Line #149 UsefulNotes/Madagascar


1	[[quoteright:329:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/map_madagascar_47.gif]]
2	[[caption-width-right:329:They like to [[WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}} move it, move it]].]]
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4	A big island east of UsefulNotes/{{Mozambique}}, Madagascar ('''Malagasy:''' ''Madagasikara''), full name Republic of Madagascar ('''Malagasy:''' ''Repoblikan'i Madagasikara'', '''French:''' ''République de Madagascar'') is an island country located in East UsefulNotes/{{Africa}}.
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6	Once upon a time, the Indian subcontinent was firmly attached to Africa. They of course split, and most of the subcontinent drifted off to bang into Asia...but some bits and pieces of the old united continent remained, and Madagascar is the largest. Since this happened at about the same time as the Cretaceous-Paleogene exinction event (you know, the one that killed off the [[UsefulNotes/{{Dinosaurs}} non-avian dinosaurs]] and something like 75% of all species then living), this meant that when life got back on its feet, the island developed its own biodiversity, completely different to the rest of the world. Lemurs, among many other animals, are not found anywhere else in the wild.
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8	The country is also unique culturally in Africa. Unlike the rest of the continent, Madagascar was settled by the Malagasy people, speakers of an Austronesian language, specifically part of the Malayo-Polynesian group who had come across the Indian Ocean in ships, much as their Polynesian relatives crossed the Pacific. The closest relatives to the Malagasy language are on Borneo (of all places). The name ''Madagascar'' itself is a corruption of the Arabic phrase ''Jazirat al-Malaiyy'', which means "Island of Malay". When the phrase was coined in the 12th century, the Arabs conflated Madagascar with an island in the Malay archipelago (probably Sumatra, part of UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}}), which isn't helped since the people of both islands reputedly spoke similar languages (which aren't actually mutually intelligible, but to untrained ears, they certainly seemed that way). While the people of Madagascar speak a uniform language, their phenotypes range from being Southeast Asian-looking to one not much different to people from the African mainland. Typically, the folks from the central highlands (including the capital, Antananarivo) are closer genetically to their ancestors from Southeast Asia, compared to coastal people who are much more mixed.
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10	In any case, the Malagasy brought with them crops and livestock (e.g. bananas, taro, and pigs) from Southeast Asia, which is climatically quite similar to Madagascar and East Africa; it is hypothesized that contact with the Malagasy and their crops helped the Bantu colonize eastern and southern Africa (they had been having trouble before then, as their West African crops weren't always well-suited to the East African climate, and their cattle--their only large animal--kept succumbing to sleeping sickness).
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12	The island has had all kinds of governments: a bunch of tribes, a kingdom, part of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire and it was also administrated by the [[LesCollaborateurs Vichy regime]] before it was taken by the Allies during the Battle of Madagascar. The French proselytized the Malagasy to Catholicism, barring a few communities from the coast who have been devout Muslim for generations.
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14	After independence in 1960 it was governed by Philibert Tsiranana who, despite trying to disguise an authoritarian government as some sort of “benevolent schoolmaster” type of president, brought development to the country. However, his unpopular government was toppled and the country became an isolationist Soviet satellite until 1991, ruled by a military junta, whose political arm was called the Malagasy Revolutionary Party. After the UsefulNotes/HoleInFlag, the first multiparty elections were held in 1992, electing the first non-military president, Albert Zafy. The MRA would came to power again in 1997 under Didier Ratsiraka, ruling until disputed elections in 2002 brought them from power. A popular uprising in 2009 devolved into the military taking command of the country and putting Andry Rajoelina, mayor of Antananarivo, in charge (the youngest head of state in Africa, not even having 40). The government was not recognized internationally, being regarded as an illegitimate coup d’état. However, the opposition reached an agreement with them in 2011, presaging return to democracy in 2013. Rajoelina would become president again in 2018, this time through elections.
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16	Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, with most barely living on less than US$2 per day. The country benefits from its tourism industry; considering the island is like a completely different world, it's understandable. Madagascar is also known for having what amounts to an environmental holocaust. Despite its status as a biodiversity hotspot, with much of its flora and fauna found nowhere else on the planet, deforestation is rampant. This has caused widespread erosion as the island's reddish soil washes into the sea during rainstorms, making it look in satellite photos like the island is bleeding. It has also led to the extinction or endangering of many of its unique plants and animals.
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18	UsefulNotes/WorldWarII scholars might know of the [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Madagascar Plan]]. During the first years of the war, the Nazi government suggested that all the Jews in Europe could be deported to Madagascar, which at the time was controlled by their client state of Vichy France. There they could presumably form their own Zionist society isolated from the rest of the world (with supervision of Germany, of course). Eventually it was all dropped because Britain did not, as the Nazi government had hoped, show any interest in negotiating peace with Germany, and it was considered impossible to realize the plan against the resistance of the British navy and over the protests of the Vichy regime.
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20	[[WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar And no, there are no penguins on Madagascar.]], though vagrant [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_penguin African penguins]] might end up there, and there are Miocene remains.
21	----
22	!!In popular culture:
23	* Most of what pop culture knows about the country is no doubt filtered through the ''Franchise/{{Madagascar}}'' franchise, which depicts it as a nature paradise devoid of humans. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Madagascar Which couldn't be more different]]. To be fair, it's responsible for introducing a lot of flora and fauna (including the lemurs and fossas) that would have probably stayed obscure had it not existed.
24	* Madagascar is one of the prime targets of pandemic in ''VideoGame/{{Pandemic}}''. Contrary to what the game says, it is actually the 21st century world's capital of [[TheBlackDeath the plague]], totaling several hundred cases and several dozen deaths every year—up to 85% of the world's total. Not to mention that if you somehow managed to close off all of the island's ports and airports, it would still leave several thousand miles of coastline unmonitored, rendering the country's borders as secure as a single sheet of wet one-ply toilet paper—something that would be proven true when the country closed its borders during the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic.
25	* Myth/MalagasyMythology
26	----
27	[[AC:The Malagasy flag]]
28	https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madagascar_flag_8889.png
29	->The white vertical band and the red upper half drive from the colors of the Merina Kingdom, the island's last political entity prior to colonization, and also symbolize its roots in Southeast Asia (due to their visual similarity to the colors of UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}}), and the green lower half symbolizes the Hova, the islands' caste of free commoners who were instrumental in the overthrow of French rule.
30	----
31	[[AC:The Malagasy national anthem]]
32
33	->Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô!
34	->Ry Madagasikara soa.
35	->Ny Fitiavanay anao tsy miala,
36	->Fa ho anao, ho anao doria tokoa.
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38	->Tahionao ry Zanahary
39	->'Ty Nosindrazanay ity
40	->Hiadana sy ho finaritra
41	->He! Sambatra tokoa izahay.
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43	->Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô!
44	->Irinay mba hanompoan'anao
45	->Ny tena sy fo fanahy anananay,
46	->'Zay sarobidy sy mendrika tokoa.
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48	->Tahionao ry Zanahary
49	->'Ty Nosindrazanay ity
50	->Hiadana sy ho finaritra
51	->He! Sambatra tokoa izahay.
52
53	->Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô!
54	->Irinay mba hitahian'anao,
55	->Ka Ilay Nahary 'zao tontolo izao
56	->No fototra ijoroan'ny satanao.
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58	->Tahionao ry Zanahary
59	->'Ty Nosindrazanay ity
60	->Hiadana sy ho finaritra
61	->He! Sambatra tokoa izahay.
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63	->Tahionao ry Zanahary
64	->'Ty Nosindrazanay ity
65	->Hiadana sy ho finaritra
66	->He! Sambatra tokoa izahay.
67
68	--
69
70	->Ô Chère Terre de nos ancêtres
71	->Ô belle Madagascar
72	->Notre amour pour toi ne faillira pas
73	->Et restera à ta cause éternellement fidèle.
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75	->Benit, ô Créateur,
76	->Cette île de nos ancêtres
77	->Qu'elle connaisse joie et bonheur
78	->Et que nous soyons vraiment heureux.
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80	->Ô Terre de nos ancêtres chérie
81	->Nous espérons mettre à ton service
82	->notre corps, notre cœur, notre âme,
83	->qui est certes précieux et plein de dignité.
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85	->Benit, ô Créateur,
86	->Cette île de nos ancêtres
87	->Qu'elle connaisse joie et bonheur
88	->Et que nous soyons vraiment heureux.
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90	->Ô Terre de nos ancêtres chérie
91	->Nous implorons que tu sois bénie,
92	->par le créateur de l'Univers
93	->qui est la base de ton existence
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95	->Benit, ô Créateur,
96	->Cette île de nos ancêtres
97	->Qu'elle connaisse joie et bonheur
98	->Et que nous soyons vraiment heureux.
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100	->Benit, ô Créateur,
101	->Cette île de nos ancêtres
102	->Qu'elle connaisse joie et bonheur
103	->Et que nous soyons vraiment heureux.
104
105	--
106
107	->Oh, beloved land of our ancestors!
108	->Oh beautiful Madagascar.
109	->Our love for you will never end,
110	->And will remain forever loyal to you.
111
112	->Bless, oh Creator,
113	->This island of our ancestors
114	->May it have joy and happiness.
115	->And may we be truly happy.
116
117	->Oh beloved land of our ancestors!
118	->We wish to serve you
119	->With our body, heart and soul.
120	->which are precious and dignified.
121
122	->Oh beloved land of our ancestors!
123	->We pray that you be blessed,
124	->By the Creator of this world
125	->who is the foundation of your existence.
126
127	->Bless, oh Creator,
128	->This island of our ancestors
129	->May it have joy and happiness.
130	->And may we be truly happy.
131
132	->Bless, oh Creator,
133	->This island of our ancestors
134	->May it have joy and happiness.
135	->And may we be truly happy.
136	----
137	[[AC:Government]]
138	* Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
139	** President: Andry Rajoelina
140	** Prime Minister: Christian Ntsay
141	** Senate President: Richard Ravalomanana
142	** President of the National Assembly: Christine Razanamahasoa
143	----
144	[[AC:Miscellaneous]]
145	* '''Capital and largest city:''' Antananarivo
146	* '''Population:''' 28,427,328
147	* '''Area:''' 587,041 km
148	(226,658 sq mi) (46th)
149	* '''Currency''': Malagasy ariary (Ar) (MGA)
150	* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' MG
151	* '''Country calling code:''' 261
152	* '''Highest point:''' Maromokotro (2,876 m/9,436 ft) (72nd)

Context UsefulNotes / Madagascar