Season 4 Episode 11: The Crisis of the 18th Century Part 1 - Andriamasinvalona's Blunder

<p>The 18th century will be a painful time for the people of Imerina. The once proud kingdom will devolve into a deadly multilateral civil war, splitting into dozens of smaller kingdoms, each suffering from intermittent famine and domination by foreign enemies. How could the kingdom of Andriamasinavalona, rapidly rising to become a major player in Madagascar, fall so far. The inciting incident lays at the feet of the otherwise great king Andriamasinavalona.</p><p>The mpanjaka Imerina had spread his kingdom several times beyond what his predecessors would have even considered possible. Could such a large kingdom survive in highland Madagascar? Andriamasinavalona believed that the answer was &quot;no.&quot; Instead, he favored transforming the Merina kingdom into a confederation of four smaller states called Imerina Efa Toko, or &quot;Imerina like the Legs of a Cooking Pot.&quot; The king&apos;s advisor Andriamampandry repeated warned him against the plan, cautioning that the newly empowered princes would immediately seek to make war with each other. But Andriamasinavalona persisted. </p><a rel="payment" href="https://patreon.com/historyofafrica">Support the show</a>