Kingdom of Imerina

The Kingdom of Imerina, also known as the Kingdom of Madagascar, was a precolonial state centered in the central highlands of Madagascar that expanded from its core territory of Imerina to dominate most of the island by the early nineteenth century. Tradition credits its founding to Andriamanelo in 1540, and the kingdom's Merina rulers maintained both a spiritual capital at Ambohimanga and, later in its history, a political capital at Antananarivo, the city that remains the seat of government of modern Madagascar. Nineteenth-century monarchs built a centralized administration, a standing army, and diplomatic and trade relations with European powers, while resisting full colonial absorption for decades. Imerina's independence ended in 1897 when France formally deposed the monarchy and incorporated Madagascar into the French colonial empire.