11 Jul. 2018 | Ranavalona is a towering historical figure known to all as a great sovereign who resisted European domination and violently suppressed Christianity in her country. Her official portrait, however, is entirely false—she never posed for anyone.

Ranavalona: A Name Evoking Authority and Nationalism

An Unlikely Path to the Throne

Ramavo was born around 1788 to a cousin of King Andrianampoinimerina and was adopted by his eldest sister. She ascended into Madagascar's highest aristocracy bearing a name that already linked her to royalty: Rabodonandrianampoinimerina. Indeed, she was chosen to marry the future king Radama. In this union, she became a pivotal figure in Madagascar's history, embodying authority and nationalism. Her ascension to the throne already revealed her fierce determination, rigour, and courage. In 1828, upon Radama's death, her husband, she was not the legitimate heir to the throne. Rakotobe, the eldest son of Radama's eldest sister, was the rightful successor. Yet she demanded access to the crown—and obtained it with the backing of several courtiers, including Andriamamba, as well as numerous high-ranking officers and kingdom administrators, among them Andriamihaja (who would later become her husband), Rainijohary, and Ravalontsalama, alongside judges and guardians of the Sampy (royal talismans).

A Great Sovereign, Authoritarian and Fiercely Nationalist

At the beginning of her reign, Ranavalona continued the modernization her late husband had set in motion. However, she became increasingly aware that her country faced imminent colonization—either by the English or the French. French forces began forcibly seizing strategic points along the island's eastern coast, while the British progressively suffocated Malagasy customs through Christian missionary work. She then began to wage battle with legendary ferocity and severity against European influences, most notably Christianity. She brutally suppressed the practice of Christianity among her people and forbade British missionaries from evangelizing. She banned the celebration of the Eucharist, baptism, biblical teachings, and religious gatherings in homes. The missionaries, unwilling to relent, were ultimately expelled from the island in 1835.

The queen nonetheless continued modernizing the nation with the aid of Jean Laborde, an adventurer and ingenious figure who convinced the queen of his value to her kingdom, resulting in great achievements in metallurgical and chemical industries (cast-iron cannon foundry, glassworks, paper mills, sugar refineries, soap factories, etc.). Blinded by her holy war, the queen eventually ordered Jean Laborde's exile as well. During her reign, she successfully repelled assaults from French and British forces and hunted down Malagasy who had become Christian, making martyrs of them.

Ranavalona: No Authentic Portrait of the Queen Exists

As Ranavalona rejected all European influences that might impose dominance over Malagasy culture and identity, she refused to have her likeness captured, believing that photography steals the soul and thus kills the subject. The representation of the human person is what kills. This is why her husband Radama I died young—because he allowed his features to be drawn by the artist Coppalle, who painted his portrait. Shortly thereafter, he died (the portrait was executed in 1826, and he died in 1828), precisely because of this portrait that had captured his likeness.

The Role of Missionary William Ellis in Creating the Queen's Portrait

British missionary William Ellis arrived in the midst of this turmoil in 1856 and soon witnessed firsthand the violence with which Ranavalona fought against Christianity. He was present for a month during Ranavalona I's reign (August–September 1856) and returned only in 1862, summoned by King Radama II. He served as court photographer from 1862 to 1865, when he left Madagascar for good. He discovered with both shock and admiration the fervour of Madagascar's Christians. Upon his return to England, he gifted pages from the Book of Psalms—which Malagasy Christians had preserved at great personal risk—to the Museum of the Bible Society in London. He had exchanged these for a complete Bible. During his long stay, he had the privilege of approaching the royal family and managed to take a photograph of Rabodo, the future queen Rasoherina and Ranavalona's niece. It was from this photograph that architect Ramanankirahina Philippe (1860–1916) drew inspiration to create the portrait of Ranavalona I that would be inscribed into colonial historiography and official memory.

The Portrait of Queen Ranavalona: Fact and Fiction

In Ellis's photograph, Princess Rabodo wears a long dress with pleats and small bows down the front, holding a handkerchief and displaying hair parted in two with small braids adorned with flowers. In Ramanankirahina's portrait, colour has been added, a long purple cape added, a royal crown drawn upon the sovereign's head, and her gaze hardened. Ramanankirahina had undoubtedly drawn inspiration from descriptions left by foreign visitors, including William Ellis himself. In his writings, missionary William Ellis describes the queen as a woman of rather small stature, though she appeared robust. Her face was round with a well-formed forehead, small eyes, a short nose that was not wide, thin and well-drawn lips, and a slightly rounded chin. Her face and head were quite small but well-proportioned. She bore a nonchalant expression and appeared in excellent health, despite being 68 years old at the time. She wore a crown of gold plates adorned with jewellery and a trinket, probably a crocodile tooth, along with necklaces and large gold earrings.

Helihanta RAJAONARISON The Social Uses of Photography in Antananarivo (mid-19th – mid-20th century), History Thesis, University of Antananarivo, 2014, 523 pp.

Professor of History, University of Antananarivo

President of the Museum of Photography of Madagascar

Culture & Tradition History | Charlène Nomadays

A founding SEO editor at Nomadays who evolved into content manager and head of communications, Charlène has accompanied the adventure from its inception with passion and dedication. After seven years living across Asia—from China to Thailand, through Mongolia and South Korea—she has made travel a way of being in the world. A lover of words, nature, and human connection, she strives to convey in her writing a sensitive, engaged, and responsible vision of tourism. For her, each article is a bridge between curiosity, respect, and wonder.