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several curacies, led him to the episcopacy. The pupils could hardly remain indi erent to so symbolic an event as the ordination of a Malagasy bishop in 1939, the first sign of the autonomy conceded by the Catholic Church. It was with ‘wild joy that the pupils of the College greeted the news on 1st June’.67 The members of the association met and raised a subscription for a suitable celebration of the appointment on 6 August 1939.

The declaration of war struck a fatal blow to the o cial life of the association. In July 1940, only one member came to the General Meeting. Encouraged by the antisecular measures of the Vichy regime, and aware of the opportunity they had to consolidate their influence over young Europeans and Malagasy, some eminent representatives of Catholic circles soon gave their educational approval. Physical training and indoctrination of the young68 were indispensable tools of the regime. The College, which in the capital epitomised educational standards and the training of the elite, provided active support for Governor Annet through the personality of Father Cardaillac,69 Rector of the College and head of the list of the Antananarivo section of the Committee of the Legion of Combatants. Brother Manas was also a member of the Committee. Reverend Father Poisson, a teacher at the College, was promoted Vice-President of the Legion of Combatants. The establishment reactivated in youth movements, notably its Scout troop which had been expanding steadily since the end of the 1930s. Franc¸ois Maıˆtre, a former Scout with a diploma from the Chamarande training camp, returned to Madagascar in 1937. He was appointed district commissioner for Antananarivo and began a fruitful collaboration with Joseph Ramparany, a French citizen of Malagasy origin, with the aim of relaunching the movement.70 At Antananarivo a number of troops came into being, some of them with Malagasy district commissioners. The Notre Dame de la Route [Our Lady of the Road] clan was created by pupils at the school of medicine and the Lyce´e along with the army and young civil servants. The movement spread to the provinces, particularly from 1943: Tamatave (1929),71 Fianarantsoa (1936),72 Mananjary (1943), Diego Suarez (1943), Majunga (1943), Ambositra (1943), Antsirabe (1943), Ambatondrazaka (1943), Fort Dauphin (1943), Morondava (1943). The Cœurs Vaillants [Brave Hearts] and Ames vaillantes [Brave Souls] were founded by Brother Burck on 11 October 1941.73 The year 1943 also saw the arrival of the female branch of Scouting with the creation of the Guides of France at Antananarivo. With their representative membership, the Scout groups were systematically requisitioned for the many and varied propaganda manifestations.

The St Michel Alumni Association seemed to regain vitality with the General Meeting of 4 January 1942 and the re-election to the presidency of Jean Rajaona. The meeting was intended to lead to the opening of a commission for young ASM. However, there was no time to organise this, owing to the almost simultaneous announcement of the closure of the Malagasy college and the fall of the Vichy regime in Madagascar, under siege since May 1942 with the British attack on Diego Suarez. It is true that the international context weighed heavily on the developments at the College in this di cult period, but the total exclusion of Malagasy pupils from the establishment under Father-Rector Cardaillac confirmed its discriminatory orientations. The great majority of the alumni deeply disapproved of the decisions taken by the Jesuit religious authorities in keeping with the options of the Vichyist GovernorGeneral Annet. Analysis of the dissension reveals the emergence from 1934 of two major tendencies within the St Michel Alumni Association: those who, behind the emblematic figures of the association, notably Dr Rajoelina, supported and

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promoted nationalist aims under cover of cultural and sporting activities, and a limited number who, like Jean Rajaona, sought to take their place in French national belonging. The seeming disappearance of the ASM’s associative activity should be studied in correlation with the birth of secret societies such as the JINY (nationalist youth) or the PANAMA (Malagasy Nationalist Party),74 which emerged precisely in the 1940s. By eliminating Malagasy teaching in favour of European teaching, St Michel College epitomised at its own level the expression of intransigent colonialism. The uprising of 1947 provided a violent reminder of the feelings of injustice and revolt shared by a large part of the population.

III. Gradual Reunification of the College (1948–1956/1960). Generational Renewal Through Sport and Associative Activity

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Catholic hierarchy became aware of the decolonisation movement a ecting the local populations. The church wished first and foremost to avoid being identified with the colonial power. It maintained an area of agreement with the nationalists in order to safeguard relations between European and Malagasy priests and to counter the rise of Marxism. A former seminarist at Ambohipo75 as well as a talented writer and poet, Jacques Rabemananjara was viewed by the Catholics as the ideal leader despite his radical discourse76 to counterbalance the Protestant figures of the MDRM,77 Mouvement De´mocratique pour la Re´novation Malgache [Democratic Movement for Malagasy Renewal], created in February 1946.78

Following the repression of the 1947 uprising,79 the missionaries further emphasised their political orientations by supporting the imprisoned MDRM MPs. The party, which was well established among the Merina bourgeoisie, included among its most active members several alumni80 of the College. Certain Jesuits managed to influence the positions of the Catholic mission, which publicly adopted a text recognising the ‘legitimacy of the aspiration to independence’ in a letter to the faithful dated 27 November 1953,81 a milestone in the history of Madagascar:

The church ardently wishes that men as well as peoples should progress towards greater well-being and should take on ever more responsibility for themselves. The greatness of man comes from the fact that he is free and responsible, and political freedom is one of those fundamental freedoms and responsibilities. Not to enjoy it is proof of incomplete development and can only be temporary . . .

To conclude, we acknowledge the legitimacy of the aspiration to independence, and of any constructive e ort to attain it. But we must warn you against possible deviations, especially against hatred, which can find no place in a Christian heart.82

At the College, these developments were perceptible, while remaining discreet and cautious. The establishment operated from 1948 to 1956 as two separate sections with di erent teaching levels: the Malagasy studied for the primary leaving certificate while the Europeans and others went up to secondary level diplomas. The pursuit of excellence and the elitist bias of the school population was still the order of the day. The speech delivered on 22 June 1947 by Father J. B. Janssens, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, during a visit to Madagascar confirms this:

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the spirit of conquest in associations for Catholic action. It is vital that our pupils should be superior through science, intellectual qualities and human gifts, so that their worth is appreciated by all, even non-Catholics, and so that they are called upon before all others to take on responsibilities, even in a airs of State . . . By taking in all those who apply, we run the risk of lowering the level of studies and education. We must select and take in only those who show certain promise of completing their studies to a nonmediocre level . . . Whoever shows himself during the year to be unsuitable in character or intellectual abilities must be removed from our classes, to prevent him from damaging – to nobody’s benefit – the education of the others.83

In accordance with the educational strategy aiming at fostering the best of the Malagasy, the new Father-Rector Jacques Tiersonnier84 intended to mix Malagasy and French pupils from sixie`me [first year of secondary school] onwards. To the surprise of the education authorities, the Head of the Malagasy division and a large number of alumni were strongly opposed to the idea. One of them wrote to the Father-Rector on 26 July 1955:

Merging Europeans and Malagasy in the lower forms is nothing less than condemning the latter to failure. They do not speak French, they will express themselves badly, their French homework will be poor (‘let’s always speak about French’) so they will not perform to the standard of their European classmates, and then the age limit comes up, and then exclusion . . . and many could well be thrown out. . . and our Malagasy will see it as systematic elimination. And all this will be to the detriment of the College’s good name . . . and will give rise to more or less hostile comments.85

According to Father de Torquat, the split into two sections, considered intolerable in 1935, appeared a ‘lesser evil in 1955’. The Malagasy elite now had a dual demand: that of benefiting from the quality teaching available in the College to improve their command of the French language, while at the same time defending Malagasy particularism in order to give it full expression in a more radical national agenda. There was no longer any question of assimilation.

The Framework Act of June 1956 opened the way to autonomy. The territorial legislative assembly turned into a genuine parliament. Malagasy MPs forcefully brought the Madagascar problem before the French National Assembly. As part of this dynamic, the primary-only establishment became in 1956 a single college integrating primary and secondary levels with European and Malagasy pupils. The year 1956 saw the opening of the first classe de terminale [Upper Sixth form], specialising in Mathe´matiques e´le´mentaires [first year higher education in science] as the culmination of secondary schooling.

Associative activity86 in the College rebuilt itself around the sporting renewal initiated by the Europeans in 1945. Sport now took on a role as the most conspicuous instrument of the establishment’s excellence. The Jesuits saw its development as a means of preparing pupils for responsibilities, teaching them selfcontrol and pointing them towards success. The new sports association, which took the name SMA87 (St Michel Athle´tisme), was essentially organised around the creation of the first football team, which recorded some successes88 in 1945. The choice in favour of football at the College had a double significance: European in the colonial context in Madagascar and Catholic89 by tradition. Rugby,90 the leading sport in the capital, had been appropriated by the Protestant Merina notables between the wars, and was now reaching a wider public, arriving in the poorer districts by the end of the 1950s. The Europeans and Malagasy elites who attended the establishment abandoned it. From the early twentieth century, the

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Fe´de´ration Gymnastique et Sportive des Patronages de France91 [French Youth Fellowship Gymnastics and Sports Federation] opted for association football rather than rugby, considered too violent. The Federation played an important part in football’s spread in mainland France. The Antananarivo football legend92 thus took root in St Michel College. In 1948, the establishment, which already had a swimming pool93 and a stadium, was represented by two football teams and one for volleyball. To complete the range o ered by the school, some alumni94 decided to create a civilian football club95 named St Michel Athletic Club96 on 12 February 1948.

St Michel participated regularly in di erent competitions from 1951, while the Alumni Association resumed under the presidency of Joseph Rabetrano97 thanks to sporting exchanges. Gabriel Razafitrimo brought new energy with a Malagasy sports section: the ASMA, which provided links to the poorer districts.98 The year 1957 heralded a further stage in the sporting life of the establishment with the appointment of Father Givran as supervisor of the senior pupils. The establishment’s first ‘head of sports’, he encouraged pupils to participate fully and recalled the educational nature of physical activities within the Jesuit community: ‘An athlete is a man in control of his own body and of his movements; but he only triumphs over others if he is master of himself.’99

He applied scientific training methods and guided various teams to victory in the schools championship: in 1959, the juniors became football champions of Madagascar and won the Coupe du congre`s de l’enseignement libre [Private Education Congress Cup],100 while the ASSM Football became Antananarivo champions in 1957 after beating the great Racing Club,101 and in 1958 won the championships of both Antananarivo and Madagascar. With their tranokala102 style of play, the team influenced other clubs and succeeded in attracting enthusiastic crowds.103 As the backbone of the Madagascar team, ASSM players won the triangular tournament104 in 1959 at the Redoute stadium in Reunion Island. At the French Community Games105 in April 1960, a highly symbolic competition which took place at the Mahamasina stadium, the Madagascar team crushed the African teams and lost to France 2–1 in the final. The pupils of St Michel College became, via one of the most popular of activities,106 the standard-bearers of the nationalist struggle.

The rise to the presidency of the Republic of Philibert Tsiranana107 and the Social Democratic party108 spoilt the ambitions of the St Michel College alumni, who had dreamed of at last attaining power.109 Paradoxically, the proclamation of independence marked the failure of the Jesuits. The coastal party had not forgotten the sustained rivalry of a fringe of the Catholic Merina elites, guided by a few determined Jesuits.110 The public entry of the Catholic Church into the electoral fray on the occasion of the legislative elections of 2 January 1956 served three objectives: ‘To avoid being tied to the fate of an administration deemed precarious, to take up a position in favour of the Catholic nationalists, and to fight Communism at every level.’111

Throughout the 1950s, the Jesuits reached out from their Antananarivo fortress to cover the whole territory, even the bush, by every means at their disposal. They launched an o ensive towards the High Plateaus rural areas and the coasts, thanks to the work of the native clergy.112 At the vanguard of the decisive movement to provide nationwide schooling, they encouraged the opening of secondary schools113 in provincial urban districts. Under Monsignor Sartre and Father Dunant, they

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fostered Christian trade unionism among peasants and workers by creating the CFTC-a liated Confe´de´ration chre´tienne des syndicats malgaches [Christian Confederation of Malagasy Unions]. They wielded spiritual influence over the young Malagasy on two levels: locally, through the proliferation of sports associations, and regionally or nationally through youth movements114 such as the Cœurs vaillants [Brave Hearts], the Enfants de Marie [Children of Mary] and the TKM (Tovovavy Katolika Malagasy), operating throughout the island. The need to spread into rural areas led the Jesuits to rely on the tried and test model of the patronage [Christian] youth clubs.115 Their aim of touching the greatest number required the use of games and sports. Until the mid-1950s, Catholic associations were scarce in provincial capitals and notably in Antananarivo.116

Towns concerned by the o cial registration of Catholic associations were medium-sized or even villages. In Antananarivo, for example, they included: Arivonimamo (1942), Manjakandriana (1950), Ambohidratrimo (1951), Ambatolampy (1951), SabotsyNamehana (1954), Anjozorobe (1954), Miarinarivo (1955); in Diego Suarez: Ambanja (1944), Antalaha (1945), Vohemar (1951), Ambilobe (1955); in Tamatave: Vatomandry (1935–1937), Fe´ne´rive-Est (1940), Ambatondrazaka (1942); in Fianarantsoa: Ambala-

vao (1946); in Majunga: Ambato-Boeni (1935–1937); in Tule´ar: Fort-Dauphin (1951).117

Educators in boys’ schools but above all nuns were urged to a liate with the sports movement. The growing number of clubs required an increase in coordination. Every prefecture and curacy on the island now had to be represented by a UGSM delegate.

Antananarivo cannot directly liaise with the 197 clubs throughout Madagascar. The creation of a regional Union in every curacy and prefecture, responsible for coordinating the clubs’ e orts and in constant contact with the Management Committee in the capital is a vital necessity.118

Once again, Monsignor Sartre,119 the apostolic vicar of Antananarivo, while celebrating athletes’ mass in St Michel College chapel, exhorted the youngsters ‘to patience, good will, endurance, confidence in the future’ through the Christian faith, promising them ‘a magnificent role in society’.

In the same way, youth organisations, with their potential for exchanges and fraternity,120 received great encouragement after the war:

It is therefore important to give a new impulse to youth clubs. I would ask you not to stint on encouragement from local Government, and even go so far as to award them substantial grants. I am relying greatly on native Scouting to complete the education of the young by instilling in them precious qualities: team spirit, care for outward appearance, respect for others and for oneself.121

Thus the Catholics, using on their own account the idea of the Protestants initiated by Reverend Ledoux for the Unionist Scouts, had set about the Malagasification122 of the troops since the visit in 1946 of Father Le Bourgeois, national chaplain of the Scouts of France. At the same time, they spread the work of the College Alumni Association123 beyond Antananarivo. This determined field work resulted in the foundation in December 1958 of a large, organised political party, the Rassemblement Chre´tien Malgache [Malagasy Christian Rally], intended to block the path of the PSD and Marxist groups.

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IV. The Pursuit of Excellence: Sport, an Outstanding Tool (1960–1975)

Siding with the opposition to the regime of the first Republic, the College attempted in the context of independence to regain its prestige and maintain its primary mission of educating the nation’s elites. During the 1960s, St Michel strengthened its position in the educational field. It was now qualified to prepare pupils for the baccalaureate, and kept up its rivalry with the Lyce´e Gallieni.124 The College also sought to reposition itself with regard to the Ecole du Sacre´ Cœur d’Antanimena [Sacred Heart School of Antanimena] (ESCA) which had been run by Canadian monks since the 1950s. Originally opened solely for the secondary education of Europeans, ESCA, which already enjoyed the privilege of preparing for French examinations, was ‘gradually and without upsetting anybody’125 taking in Malagasy pupils. Despite the hegemony of the Jesuit college, it had managed by the end of the 1950s to make a name for itself as a top establishment, and educated numerous children of Antananarivo notables close to the French administration.

It should be realized that the Jesuit brothers had invited me in the 1960s to give a talk at St Michel College explaining our educational methods . . . as they had taken note of the sporting and academic results achieved by our system. Finally when independence arrived in 1960 (First Republic), it could be said that ESCA was educating all the children of Ministers or members of the government. A parent-teacher meeting at ESCA during those years was like a government meeting. We had Tsiranana’s children in our classes. In the 1960s our intake was 55% French children. But I am very

proud to have organized a grand function in the school to celebrate independence in 1960.126

The festivities held at St Michel College on 26 May 1960 should be viewed within this context of school rivalry. More than the independence of the country, they celebrated the initiative and supremacy of the establishment. This was the first in a long series of annual functions. Never before had the establishment laid on so many events in front of its guests of honour: ‘eminent Malagasy and French personalities’ and parents. After the Father-Rector’s open-air mass in the stadium, it was time for the children’s parade.

1,100 boys in blue and white gym kit lapped the stadium. The colours of St Michael were raised and the games were open . . . After long preparation at the hands of Mr Guy Richard, the physical education instructor, the first, second and third forms put on splendid group displays.127

Photographic records128 convey the elaboration of the ceremonies and the impeccable organisation placing physical activities at the heart of the spectacle: gymnastic and acrobatic movements, figures on the pommel horse, dance, song and the final attraction: the football match pitting the juniors against the Betongolo paratroopers.

With the closure of the College’s boarding section in 1962 for lack of sta , St Michel lost its lifeblood. The majority of provincial pupils looked instead to Sacre´ Cœur College. The arrival there of the new boarders sparked a new dynamic which increasingly emphasised extra-curricular activities, excursions and sporting activities. School sport provided a focus for the rivalry and recognition of the establishments of Antananarivo.

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On the sporting level, it is true that at ESCA we dominated school sports in Madagascar in 1968. That period represented a peak on the sporting and cultural level that we have quite forgotten . . . It should be noted that school sports, which were governed by the OSSUM,129 worked well at the time. There were good teams at the Lyce´e Gallieni as well, but the real rivalry was between the two Catholic establishments, St Michel and ESCA. We appreciated each other in a general way, but on the playing field the pupils were ‘at daggers drawn’. The atmosphere on the terraces was very tense.130

From that time, St Michel College implemented an innovative sports education policy in Madagascar. It responded by diversifying its activities – swimming, judo, table tennis – and by aiming to achieve the best results. There was a great vogue for handball, which had been launched by Guy Richard. In 1964, AS St Michel came first in the national men’s championship, and continued to win the title for years.131 The Madagascar open category judo champion in 1964, Father Fazio gave a new lease of life to St Michel sport in the mid 1960s.

I was an all-round athlete and games player, in good physical condition. Father Fazio, head of sports and studies, urged me to join the association. I refused and argued that my parents wouldn’t allow me to. He came round to our house to meet my family and persuaded me to join.132

Keen to turn it into a school of social participation, he wanted to achieve mass education and make sport a favoured option in the teaching of the young. Some even began to find that physical activities were somewhat over-emphasised in the College.

The son of an army o cer from a noble Breton family, Father-Rector Paul Franc¸ois de Torquat was appointed Head of the College in 1967. Aged 41, and a philosophy teacher in the establishment for many years, Father de Torquat had just spent eight years with the students of the fledgling University.133 He had been able to measure the aspirations of young Madagascans, who were highly critical of the Philibert Tsiranana government, seen as ‘neo-colonialist’. Perceiving the likely evolution of events, he sought to entrench the College more deeply in the capital and country.

Man today fulfils himself through the service he renders society. Madagascar is a developing country, and one in search of its personality. This should not be forgotten. We must therefore constantly strive for ever greater entrenchment of our education in the land which is our own, so that tomorrow our youngsters will truly become the men of development at the service of the people of Madagascar.134

Teaching moved closer to the parents, emphasised teamwork, allowed the secondary pupils to express themselves by publishing a magazine, initiated foreigners in the Malagasy language, encouraged extra-curricular activities and fostered associative activity. The Alumni Association regained vitality on the occasion of the College’s 70th anniversary celebrations on 17 and 18 February 1968. Present at the festivities were former alumni who were already active in politics: Jean-Jacques Nataı¨, the Minister of Agriculture, Gabriel Razafitrimo, senator and General Gabriel Ramanantsoa, Head of the Armed Forces.135

In April 1971, the south of the country was shaken by a revolt. Repression was brutal and bloody. In late April 1972, the medical students began a strike movement which caught on at the university and among senior secondary school pupils. The secondary pupils at St Michel joined the movement on 26 April. St Michel Alumni Week was organised from 23 to 27 April 1972, with large numbers of alumni

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gathering. The reunion scheduled for 7 May 1972 at the College was maintained with the agreement of the students’ Central Committee. It took place with alumnus General Ramanantsoa as chair.

On 13 May – ‘bloody Saturday’ – the Avenue de l’Inde´pendance shootings took place. Events gathered pace and turned to tragedy. Monday 15 May saw a general strike and on 18 May President Tsiranana handed full powers over to General Ramanantsoa. A de facto military junta had taken control after several months of social upheaval.

With General Ramanantsoa as Head of State, the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence, and Didier Ratsiraka as Foreign Minister, St Michel College saw after 85 years of existence the concrete achievement of its highest ambition, preparing its pupils to hold the most illustrious posts in the Nation.136

Present in a key post in the government of the First Republic, General Ramanantsoa triggered the toppling of the regime. His arrival as Head of State had as a corollary the return to public a airs of the Merina elites. From the centre of the political chessboard, he reactivated the St Michel alumni network.

On 26 August 1973, Father de Torquat bade farewell to the College and handed responsibility over to Father Ramanantoanina, the first Malagasy Rector of the establishment. After 90 years at the helm, the European Jesuits had agreed to pass the torch of headship on to a Malagasy Jesuit.

On 15 June 1975, Lieutenant Commander Didier Ratsiraka, St Michel class of 1951–1952 and a member of the ASSM football team, was elected head of government by the military directory. On 21 November, a referendum approved the new constitution and confirmed Didier Ratsiraka in the Presidency of the Democratic Malagasy Republic. On 30 December 1975 the new Republic came into being. Associative solidarity can be discerned in the political or ministerial appointments. The following were thus assigned ministerial duties: Justin Rakotoniaina, Minister of Education (former teacher at the College), Jean Bemananjara, Minister of Transport, Pierre Rajaonah, Minister of Rural Development, Augustin Portos Ampy, Minister of Justice, then of the Interior, Bruno Rakotomavo, Foreign Minister, Roland Ratsiraka, brother of the President, etc. To this list should be added Lucien Xavier Andrianarahinjaka, presidential advisor, and then permanent president of the national assembly, the MPs Evariste Marson and Alain Ramaroson, diplomats such as Longin Raondry, ambassador to Paris, or Simon Rabe, ambassador to Moscow, not to mention senior civil servants,137 all former pupils of the College . . .

Through its intellectual, moral and also sporting and associative education, St Michel College played an important part in the renewal of the elites which took power in 1972 and set up the Second Republic in 1975.

Deny your votes to any communist of any persuasion. No alliance is possible with such men, who do not believe in God, or who unrelentingly fight religion . . . and seek to establish a regime of terror and slavery in Madagascar,138

wrote Monsignor Rolland in 1956. The irony of the educational project was that 20 years later, members of the elites educated at St Michel College set up in Madagascar a Socialist regime with permanent links to Moscow. Should a contradiction be noted here?

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At the College’s Annual Day in September 1975, the Jesuits who had so decried the PSD of Philibert Tsiranana welcomed the leaders of the CSR (Higher Council of the Revolution) with full honours. They had all attended the school and gathered to hear the Father-Rector’s mass on ‘that universal revolutionary, Jesus’.139

***

We have shown how, in the specific context of this Jesuit establishment, gymnastics and then sport, with their disciplinary, associative and identitary functions, contributed from the 1920s to the education and renewal of the Malagasy elites, and accompanied the process of decolonisation. Thanks to the competitive dimension of sport, the pursuit of excellence can be appreciated in the ongoing context of rivalry with secular, Protestant and even some Catholic schools: ‘Sport is not an end in itself. It is a way to forge bodies and souls by obliging man to surpass his own limits while learning through teamwork to forget himself for the good of the whole.’140

The usefulness of sport was the visibility it brought to the establishment, guaranteeing its promotion and recruitment. ‘The pupils must become an elite; this is the vocation of the pupils of Amparibe.’ This simple statement by Father Delom,141 made on 18 October 1918, sums up the major objective pursued by the Jesuit priest in the educational work they conducted at St Michel College over seventy years. The words spoken by a Jesuit Father to Brother Romain on the site of the tragic events of 1972 provide confirmation, if necessary, of this persistent approach.

I remember the events of 1972. On what is now the Place du 13 Mai 1972, I was having a conversation with one of the Jesuit Fathers, whose name I won’t mention, who said to me: ‘You got the elites of 1960, but you won’t get the elites of 1972’ . . . I need hardly

say that a remark of that type in the context of a social revolution seemed very petty to me.142

The control of populations through teaching, or more precisely through allround education143 obviously involves major political repercussions. In Madagascar, the Jesuit missionaries made ‘inculturation the fundamental requirement of any serious apostolic mission’144 in order to turn themselves into a durable third power, an intermediary between People and State. For during those seventy years, regardless of the ambiguous political positions they adopted according to historical circumstances, they were motivated by one single common cause: the service of God.

Notes

1.Boudou, Madagascar, la mission de Tananarive, 23.

2.See the unpublished journal of Father Finaz, cited by Reverend Father Malzac, Histoire du royaume Hova, and Hu¨bsch, ‘Di culte´s des missions catholiques a` Madagascar (1820–1861)’, 241–51.

3.According to Father Tiersonnier, ‘the building with its fortress air seemed rather anachronistic in the context of the time. The builders had certainly endowed it with impressive dimensions. . . . Veterans recalled the skill of the builders with great pride; they had seen them at work and knew the rather rudimentary means they had put to such good use.’ Tiersonnier, Au cœur de l’ıˆle rouge, 50 ans de vie a` Madagascar, 20.

4.De Torquat, Le colle`ge St Michel, Antananarivo 1888–1988, 4.

5.The Reformation was a Protestant movement of reaction and religious contestation which challenged universities and education. See Piard, Education physique et sport, petit manuel d’histoire e´le´mentaire.