The Menalamba Rebellion Against French Rule

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By Jordan Lamont · Last updated 7 October 2026

Say it like a local: menalamba (meh-na-LAM-ba) — “red shawls,” from mena (red) and lamba (cloth).

In September 1895, French troops marched into Antananarivo and took the royal palace, ending centuries of Malagasy sovereignty. The kingdom did not go quietly. Within months a fierce rural rebellion rose across the highlands — fighters in red-stained shawls who vowed to drive out every foreigner and every foreign faith. The Menalamba rising was Madagascar’s first great refusal of colonial rule, and its story has been fought over ever since.

A kingdom conquered, a countryside in revolt

The trigger was the fall of the capital. When France captured the royal palace in September 1895 and imposed colonial rule, resentment that had been building across the Merina heartland boiled over. From December 1895 the Menalamba — the “Red Shawls” — took up arms, and the rising spread so fast that by 1896 it threatened Antananarivo itself. French forces fought to put it down, securing surrenders through 1897, with embers of resistance flickering on until 1903.

What the Red Shawls were fighting for

This was not only an anti-colonial war; it was a cultural counter-revolution. The Menalamba had two blunt aims: to expel all foreigners and to eradicate Christianity, which many saw as the spiritual arm of foreign domination. In their fury they razed an estimated 750 churches, more than 70% of them belonging to the London Missionary Society. To the rebels, the cross and the colonial flag had arrived together — and had to leave together.

A myth the French found useful

For decades the accepted story, promoted by the colonial government, was that the uprising had been masterminded by the old Merina aristocracy clinging to power. It was a convenient narrative — it justified purging the former ruling class. But research in later-opened archives tells a different story: the role of the old court oligarchy was, in fact, close to nil. The Menalamba was a genuinely popular, locally led revolt — figures like Rabozaka and Rabezavana leading fighters from the countryside, not courtiers from the palace.

Why it matters today

The Menalamba is where modern Malagasy resistance begins — the first mass rejection of colonial rule, half a century before independence, and a reminder that the conquest of 1895 was never quietly accepted. Travelling the central highlands and Antananarivo, you are moving through the landscape where it unfolded. Put it in context with our Madagascar travel guide.

FAQ

What was the Menalamba rebellion?

A Merina-led uprising against French colonial rule, 1895–1897, named for the rebels’ “red shawls.” It aimed to expel foreigners and roll back Christianity after France seized the royal palace.

What does “Menalamba” mean?

“Red shawls” — from mena (red) and lamba (the Malagasy cloth) — said to come from the red-earth-stained lambas the fighters wore.

Did it succeed?

No. French forces suppressed it by 1897, with scattered resistance to 1903 — but it was an early, powerful rejection of colonial rule.

Who really led it?

Local leaders such as Rabozaka and Rabezavana — not, as French propaganda claimed, the old Merina court, whose role research has shown was minimal.