Madagascar Martyrs’ Day memorializes those who died in the Revolt of 1947 against the French. Madagascar had been a French colony since 1896 and then was named an overseas territory within the French Union in the 1946 constitution. On March 29, 1947, the people staged a nationalist uprising against colonial forces. Casualties from the conflict were reported as high as 80,000. French military courts tried the leaders of the revolt and executed 20 of them. On March 29, the Malagasy government and people remember those patriots who sacrificed their lives for their country’s freedom. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary