Ranavalona II baptized (1869)

Ranavalona II, Queen of Madagascar from 1868, entered a political marriage with Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony on 21 February 1869 in a public ceremony at Andohalo, on which occasion the court officially underwent conversion to Christianity. The baptism itself is not separately dated or located in the supplied passages.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Ranavalona II, born Princess Ramoma in 1829, succeeded Queen Rasoherina upon her death on 1 April 1868. She is best remembered for Christianizing the royal court during her reign. Rainilaiarivony, younger brother of the previous prime minister, had helped designate Ranavalona II the next monarch and consequently married her to retain his position.

Court Conversion. On 21 February 1869, Ranavalona II entered into a political marriage with Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony in a public ceremony at Andohalo. This event marked the official conversion of the court to Christianity. The queen subsequently declared Madagascar a Christian nation, replacing the authority of traditional royal talismans with that of the Bible.

Legacy. The 21 February 1869 ceremony at Andohalo, combining the queen's political marriage with the court's official conversion to Christianity, is remembered as the moment the royal court turned Christian. The September 1869 burning of the sampy and substitution of biblical authority followed within the same year.

People involved

Sources

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