THE FORT MANDA OF KING RADAMA IER

Surrounded by a luxuriant forest, rises a circular building of impressive size. In the ^19th century, the manda of Mahavelona housed the garrison of the royal army and the residence of the merina governor. This hill-fortress was built on the initiative of King Radama ^I with the help of England from 1822. It was the central point of the strategic device composed of 5 citadels in charge of defending the east coast against invasion attempts. The surrounding wall, 6 m high and 70 m in circumference, built with a mixture of coral powder and stones bound with egg white as cement, is pierced with loopholes where cannons acquired at the beginning of the ^19th century and artillery pieces manufactured in Mantasoa remain. In the center of the circle (also a symbol of sacred harmony according to Malagasy cosmogony and astrology), the officers' houses, the barracks and the arsenal were built. The manda, where 25,000 soldiers of the Malagasy royal army were stationed, played an important role when the Merina soldiers and their allies repelled the first attempts at invasion and the French attacks, the first signs of colonial aggression at the end of the ^19th century. The fort was looted during the colonial period: its cannons can be found in collectors' shops, and it was partly destroyed: its materials were used in 1950 for the construction of the road that was to become the RN 5. From the top of the walls, from the covered way, the view is magnificent.