II2 
MADAGASCAR 
the office of prime minister has always remained in this 
family. 
The victory of English over French policy was com¬ 
plete. The undiplomatic Radama II., enthusiastic as 
he was for European culture, had to pay the reckoning, 
and he paid it with his life. He was the victim of French 
adventurers and English egoists. 
It must be granted that the English were clever 
enough to make energetic use of the circumstances of 
the time. Respectable houses of business from London 
began to settle in the capital as well as on the coast; 
the importation of English goods was favoured, missio¬ 
naries and merchants gained complete influence over the 
Rainiharo family, which was actually in possession of 
supreme power. From this time there was always a 
woman on the throne, married to the prime minister and 
remaining a mere figurehead. When Rosaoherina died 
in 1868 Ranavalona II. succeeded to the throne, and in 
1883, Ranavalona III. The missionaries displayed con¬ 
spicuous energy and the Hova kingdom became practi¬ 
cally a colony of the London Missionary Society, the 
political power lay in the hands of the reverend gentle¬ 
men, and when any one entered the presence chamber 
of the prime minister the latter would point with pride 
to the valuable presents from English clergymen which 
lay around. 
Then came the year 1870 with the terrible defeat of 
the French. The. earth-shakine news from the seat of 
war was scarcely expected with greater eagerness at Berlin 
than it was in Antananarivo. The issue of the Franco- 
German war deprived the French of the last remains of 
influence with the Hova government. 
Prostrate as she was, France was in no wise able 
to make good her claims, and the Hova, evidently 
prompted by the English, began to become quite impU' 
dent. Several methodists, first Kestell Kornish and 
