On March 29, the people of Madagascar celebrate Martyrs' Day in Madagascar, also known as Rebellion Day or Heroes' Remembrance Day, the —th day of the start of the 1947 revolutionary uprising against French colonialism.
This date is the national holiday of modern Madagascar, when all those who gave their lives in the struggle to resist French rule are remembered. Various commemorative events are taking place throughout the country today.
This island state, located near the southeastern coast of Africa, was annexed by France back in 1896. And although the islanders rebelled, it was quickly suppressed by French troops. However, French power in Madagascar has never been unconditionally strong. And during World War II, when France was occupied by the Nazis, the authority of the colonial government was further shaken, and the growth of a new resistance movement accelerated in Madagascar.
Under the slogan «Fatherland, Freedom, Progress», on March 29, 1947, Malagasy nationalists launched coordinated open attacks on French-owned plantations and military bases. The uprising quickly spread throughout the island, becoming one of the largest in the history of Madagascar. It set a kind of standard for the liberation movement in Africa and the colonial world as a whole.
The uprising was suppressed by the colonial authorities in 1948, but the French government liberated the colony from its direct control in 1958. Then, according to the Constitution of the fifth French Republic, Madagascar received the right of self-government under the name of the Malagasy Republic. And the country received complete independence on June 26, 1960.