Not many outsiders know about the 60 year-old Madagascar-Morocco connection. I first discovered it when I was looking on google maps and noticed a Mohammed V street in downtown Antananarivo running along the eastern side of Lake Anosy. With the Francophonie Summit fast approaching (to be held in Tana this November), there are rumors that a Moroccan king will once once again return to Madagascar--this time it will be Mohammed VI...with an entourage of 300.
Having been interested in Morocco since I lived there in 5th grade I decided to do a little digging (it's worth noting that there's close to nothing written about King Mohammed V's (pronounced as Mohamed Cinq) exile in Madagascar in English. Everything that follows has been culled from multiple French sources).
It turns out that France exiled the Sultan Mohammed V to Madagascar from 1953-55--a plan that backfired on them--only intensifying anti-colonial sentiment and violence. In fact, as one of the US political officer's in Rabat at the time recalls, the French literally grabbed the Sultan out of his palace in the middle of the night (20 August 1953) and put him on a DC3 airliner. But of course, he didn't fly direct to Morocco--the HuffPost Maghreb (didn't even know that was a thing did you?) has an interactive overview of the actual path he took.
His first stop was on the island of Corsica where he initially refused to exit the plane because he thought he was going to be executed. This was after a 7 hour flight on the spartan aircraft during which the royal family were only offered hastily-made ham sandwiches. He then stayed for two weeks in the prefecture palace before the French decided to move him to the southern countryside of the island at the hotel du Mouflon d'Or--the hotel is still open today, you can check out its circa 2000 website here. Evidently, however, the cold mountain air affected the Sultan's health so on 24 October they moved him to northwest end of the island in the town of Ile-Rousse where he stayed at the Hotel Napoleon Bonaparte. When Count Clauzel visited the Sultan there he remarked on the Sultan's pitiable state as he lay about unshaven. He coordinated with the French government to embark the Sultan and his family to Madagascar on a DC-4 on or about 27 January 1954 (with a brief stopover in Brazzaville)
Upon his arrival in Antananarivo, the Sultan, his two sons, his six months pregnant second wife, and his 8 concubines were moved 170 km south to the town of Antsirabe. The French originally put his family in the empty military center before moving him to the Hotel des Thermes. The move to the hotel was prompted by the impending arrival of the Sultan's first wife (and their three daughters)--he needed more room! Known for its thermal baths, Antsirabe turned out to be an ideal location for the Sultan who was worried because of his second son Moulay Rachid's heart condition.
The "View from Fez" blog has a nice short writeup on the Hotel des Thermes in Antsirabe where the Sultan M5 spent most of his time.
There's been a decent amount written about M5's time in Antsirabe. Evidently, the Sultan had a religious routine but his two sons and their friends got into a lot of trouble spending money on credit. chasing women and getting into fights. Another familiar sight was the Sultan's harem parading through town Indian file all veiled up. The Sultan was such a regular sight in town that most locals didn't even look twice at him. Three months after he arrived the princess Lalla Amina was born there in Antsirabe (she died in 2012).
On 6 November 1955 he would finally be called to Paris to sign an accord with Prime Minister Antoine Pinay as a precursor to Moroccan independence. Leaving Antsirabe, they ended up giving much of their possessions to local staff and friends to include their sewing machines...so there's someone in Antsirabe with the royal family's sewing machine today. The Sultan bade farewell to Antsirabe, driven north in a Ford auotomobile driven by his oldest son--leaving one to wonder: where is that car today?:
AUTHOR'S NOTE: All that said, the initial thing that opened up this rabbit's hole (i.e., the google map random viewing of Mohammed V boulevard) might not even be legit. Until a year ago, anyone could go onto google map maker and name any vacant streets in Antananarivo themselves. I did this myself which you can read about here.
References and links for further research:
TELQUEL: The True History of the Exile of the Alouites
MAGHREB HUFFPOST: The Exile of Mohamed V
SLATE AFRICA: The True History of the Alouite Exile
ASSTN OF DIPLOMATIC STUDIES AND TRAINING: French Colony to Sovereign Naiton
JEUNE AFRIQUE: Mohamed V's Life in Madagascar
Having been interested in Morocco since I lived there in 5th grade I decided to do a little digging (it's worth noting that there's close to nothing written about King Mohammed V's (pronounced as Mohamed Cinq) exile in Madagascar in English. Everything that follows has been culled from multiple French sources).
It turns out that France exiled the Sultan Mohammed V to Madagascar from 1953-55--a plan that backfired on them--only intensifying anti-colonial sentiment and violence. In fact, as one of the US political officer's in Rabat at the time recalls, the French literally grabbed the Sultan out of his palace in the middle of the night (20 August 1953) and put him on a DC3 airliner. But of course, he didn't fly direct to Morocco--the HuffPost Maghreb (didn't even know that was a thing did you?) has an interactive overview of the actual path he took.
His first stop was on the island of Corsica where he initially refused to exit the plane because he thought he was going to be executed. This was after a 7 hour flight on the spartan aircraft during which the royal family were only offered hastily-made ham sandwiches. He then stayed for two weeks in the prefecture palace before the French decided to move him to the southern countryside of the island at the hotel du Mouflon d'Or--the hotel is still open today, you can check out its circa 2000 website here. Evidently, however, the cold mountain air affected the Sultan's health so on 24 October they moved him to northwest end of the island in the town of Ile-Rousse where he stayed at the Hotel Napoleon Bonaparte. When Count Clauzel visited the Sultan there he remarked on the Sultan's pitiable state as he lay about unshaven. He coordinated with the French government to embark the Sultan and his family to Madagascar on a DC-4 on or about 27 January 1954 (with a brief stopover in Brazzaville)
Upon his arrival in Antananarivo, the Sultan, his two sons, his six months pregnant second wife, and his 8 concubines were moved 170 km south to the town of Antsirabe. The French originally put his family in the empty military center before moving him to the Hotel des Thermes. The move to the hotel was prompted by the impending arrival of the Sultan's first wife (and their three daughters)--he needed more room! Known for its thermal baths, Antsirabe turned out to be an ideal location for the Sultan who was worried because of his second son Moulay Rachid's heart condition.
The "View from Fez" blog has a nice short writeup on the Hotel des Thermes in Antsirabe where the Sultan M5 spent most of his time.
There's been a decent amount written about M5's time in Antsirabe. Evidently, the Sultan had a religious routine but his two sons and their friends got into a lot of trouble spending money on credit. chasing women and getting into fights. Another familiar sight was the Sultan's harem parading through town Indian file all veiled up. The Sultan was such a regular sight in town that most locals didn't even look twice at him. Three months after he arrived the princess Lalla Amina was born there in Antsirabe (she died in 2012).
On 6 November 1955 he would finally be called to Paris to sign an accord with Prime Minister Antoine Pinay as a precursor to Moroccan independence. Leaving Antsirabe, they ended up giving much of their possessions to local staff and friends to include their sewing machines...so there's someone in Antsirabe with the royal family's sewing machine today. The Sultan bade farewell to Antsirabe, driven north in a Ford auotomobile driven by his oldest son--leaving one to wonder: where is that car today?:
 |
| Pinay and M5 |
10 days later, he would return to Morocco after an exile of more than two years. Some four months later on March 2, 1956 Morocco would officially won its independence from France with M5 ushering in a constitutional monarchy and a very gradual shift from French influence.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: All that said, the initial thing that opened up this rabbit's hole (i.e., the google map random viewing of Mohammed V boulevard) might not even be legit. Until a year ago, anyone could go onto google map maker and name any vacant streets in Antananarivo themselves. I did this myself which you can read about here.
References and links for further research:
TELQUEL: The True History of the Exile of the Alouites
MAGHREB HUFFPOST: The Exile of Mohamed V
SLATE AFRICA: The True History of the Alouite Exile
ASSTN OF DIPLOMATIC STUDIES AND TRAINING: French Colony to Sovereign Naiton
JEUNE AFRIQUE: Mohamed V's Life in Madagascar
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