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6
Manda
is a term used throughout Madagascar to designate a wall erected to protect an inhabited place and this word is also used to refer to the entire metropolitan area fortified this way.
• History of Toamasina
Described by Flacourt in 1651 as a ‘simple small village,’ Toamasina, whose original name is Tamatave, would become the first port
of Madagascar with a population of over 300,000 people. The importance of this city, which was only a small fishing village in the
16th century, increased exponentially in the second half of the 19th century. Before, traffic was more focused on the Sainte Marie,
Antongil Bay, and Fénérive triangle.
In the 18th century, the captains of European ships preferred to moor at these ports than in Toamasina to load rice, skins and slaves.
A little later, these activities were more concentrated in Foulpointe, where a
Manda
6
was constructed.
The late 18th century was a time of insecurity and unrest. Pirates still wandered the area and Ratsimilaho had just taken power.
The slave trade was very active - everyone was afraid of being captured. It was a period of violence, where successive alliances
and misalliances took place on the whim of the immediate interests of its protagonists. This situation continued until the mid-19th
century. At this time, the French tried to disrupt the development of English influence as much as possible. Becoming a political bet,
Toamasina was repeatedly bombed by either the English or the French. Seeing an attempt of French settlement, Robert Farquhar, the
English Governor of Mauritius, did not hesitate to bombard it in 1810 and shut down all traffic until 1814.
The first fortifications of the city date from this period. Meanwhile, encouraged by the French, a half-caste named Jean-René took
control of Tamatave and its surroundings with the blessing of his half-brother Fiche, a very influential notable in Ivondro. In 1816,
Jean-René wanted to extend his influence to the west and threatened the leaders of Beforona, who appealed for the protection of
Radama I. This could explain the importance of the sites in the Beforona and Ampasimbe region. It was an opportunity for Radama I
to attack Tamatave with 25,000 men. The attack was inevitable, but a treaty was signed very quickly. Radama I kept the Betanimena
area and Jean-René kept a certain authority over Tamatave. A type of modus vivendi was established between Radama I, King of
Imerina, and Jean-René, the King of Betsimisaraka. They were able to use this to hide their deep antagonism.
Radama I, pro English, and Jean-René, pro French, overcame their differences in order to benefit from the money generated by the
slave trade and the benefits of other trading. Revenues from the slave trade were used to buy guns. Farquhar, Governor of Mauritius,
used the British supremacy in the Indian Ocean to increase his political influence and disturb the French as much as possible. One of
his successes was a treaty putting an end to the slave trade.
