The Betsimisaraka ("the many inseparables") are the second largest ethnic group in Madagascar after the Merina and make up approximately fifteen percent of the Malagasy people. They occupy a large stretch of the eastern coastal region of Madagascar, from Mananjary in the south to Antalaha in the north. The Betsimisaraka have a long history of extensive interaction with European seafarers, pirates and bourgeois traders, which produced a significant subset with mixed European-Malagasy origins, termed the . European influence is evident in the local (waltz) and musical genres, which are typically performed on the accordion. (spirit possession) ceremonies feature strongly in Betsimisaraka culture.
Through the late 17th century, the various clans of the eastern coastal region were governed by chieftains who typically ruled over one or two villages. A pirate named Ratsimilaho emerged to unite these clans under his rule in 1710. His reign lasted 50 years and established a sense of common identity and stability throughout the kingdom. But his successors gradually weakened this union, leaving it vulnerable to the growing influence and presence of European and particularly French settlers, (slave traders), missionaries and merchants. The fractured Betsimisaraka kingdom was easily colonised in 1817 by Radama I, king of Imerina who ruled from its capital at Antananarivo in the Central Highlands. The subjugation of the Betsimisaraka in the 19th century left the population relatively impoverished; under colonisation by the French (1896-1960), a focused effort was made to increase access to education and paid employment working on French plantations. Production of former plantation crops like vanilla, ylang-ylang, coconut oil, and coffee remain the principal economic activity of the region beyond subsistence farming and fishing, although mining is also a source of income.
Culturally, the Betsimisaraka can be divided into northern and southern sub-groups. Many elements of culture are common across both groups, including respect for ancestors, spirit possession, the ritual sacrifice of zebu, and a patriarchal social structure. The groups are distinguished by linguistic sub-dialects and various (taboos), as well as certain funeral practices and other customs. The Betsimisaraka practice (reburial) and (circumcision) and believe in sorcery and a wide range of supernatural forces. Many taboos and folktales revolve around lemurs and crocodiles, both of which are common throughout Betsimisaraka territory.
Ethnic identity
The Betsimisaraka constitute approximately 15 percent of the population of Madagascar and numbered over 1,500,000 in 2011. A sub-set of the population, the , has partly European origins resulting from generations of intermarriage between the local Malagasy population and European pirates, sailors and traders who docked or settled along the eastern coast. Like the Sakalava to the west, the Betsimisaraka are composed of numerous ethnic sub-groups that formed a confederation in the early 18th century. Like all Malagasy groups, the Betsimisaraka are of mixed Bantu African and Austronesian Asian ancestry. However, they are among the Malagasy communities with a stronger East African Bantu heritage, with the average individual having about 70% East African ancestry. As a result, the Betsimisaraka tend to have more African than Asian physical features compared to the Merina people. The Betsimisaraka occupy a long, narrow band of territory that stretches along the east coast of Madagascar from Mananjary in the south to Antalaha in the north, including the island's main port at Toamasina and the major towns of Fénérive Est and Maroansetra. They are often subdivided into northern Betsimisaraka (Antavaratra) and southern Betsimisaraka (Antatsimo), separated by the Betanimena Betsimisaraka sub-clan (called the Tsikoa before around 1710).
History Until the beginning of the 18th century, the peoples who would constitute the core of the Betsimisaraka were organized into numerous clans under the authority of chiefs () who each typically ruled over no more than one or two villages. Those around Antongil Bay in the north held a comparatively more official position, with regalia of leadership attested since at least 1500. The presence of natural bays along the northern coastline that became the port towns of Antongil, Titingue, Foulpointe, Fenerive and Tamatave favored the economic and political development of the Antavaratra Betsimisaraka; the southern portion of this coastline, by contrast, lacked any areas suitable for ports. Villagers in the areas surrounding the ports exported rice, cattle, slaves and other goods to the nearby Mascarene Islands. The eastern ports' strategic position for regional trade attracted the heaviest settlement of Europeans to this portion of the island, particularly including British and American pirates whose numbers dramatically increased from the 1680s to the 1720s along the coast from modern day Antsiranana in the north to Nosy Boraha and Foulpointe to the east. Intermarriage between these European pirates and the daughters of local chiefs produced a large mixed population termed .
Around 1700 the Tsikoa began uniting around a series of powerful leaders. Ramanano, the chief of Vatomandry, was elected in 1710 as the leader of the Tsikoa ("those who are steadfast") and initiated invasions of the northern ports. According to oral histories, Ramanano established an armed militia at Vohimasina which he sent on incursions to burn neighboring villages, desecrate local tombs, and enslave the women and children, contributing to his reputation as a cruel and unpopular leader. A northern Betsimisaraka named Ratsimilaho, who was born to the daughter of a local and a British pirate named Thomas Tew around 1694 and had briefly traveled with his father to England and India, led a resistance to these invasions and successfully united his compatriots around this cause despite his young age. He captured Fenerive in 1712, causing the Tsikoa to flee across soggy red fields of clay that stuck to their feet, earning them the new name of Betanimena ("Many of Red Earth"). Ratsimilaho was elected king of all the Betsimisaraka and given a new name, Ramaromanompo ("Lord Served by Many") at his capital at Foulpointe. He gave his northern compatriots the name Betsimisaraka to reaffirm their unity in the face of their enemies. He then negotiated peace with the Betanimena by offering their king control over the port of Tamatave, but this settlement fell apart after six months, leading Ratsimilaho to recapture Tamatave and force the Betanimena king to flee south. He established alliances with the southern Betsimisaraka and the neighboring Bezanozano, extending his authority over these areas by allowing local chiefs to maintain their power while offering tribute of rice, cattle and slaves; by 1730 he was one of the most powerful kings of Madagascar. By the time of his death in 1754, his moderate and stabilizing rule had provided nearly forty years of unity among the diverse clans within the Betsimisaraka political union. He also allied the Betsimisaraka with the other most powerful kingdom of the time, the Sakalava of the west coast, through marriage with Matave, the only daughter of Iboina king Andrianbaba.
Ratsimilaho's son Zanahary succeeded him in 1755. A despotic leader, Zanahary launched a series of attacks against villages under his authority and was assassinated by his own subjects in 1767. Zanahary was succeeded by his son Iavy, who was detested for continuing his father's practice of attacking villages under his control, and for enriching himself by cooperating with French slave traders. During the reign of Iavy, an eastern European adventurer named Maurice Benyowsky established a settlement in Betsimisaraka country and proclaimed himself king of Madagascar, persuading several local chieftains to no longer pay tribute to Iboina. This action provoked Sakalava ire, and in 1776 Sakalava soldiers invaded the area to punish the Betsimisaraka inhabitants and kill Benyowsky, but were ultimately unsuccessful in the latter goal. Zakavolo, Iavy's son, succeeded his father upon his death in 1791. European accounts disparage Zakavolo for insisting that they provide him with gifts, and for insulting them when the Europeans refused to meet his demands. His subjects deposed him in 1803 with the assistance of then Governor General Magallon, who administered the French island territories; Zakavolo was eventually assassinated by his ex-subjects. Throughout the decades following Ratsimilaho's death, the French established control over Ile Sainte Marie and had established trading ports throughout Betsimisaraka territory. By 1810 a French envoy named Sylvain Roux effectively had economic control over the port city, although it was nominally governed by Zakavolo's uncle Tsihala. A dispute among Tsihala's male relatives over control of the city led to further fracturing of Betsimisaraka political unity, weakening the ability of the Betsimisaraka to unite against increasing foreign encroachment. He lost power the following year to another zana-malata, Jean Rene, who maintained close cooperation with the French.