# Fall of Antananarivo (30 September 1895)

URL: https://allhistories.com/madagascar/timeline/1895-fall-of-antananarivo
Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar
Themes: battle

In the last days of September 1895 the French column reached Antananarivo and began shelling the royal palace and the upper city. A shell fell in the palace courtyard, killing and wounding many, and the queen ordered the white flag to be raised. French troops entered the capital on 1 October, and Merina resistance ended. The shelling was brief but terrifying. The queen's court was sheltering in the palace. The army was routed, and the government had little choice but to negotiate. Dates vary: the bombardment is placed on 30 September, while the entry is often given as 1 October. The prime minister's authority collapsed, and the way was open for a treaty establishing a protectorate. The Rova was briefly under French guns. Panic spread through the city. The defenders were scattered. At the date of this event the principal authority over the largest part of present-day Madagascar, by the convention of this dataset, lay with Ranavalona III, Queen of Madagascar (1883 – 1895). The government was headed by Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony. The fall of the capital ended the independent Merina kingdom and began colonisation. The date remains one of the most important in Malagasy history, remembered as the loss of independence and the beginning of the colonial period. French historians saw it as the end of the expedition.

## Why it matters
A short bombardment ended the independent kingdom and opened French rule.

Ruler at the Time: [Ranavalona III](https://allhistories.com/madagascar/rulers/ranavalona-iii)

Prime Minister of Madagascar: Rainilaiarivony

## Sources
- [Second Madagascar expedition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Madagascar_expedition)
- [franco-hova.htm](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/franco-hova.htm)
- [187014](https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/Madagascar_histoire/187014)
- [Franco-Hova Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Hova_Wars)