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France declares Madagascar a protectorate

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country in the Indian Ocean that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands.

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country in the Indian Ocean that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's fourth-largest island, the second-largest island country, and the 46th-largest country overall. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.

Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from Africa during the Early Jurassic period, around 180 million years ago, and from the Indian subcontinent approximately 90 million years ago. This isolation allowed native plants and animals to evolve in relative seclusion.

Historical Significance

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country in the Indian Ocean that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands.

Events Before

  1. American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in

    American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1916

  2. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

    Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

  3. First volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, is published

    The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house.

  4. Siege of Khartoum, Sudan, begins by Mahdist forces and lasts ten months

    The siege of Khartoum (also known as the battle of Khartoum or fall of Khartoum) took place from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885.

  5. American mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (28) weds Louise M. Spooner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    American mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (28) weds Louise M. Spooner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Events After

  1. Karl Benz patents the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world's first automobile with an internal comb

    Karl Benz patents the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world's first automobile with an internal combustion engine [1]

  2. Inventor Thomas Edison (38) marries 2nd wife Mina Miller (20) in Akron, Ohio

    Inventor Thomas Edison (38) marries 2nd wife Mina Miller (20) in Akron, Ohio

  3. William Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill in the British House of Commons

    The Home Rule movement (Irish: Rialtas Dúchais) was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

  4. Painter Paul Cézanne (47) weds Marie-Hortense Fiquet (36)

    Painter Paul Cézanne (47) weds Marie-Hortense Fiquet (36)

  5. Nationwide demonstrations and strikes demanding an 8-hour workday begin in the US

    Socialism in the United States has encompassed various types of tendencies, including utopian socialists, anarchists, democratic socialists, social democrats, Marxist–Leninists, and Trotskyists.

More from the 1880s

The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic kno

The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]

The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jers

The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey

American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in

American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1916

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on December 17, 1885?
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country in the Indian Ocean that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's fourth-largest island, the second-largest island country, and the 46th-largest country overall. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.
Why is France declares Madagascar a protectorate significant?
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country in the Indian Ocean that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands.

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December 17 in HistoryYear 1885