three principal issues: ending the cultural cooperation agreements with France; replacing educational programs designed for schools in France and taught by French teachers with programs emphasizing Malagasy life and culture and taught by Malagasy instructors; and increasing access for economically underprivileged youth to secondary-level institutions. By early May, the PSD sought to end the student strike at any cost; on May 12 and 13, the government arrested several hundred student leaders and sent them to Nosy-Lava. Authorities also closed the schools and banned demonstrations.

Mounting economic stagnation--as revealed in scarcities of investment capital, a general decline in living standards, and the failure to meet even modest development goals--further undermined the government's position. Forces unleashed by the growing economic crisis combined with student unrest to create an opposition alliance. Workers, public servants, peasants, and many unemployed urban youth of Antananarivo joined the student strike, which spread to the provinces. Protesters set fire to the town hall and to the offices of a French-language newspaper in the capital.

The turning point occurred on May 13 when the Republican Security Force (Force Républicaine de Sécurité--FRS) opened fire on the rioters; in the ensuing melee between fifteen and forty persons were killed and about 150 injured. Tsiranana declared a state of national emergency and on May 18 dissolved his government, effectively ending the First Republic. He then turned over full power to the National Army under the command of General Gabriel Ramanantsoa, a politically conservative Merina and former career officer in the French army. The National Army had maintained strict political neutrality in the crisis, and its intervention to restore order was welcomed by protesters and opposition elements.

The Ramanantsoa military regime could not resolve rising economic and ethnic problems, and narrowly survived an attempted coup d'état on December 31, 1974. The fact that the coup was led by several côtier officers against a Merina military leader underscored the growing Merina/côtier polarization in the military. In an attempt at restoring unity, Ramanantsoa, on February 5, 1975, turned over power to Colonel Richard Ratsimandrava (a Merina with a less "aristocratic" background). Five days later, Ratsimandrava was assassinated, and a National Military Directorate was formed to restore order by declaring martial law, strictly censoring political expression, and suspending all political parties.

The political transition crisis was resolved on June 15, 1975, when the National Military Directorate selected Lieutenant Commander Didier Ratsiraka as head of state and president of a new ruling body, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC). The choice of Ratsiraka allayed ethnic concerns because he was a côtier belonging to the Betsimisaraka ethnic group. In addition, Ratsiraka, a dedicated socialist, was perceived by his military peers as a consensus candidate capable of forging unity among the various leftist political parties (such as AKFM and Monima), students, urban workers, the peasantry, and the armed forces.

Ratsiraka was elected to a seven-year term as president in a national referendum on December 21, 1975, confirming the mandate for consensus and inaugurating Madagascar's Second Republic. The guiding principle of Ratsiraka's administration was the need for a socialist "revolution from above." Specifically, he sought to radically change Malagasy society in accordance with programs and principles incorporated into the Charter of the Malagasy Socialist Revolution, popularly referred to as the "Red Book" (Boky Mena). According to this document, the primary goal of the newly renamed Democratic Republic of Madagascar was to build a "new society" founded on socialist principles and guided by the actions of the "five pillars of the revolution": the SRC, peasants and workers, young intellectuals, women, and the Popular Armed Forces. "The socialist revolution," explains the Red Book, "is the only choice possible for us in order to achieve rapid economic and cultural development in an autonomous, humane, and harmonious manner." The Red Book advocated a new foreign policy based on the principle of nonalignment, and domestic policies focused on renovating the fokonolona, decentralizing the administration, and fomenting economic development through rigorous planning and popular input.

Several early policies collectively decided by Ratsiraka and other members of the SRC set the tone of the revolution from above. The first major SRC decision was to bring the French-held sectors of the economy under government control. This "economic decolonization" was welcomed by nationalists, who long had clamored for economic and cultural independence from France. The government also lifted martial law but retained rigid press censorship. Finally, the SRC ordered the closure of an earth satellite tracking station operated by the United States as part of its commitment to nonaligned foreign relations.

Political consolidation proceeded apace following the addition of ten civilians to the SRC in January 1976. This act constituted the beginning of a civil-military partnership in that the SRC became more representative of the country's major political tendencies and ethnic communities. In March the Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution (Antokin'ny Revolisiona Malagasy--Arema) was founded as the government party, and Ratsiraka became its secretary general. In sharp contrast to the single-party states created by other African Marxist leaders, Arema served as simply one (albeit the most powerful) member of a coalition of six parties united under the umbrella of the National Front for the Defense of the Revolution (Front National pour la Défense de la Révolution--FNDR). Membership in the FNDR, necessary for participation in the electoral process, was preconditioned on party endorsement of the revolutionary principles and programs contained in the Red Book.

Ratsiraka and Arema clearly dominated the political system. In the fokonolona elections held in March 1977, for example, Arema captured 90 percent of 73,000 contested seats in 11,400 assemblies. In June 1977, Arema won 220 out of a total of 232 seats in elections for six provincial general assemblies, and 112 out of a total of 137 seats in the Popular National Assembly. This trend toward consolidation was most vividly demonstrated by Rasiraka's announcement of his 1977 cabinet in which Arema members held sixteen of eighteen ministerial posts.

Yet, less than three years after taking power, Ratsiraka's regime was confronted with growing popular disenchantment. As early as September 1977, antigovernment demonstrations erupted in Antananarivo because of severe shortages in foodstuffs and essential commodities. This trend intensified as the economy worsened under the weight of ill-conceived economic policies that gradually centralized government control over the key sectors of the economy, including banking and agriculture. Ratsiraka defiantly adopted authoritarian tactics in response to the evolving opposition, sending in the armed forces to stifle dissent and maintain order during student riots in May 1978. In the economic realm, however, Ratsiraka accepted the free-market reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund in order to ensure an infusion of foreign assistance vital to keeping the economy functioning. Whereas Ratsiraka's drift toward authoritarianism provided his enemies with political cannon fodder, his economic reforms led them to charge him with abandoning "scientific socialism" and alienated his traditional base of political supporters, as well.

The results of presidential elections within the de facto single-party framework that prevailed throughout the Second Republic clearly demonstrated Ratsiraka's declining political fortunes. Widespread initial enthusiasm for his socialist revolution from above secured him nearly 95 percent of the popular vote in the 1975 presidential elections, but support declined to 80 percent in 1982 and to only 63 percent in 1989. The year of 1989 marked a special turning point in that the fall of the Berlin Wall heralded the intellectual death of single party rule in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and similarly transformed electoral politics in Africa. In the case of Madagascar, increasingly vocal opposition parties denounced what they and international observers considered massive fraud in the 1989 presidential election, including Ratsiraka's refusal to update outdated voting lists that excluded the anti-Ratsiraka youth vote and the stuffing of ballot boxes at unmonitored rural polling stations. Massive demonstrations against Ratsiraka's inauguration led to violent clashes in Antananarivo that, according to official figures, left seventy-five dead and wounded.

Popular discontent with the Ratsiraka regime heightened on August 10, 1991, when more than 400,000 citizens marched peacefully on the President's Palace in order to oust the Ratsiraka government and create a new multiparty political system. Ratsiraka already faced an economy crippled by a general strike that had begun in May, as well as a divided and restless military whose loyalty no longer could be assumed. When the Presidential Guard opened fire on the marchers and killed and wounded hundreds, a crisis of leadership occurred.

The net result of these events was Ratsiraka's agreement on October 31, 1991 to support a process of democratic transition, complete with the formulation of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair multiparty elections. Albert Zafy, the central leader of the opposition forces and a côtier of the Tsimihety ethnic group, played a critical role in this transition process and ultimately emerged as the first president of Madagascar's Third Republic. The leader of the Comité des Forces Vives (Vital Forces Committee, known as Forces Vives), an umbrella opposition group composed of sixteen political parties that spearheaded the 1991 demonstrations, Zafy also emerged as the head of what became known as the High State Authority, a transitional government that shared power with the Ratsiraka regime during the democratization process.

A new draft constitution was approved by 75 percent of those voting in a national referendum on August 19, 1992. The first round of presidential elections followed on November 25. Frontrunner Zafy won 46 percent of the popular vote as the Forces Vives candidate, and Ratsiraka, as leader of his own newly created pro-government front, the Militant Movement for Malagasy Socialism (Mouvement Militant pour le Socialisme Malgache (MMSM), won approximately 29 percent of the vote. The remaining votes were split among a variety of other candidates. Because neither candidate obtained a majority of the votes cast, a second round of elections between the two frontrunners was held on February 10, 1993. Zafy emerged victorious with nearly 67 percent of the popular vote.

The Third Republic officially was inaugurated on March 27, 1993, when Zafy was sworn in as president. The victory of the Forces Vives was further consolidated in elections held on June 13, 1993, for 138 seats in the newly created National Assembly. Voters turned out in low numbers (roughly 30 to 40 percent abstained) because they were being called upon to vote for the fourth time in less than a year. The Forces Vives and other allied parties won seventy-five seats. This coalition gave Zafy a clear majority and enabled him to chose Francisque Ravony of the Forces Vives as prime minister.

By the latter half of 1994, the heady optimism that accompanied this dramatic transition process had declined somewhat as the newly elected democratic government found itself confronted with numerous economic and political obstacles. Adding to these woes was the relatively minor but nonetheless embarrassing political problem of Ratsiraka's refusal to vacate the President's Palace. The Zafy regime has found itself under increasing economic pressure from the IMF and foreign donors to implement market reforms, such as cutting budget deficits and a bloated civil service, that do little to respond to the economic problems facing the majority of Madagascar's population. Zafy also confronts growing divisions within his ruling coalition, as well as opposition groups commonly referred to as "federalists" seeking greater power for the provinces (known as "faritany") under a more decentralized government. Although recently spurred by the desire of anti-Zafy forces to gain greater control over local affairs, historically Madagascar has witnessed a tension between domination by the central highlanders and pressures from residents of outlying areas to manage their own affairs. In short, the Zafy regime faces the dilemma of using relatively untested political structures and "rules of the game" to resolve numerous issues of governance. "End".