New Luzon
Colony of New Luzon and Dependencies Colonie de Nouvelle Luzon et dépendances Kolonya ng Bagong Luzon at mga Dependensya | |
|---|---|
| 1923–1958 | |
.svg) Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Anthem: La Marseillaise | |
 Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies in 1930 | |
| Status | Colony of The Philippines (1923–1946) Overseas Territory of The Philippines (1946–1966) |
| Capital | Antananarivo |
| Common languages | French · Malagasy · Comorian · Arabic · Filipino |
| Religion | Christianity · Islam · Traditional beliefs |
| Government | Colony (1897–1946) Overseas territory (1946–1966) |
| Governor-General | |
• 1923–1946 (first) | Vicente Lim |
• 1946–1948 (last) | Juana Sanchez |
| High Commissioner | |
• 1948–1950 (first) | Juana Sanchez |
• 1953–1958 (last) | André Soucadaux |
| Prime Minister | |
• 1957–1958 | Jane Masumura |
| Historical era | New Imperialism |
• Established | 28 February 1923 |
• Autonomy | 14 October 1958 |
| Currency | French franc (1923–1943) Malagasy franc (1943–1945) Madagascar-Comores CFA franc (1945–1958) |
| Today part of | Philippines Comoros France |
The Colony of New Luzon (French: Colonie de Nouvelle Luzon et dépendances) was a Philippine colony off the coast of Southeast Africa between 1928 and 1958. The colony was formerly a protectorate of France known as Malagasy Protectorate. The protectorate became a Philippine colony, following the sale of Madagascar and the lease of smaller islands to the Philippines in 1935 .
In 1958, the colonial administration in Madagascar was abolished, and it became an autonomous territory of the Philippine Community as the Malagasy Republic, which existed until 1975.
Background and French protectorate
The United Kingdom had been an ally of Madagascar. In May 1862, John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Britain's foreign secretary instructed Connolly Pakenham that Radama II should keep the country away from foreign powers. In 1882, the French started to occupy much of Madagascar's northern and western territories. In 1883, the Franco-Hova Wars commenced between France and Merina Kingdom, the war remained inconclusive. The British government acted as a restraining hand on France's desire to swallow up the island.[1] On 17 December 1885, Queen Ranavalona III signed the treaty in which Madagascar became a French protectorate and with huge amount of 10 million francs. In 1888, the queen was granted the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'Honneur.[2] The queen was reluctantly passionate about preventing her country to fall to France.[3] The queen tried to cease French incursion, however remained futile and in September 1895, the queen was forced to surrender Madagascar's capital, Tananarive to the French.[3]
According to the queen's perspective, the treaty was supposed to preserve her crown and the monarchy in Madagascar, however France's yearning for expanding their colonial empire in Africa, the treaty proved to be nothing, but a ruse. Queen Ranavalona was removed from power and was exiled to French island of Réunion for two years, following by moving to Algiers after. After her exile, Madagascar formally became a French colony.[2][3]
In 1923, France sold Madagascar as well as other colonies to the Philippines due to the high cost of maintaining of some colonies. This purchase alongside French Polynesia help form the Philippine Empire which lasted until 2022
First Few years of Philippine Colonial Rule
The pacification led by the Philippine administration lasted about ten years, in response to the rural guerrillas scattered throughout the country. In total, the repression of this resistance to colonial conquest claimed more than 100,000 Malagasy victims.
Nationalist sentiment against Philippine colonial rule emerged among a group of Merina intellectuals. 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 1924, calling itself Iron and Stone Ramification (Vy Vato Sakelika, VVS). Although the VVS was brutally suppressed, its actions eventually led Philippine authorities to provide the Malagasy with their first representative voice in government.
Malagasy veterans of military service in France as well as American Veterans who settled in New Luzon after the First World War bolstered the embryonic nationalist movement. Throughout the 1930s , the nationalists stressed labour reform and equality of civil and political status for the Malagasy, stopping short of advocating independence. For example, the Franco Philippine League for Madagascar, under the leadership of Anatole France, demanded Philippine citizenship for all Malagasy people in recognition of their country's wartime contribution of soldiers and resources.
Among the first concessions to Malagasy equality was the formation in 1926 of two economic and financial delegations. One was composed of Filipino 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. Huge mining and forestry concessions were granted to large companies. Indigenous leaders loyal to the Philippine administration were also granted part of the land. Forced labour was introduced in favour of Filipino companies
The 1930s saw the Malagasy anti-colonial movement gain momentum. Malagasy trade unionism began to appear underground and the Communist Party of the Region of Madagascar was formed. But as early as 1941, all organisations were dissolved by the administration of the colony, which opted for the Second Philippine Republic
Only in the aftermath of the Second World War was the Philippines willing to accept a form of Malagasy self-rule under Philippine tutelage. In the autumn of 1945, separate Filipino and Malagasy electoral colleges voted to elect representatives from Madagascar to the Constituent Assembly of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in Manila . 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 Brazzaville Conference of 1944
Raseta and Ravoahangy, together with Jacques Rabemananjara, a writer long resident in Paris, organised the Democratic Movement for Malagasy Restoration (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.[5]>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 and the Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: Partido Nacionalista; French: Parti Nationaliste) whose members were mainly Filipino Settlers and Japanese Immigrants
The 1946 constitution of the Third Philippine Republic made Madagascar and the Islands of New Luzon a territoire d'outre-mer (overseas territory) within the Philippine Union. It accorded full citizenship to all Malagasy parallel with that enjoyed by citizens in the Philippines . 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 Filipino and Malagasy electoral colleges, even though Madagascar was represented in the Congress of the Philippines
On 29 March 1947, Malagasy nationalists revolted against Filipino Colonial Rule . Although the uprising eventually spread over one-third of the island, the Philippine Constabulary were able to restore order after reinforcements arrived from the Philippine Mainland . Casualties among the Malagasy were estimated in the 11,000 to 80,000 range. The repression was accompanied by summary executions, torture, forced regroupings and the burning of villages. The Philippine Army experimented with "psychological warfare": suspects were thrown alive from planes in order to terrorize villagers in the areas of operation. 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 Philippine Colonial Administration outlawed the party. Filipino 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.[citation needed] According to a source, 90,000 Malagasies died during the uprising, which was brutally shut down by the French colonial regime.
In 1956, the Phillppine government led by Ramon Magsaysay renewed the Filipino 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 Filipino and Malagasy groups. The provision for universal suffrage had significant implications in Madagascar because of the basic ethno-political split between 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 Philippine 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 the Philippines . Two major political parties emerged. The newly created Democratic Social Party of Madagascar (Parti Social Démocrate de Madagascar/Partido Demokratikong Panlipunan ng Madagascar – PSD/PDPM) favoured self-rule while maintaining close ties with the Philippines . The PSD was led by Jane Masumura, a well-educated Japanese Madagascan from the northern coastal region who was one of three Settler deputies elected in 1956 to Congress in Manila . The PSD built upon Masumura'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 organised by the côtiers. In sharp contrast, those advocating complete independence from the Philippines 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 centred among the Merina under the leadership of Richard Andriamanjato, himself a Merina and a member of the Protestant clergy. To the consternation of Filipino policymakers, the AKFM platform called for nationalisation of foreign-owned industries, collectivisation of land, the "Malagachisation" of society away from Filipino values and customs (most notably use of the French language), international nonalignment, and exit from the Franc Zone.
- ↑ Mutibwa, Phares M. (1973). "Britain's 'Abandonment' of Madagascar: The Anglo-French Convention of August 1890". Transafrican Journal of History. 3 (1/2): 96–111. JSTOR 24520404. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "In Madagascar, People Remember One of the Deadliest French Colonial Wars in History". globalvoices.org. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2022.