Abstract EN:

The aims of the colonial power in abolishing the institutions set up by the monarchy was to restructure malagasy society. The material and cultural changes which started in the nineteenth century and clearly affected the lives of the privileged in antananarivo were increasing. Urban growth and modernization, the multiplicity of skills and the development of trade furthered the emergence of a group of city dwellers whose lifestyles were similar to those of the europeans. Hence the presence of more people from antananarivo in circle of the malagasy credited with colonial notoriety. They were civil servants, trade workers, men of talents who acted as interlocutors between their fellow countrymen and the europeans. They were only a minority and with the exception of a few fabulously wealthy tradesman, rather belonged to the lower middle class. Moreover, their status as mediators was not always gratifying and the gap between the elites and the europeans was still considerable. Finally, the colonial authorities never overlooked the differences in status which, though officialy abolished, were of prime importance to the malagasy in their everyday lives. The disparities had an impact on private relations and even on the location of residences in the capital city whose creation dated back to the pre-colonial era.