Ranavalona I (c. 1778 – August 16, 1861), also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I, was a sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861.
EXCERPT: As far as Ranavalona was concerned, the only good
foreigner was a dead one. She broke treaties with both the English and the
French and banned Christianity. With a fanaticism that would have made Mary
Tudor proud, she came up with creative and inventive ways to eliminate any one
caught practicing Christianity. They were tortured, flung from cliffs, boiled
in water, poisoned, flung off cliffs or beheaded if they didn’t recant. She
also got rid of trial by jury and brought back good old fashioned ‘Trial by
Ordeal’ which was decided by forcing the accused to drink the poisonous juice
of the tanguena plant. If they survived, they were innocent.
Both the French
and the British spent considerable time and effort trying to dislodge
Ranavalona from the throne but to no avail. After one successful battle against
an invasion, Ranavalona cut off the heads of the dead Europeans, stuck them on
pikes, and lined them up on the beach, to repel any future invaders. After that
little display, the French and the English decided that were better off
concentrating their efforts on other third world countries not ruled by insane
females.
[From: “Queen Ranavalona I - The Mad Monarch of Madagascar (1782 - 1861),” Scandalous Women, Aug. 19, 2011]
***
***
***
***
***
***
[4242-1/10/21]
***
No comments:
Post a Comment