She Wasn’t Crazy—She Was Colonized | The Story of Queen Ranavalona

2025-08-08

Was Queen Ranavalona I really the “Mad Queen of Madagascar”… or just a brilliant ruler smeared by colonial propaganda? In this episode of For the Love of History, we dive headfirst into one of the most misunderstood figures in African history—and it gets spicy. Queen Ranavalona has long been labeled a tyrant, a murderer, even a monster. But when you follow the paper trail (and by paper, we mean wildly biased missionary records), it becomes clear that the real madness was colonialism. You’ll hear about: The actual history b...

Was Queen Ranavalona I really the “Mad Queen of Madagascar”… or just a brilliant ruler smeared by colonial propaganda?

In this episode of For the Love of History, we dive headfirst into one of the most misunderstood figures in African history—and it gets spicy. Queen Ranavalona has long been labeled a tyrant, a murderer, even a monster. But when you follow the paper trail (and by paper, we mean wildly biased missionary records), it becomes clear that the real madness was colonialism.

You’ll hear about:

The actual history behind her so-called reign of terror
How Eurocentric historians rewrote her legacy with a misogynist, colonialist pen
Her fight to protect Malagasy sovereignty during the height of European imperialism
And why context is everything when judging historical figures (especially women)

So grab a bevvy, hop in the time machine, and prepare to rethink everything you thought you knew about Queen Ranavalona I.

👑 Was she ruthless? Sure. But was she wrong? That’s up for you to decide.