Antananarivo
[key], city (2021 metro. area pop. 3,531,887), capital of Madagascar. Antananarivo is
Madagascar's largest city and is its administrative, communications, and economic center. It
is the trade center for a productive agricultural region, whose main crop is rice. Railroads
connect Antananarivo with Toamasina, the country's chief port, and Antsirabe. Its manufactures
include food products (especially meat), beverages, cigarettes, and textiles. Antananarivo was
founded c.1625 as a walled citadel. In 1797 it was made the fixed residence of the Merina
rulers. The conquests of the Merina king Radama I (reigned 1810–28) made Antananarivo
the capital of almost all Madagascar. The city was captured by the French in 1895 and
incorporated into their Madagascar protectorate. The city is built on the slopes of a ridge
that rises to c.4,700 ft (1,430 m). At the top of the ridge is the former Merina royal
residence (destroyed by by fire in
1995);
below, in descending order, are the administrative and financial areas and the commercial
quarter. The Univ. of Madagascar (1961) and the Collège Rural d'Ambatobe are there as
well as a Pasteur Institute and an astronomical observatory.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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