Fort-Dauphin (Madagascar)

{{use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox settlement | official_name = Fort-Dauphin | other_name = Taolagnaro | settlement_type =  | image_skyline = Tolanaro.jpg | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | shield_size = 100px | image_map = | mapsize = 240px | map_caption = City centre | pushpin_map = Madagascar | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Fort-Dauphin in Madagascar | coordinates = {{coord|25|01|57|S|46|59|00|E|region:MG-U_source:geonames|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = <ref name="geonames">[{{geonameslink|gnid=1055433|name=tolanaro}} Tolanaro] in [{{geonamesabout}} Geonames.org (cc-by)]</ref> | subdivision_type = [[Countries of the world|Country]] | subdivision_name = [[Madagascar]] | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = [[Anosy Region|Anosy]]  |government_footnotes =<ref>[https://www.pseau.org/outils/ouvrages/cufd_metropole_rouen_normandie_ville_de_oissel_document_de_presentation_des_cooperations_decentralisees_de_la_commune_urbaine_de_fort_dauphin_1970.pdf Pseau.Org]</ref> |government_type = |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Georges Mamy RANDRIANAINA |leader_title1 =  |leader_name1 = |established_title =  |established_date =  | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 31.17 | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_km2 =  | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | population_total = 67,284 | population_as_of = 2018 census | population_density_km2 = auto | population_urban = | population_note = | elevation_m = 27 | elevation_footnotes = <ref name="geonames"/> | timezone = East Africa Time (GMT+3) | utc_offset = | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | blank_name = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]] | blank_info = [[Tropical rainforest climate|Af]] | website =  |postal_code_type = Postal code |postal_code = 614 |area_code = }}

'''Fort-Dauphin''' (Malagasy '''Tolagnaro''' or '''Taolagnaro''') is a city (''commune urbaine'') on the southeast coast of [[Madagascar]]. It is the capital of the [[Anosy Region]] and of the Taolagnaro District. It has been a port of local importance since the early 1500s. A new port, the [[Port d'Ehola|Ehoala Port]] was built in 2006–2009. Fort-Dauphin was the first French settlement in Madagascar.

==History== {{Further|Massacre of Fort-Dauphin (Madagascar)}} [[File:Fort-Dauphin Flacourt 1650.jpg|thumb|left|Plan of the fort from 1650]] The bay of Fort-Dauphin was found by a Portuguese Captain in 1500. Fort Dauphin was founded on an Antanosy village, Taolankarana, in 1643 by the French East India Company who built a fort there named in honor of the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin (crown prince) of France]], the future [[Louis XIV]]. It was settled by around a hundred colonists, who found themselves involved in the local politics. The poor trade results (some ebony and little more was obtained) hardly justified the difficulties of the settlers, who suffered from tropical illnesses and other problems. After a conflict with the [[Antanosy people]], the survivors were evacuated in 1674.

One Governor of this colony, [[Étienne de Flacourt]], published the ''History of the Great Isle of Madagascar and Relations'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Malotet|first=Arthur|title=Étienne de Flacourt: Ou Les Origines de la Colonisation Française a Madagascar, 1648-1661|url=https://archive.org/details/etiennedeflacou00malogoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/etiennedeflacou00malogoog/page/n334 303]|year=1898|publisher=Ernest Leroux}}</ref> which was the main source of information on the island for Europeans until the late 19th century.<ref>Ramangalahy, Pasteur. (2004). L’Histoire de Fort Dauphin. SIT Lecture Notes.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pearson|first1=Mike Parker|title=Close encounters of the worst kind: Malagasy resistance and colonial disasters in Southern Madagascar|journal=World Archaeology|date=February 1997|volume=28|issue=3|pages=393–417|doi=10.1080/00438243.1997.9980355}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jolly|first=Alison|title=Lords and Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings with Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtE3C_mUzCUC|year=2004|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=0-618-36751-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bialuschewski|first1=Arne|title=Pirates, Slavers, and the Indigenous Population in Madagascar, c. 1690-1715|journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies|date=2005|volume=38|issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Defoe|first=Daniel|title=Madagascar; Or, Robert Drury's Journal: During Fifteen Years' Captivity on that Island|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gfspAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9|year=1897|publisher=T. Fisher Unwin}}</ref>

After [[World War II]] and until [[Didier Ratsiraka]] took the presidency in 1975, Fort Dauphin had a thriving community of Malagasy, French, Chinese and Pakistani merchants with adequate roads connecting the city to Toliara to the west and [[Fianarantsoa]] to the west and then north. The port provided a means of exporting cattle to Mauritius and importing various goods from France and elsewhere. During the time [[Philibert Tsiranana]] was President of Madagascar, he enjoyed flying down to Fort Dauphin.

In 1975, the French businesses were nationalized, French citizens' assets were frozen, and several were briefly imprisoned.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

===Modern era=== [[File:MADAGASCAR02.tif|thumb|230px|right|alt=a dozen black wooden canoes on the sand of a vast bay |Fishing is a traditional part of the coastal lifestyle.]] Since the early 1970s, Fort Dauphin suffered an economic decline due to lack of good road connections to the rest of the country, rendering its port of local importance only. This in spite of significant foreign exchange earned from the export of live lobster (250 to over 350 tonnes per year from 1990 to 2005),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.riotintomadagascar.com/pdf/biodiversityBook/Madagascar_5.2.pdf |title=Sabatini, Gino et al. (2008). A review of the Spiny Lobster fishery in the Tolagnaro (Fort-Dauphin) region. |access-date=2009-12-13 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170617/http://www.riotintomadagascar.com/pdf/biodiversityBook/Madagascar_5.2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[sapphire]]s.<ref>[http://www.gggems.com/andranondambo.htm Darbellay, Alain. (2009). The story of the first Madagascar sapphire – Andranondambo.]</ref>

The [[Mandena]] [[ilmenite]] mine near Fort-Dauphin was opened by QIT Madagascar Minerals<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riotinto.com/media/news_4411.asp|publisher=[[Rio Tinto Group]]|date=3 August 2005|title=Madagascar titanium dioxide project|access-date=2007-10-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001238/http://www.riotinto.com/media/news_4411.asp|archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> in 1986 prompting a boost in employment, migration to the area, development of roads and exacerbation of deforestation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Gerety |first=Rowan Moore |title=The Ecologists and the Mine |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ecologists-and-the-mine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611163302/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ecologists-and-the-mine/ |archive-date=2021-06-11 |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=[[Scientific American]] |language=en}}</ref> Associated with the mine the [[port d'Ehoala]] was built, 10 km west of Tolagnaro.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ehoalaport.com/ |title=Port d'Ehoala |access-date=2009-12-13 |archive-date=2011-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130041500/http://www.ehoalaport.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> These are the first major investments in the region's infrastructure for many decades.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} The mine contaminated [[Lake Besaroy]] in 2014-2015<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-20 |title=Madagascar regulator under scrutiny in breach at Rio Tinto-controlled mine |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2019/11/madagascar-regulator-under-scrutiny-in-breach-at-rio-tinto-controlled-mine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421181936/https://news.mongabay.com/2019/11/madagascar-regulator-under-scrutiny-in-breach-at-rio-tinto-controlled-mine/ |archive-date=2023-04-21 |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=[[Mongabay]] |language=en-US}}</ref> and has been met with mixed reactions from local communities, who held protests in 2013<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hatcher |first=Jessica |date=2013-02-08 |title=The White Stuff: Mining Giant Rio Tinto Unearths Unrest in Madagascar |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://world.time.com/2013/02/08/the-white-stuff-mining-giant-rio-tinto-unearths-unrest-in-madagascar/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> and 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Reid |first=Helen |date=2022-05-25 |title=Rio Tinto's Madagascar mine restarts after reaching deal with protesters |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/rio-tintos-madagascar-mine-restarts-after-reaching-deal-with-protesters-2022-05-24/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424022608/https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/rio-tintos-madagascar-mine-restarts-after-reaching-deal-with-protesters-2022-05-24/ |archive-date=2023-04-24}}</ref>

Today, there are a large variety of international non-governmental organizations with offices in Tolagnaro.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Geography== [[File:Nepenthes madagascariensis - Nepenthaceae - Katja Rembold (12)-2 (cropped).JPG|thumb|''[[Nepenthes madagascariensis]]'' - a pitcher plant at Lokaro]] Fort-Dauphin was initially situated on a short, narrow peninsula on the extreme southeastern coast of Madagascar, but has since grown to cover a much greater area along the ocean, almost to Mount Bezavona.

* [[Andohahela National Park]] is within driving distance, {{convert|40|km}} to the northwest of Fort-Dauphin. * [[Berenty Reserve]] * [[Tsitongambarika]] reserve

===Climate=== Fort-Dauphin has a [[tropical rainforest climate]], though it is less rainy than areas further north on the eastern Malagasy coast. Being closer to the centre of the [[subtropical anticyclone]]s than other parts of Madagascar, most rainfall is orographic, and [[tropical cyclone]]s are not as common as in more northerly parts of the island.

{{Weather box | location = Tôlanaro (1991–2020, extremes 1890–present) | single line = Yes | metric first = Yes | temperature colour = |Jan record high C = 36.4 |Feb record high C = 36.5 |Mar record high C = 38.0 |Apr record high C = 33.6 |May record high C = 33.2 |Jun record high C = 32.1 |Jul record high C = 34.0 |Aug record high C = 36.1 |Sep record high C = 35.8 |Oct record high C = 33.7 |Nov record high C = 36.3 |Dec record high C = 37.5 |year record high C = 38.0 | Jan high C = 30.5 | Feb high C = 30.3 | Mar high C = 29.8 | Apr high C = 28.4 | May high C = 26.7 | Jun high C = 25.2 | Jul high C = 24.5 | Aug high C = 25.3 | Sep high C = 26.5 | Oct high C = 27.6 | Nov high C = 28.7 | Dec high C = 30.2 | year high C = 27.8 | Jan mean C = 27.1 | Feb mean C = 27.0 | Mar mean C = 26.5 | Apr mean C = 25.0 | May mean C = 23.0 | Jun mean C = 21.4 | Jul mean C = 20.7 | Aug mean C = 21.3 | Sep mean C = 22.5 | Oct mean C = 23.8 | Nov mean C = 25.1 | Dec mean C = 26.6 | year mean C = 24.2 | Jan low C = 23.6 | Feb low C = 23.7 | Mar low C = 23.2 | Apr low C = 21.6 | May low C = 19.3 | Jun low C = 17.5 | Jul low C = 16.9 | Aug low C = 17.3 | Sep low C = 18.4 | Oct low C = 20.0 | Nov low C = 21.4 | Dec low C = 22.9 | year low C = 20.5 |Jan record low C = 15.0 |Feb record low C = 18.2 |Mar record low C = 16.8 |Apr record low C = 13.0 |May record low C = 11.1 |Jun record low C = 9.7 |Jul record low C = 9.0 |Aug record low C = 9.0 |Sep record low C = 10.8 |Oct record low C = 10.1 |Nov record low C = 14.7 |Dec record low C = 13.8 |year record low C = 9.0 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 225.1 | Feb precipitation mm = 227.1 | Mar precipitation mm = 194.1 | Apr precipitation mm = 132.4 | May precipitation mm = 121.8 | Jun precipitation mm = 93.1 | Jul precipitation mm = 106.4 | Aug precipitation mm = 70.6 | Sep precipitation mm = 40.8 | Oct precipitation mm = 77.8 | Nov precipitation mm = 91.9 | Dec precipitation mm = 174.3 | year precipitation mm = 1555.4 | unit precipitation days = 1 mm | Jan precipitation days = 13.8 | Feb precipitation days = 13.2 | Mar precipitation days = 12.3 | Apr precipitation days = 11.1 | May precipitation days = 8.9 | Jun precipitation days = 8.3 | Jul precipitation days = 8.9 | Aug precipitation days = 6.5 | Sep precipitation days = 5.3 | Oct precipitation days = 7.2 | Nov precipitation days = 8.1 | Dec precipitation days = 11.0 | year precipitation days = 114.6 |Jan humidity = 81 |Feb humidity = 79 |Mar humidity = 82 |Apr humidity = 81 |May humidity = 80 |Jun humidity = 80 |Jul humidity = 80 |Aug humidity = 78 |Sep humidity = 76 |Oct humidity = 78 |Nov humidity = 80 |Dec humidity = 80 |year humidity = 80 | Jan sun = 256.5 | Feb sun = 222.4 | Mar sun = 222.7 | Apr sun = 205.8 | May sun = 223.5 | Jun sun = 209.5 | Jul sun = 211.5 | Aug sun = 241.7 | Sep sun = 236.5 | Oct sun = 240.1 | Nov sun = 232.9 | Dec sun = 236.1 | year sun = 2739.2 | source 1 = NOAA (sun, 1961-1990)<ref name=WMOCLINO>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230925044143/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Madagascar/CSV/TAOLAGNARO_67197.csv | archive-date = 25 September 2023 | url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Madagascar/CSV/TAOLAGNARO_67197.csv | title = Taolagnaro Climate Normals 1991–2020 | work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020) | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | access-date = 25 September 2023}}</ref><ref name= NOAA>{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/MG/67197.TXT | server = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] | title = Ft. Dauphin/Tolagna Climate Normals 1961–1990 | access-date = 8 March 2015}}</ref> |source 2 = [[Deutscher Wetterdienst]] (humidity, 1951–1967),<ref name = DWD> {{cite web | url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_671970_kt.pdf | title = Klimatafel von Taolanaro (Fort-Dauphin) / Madagaskar | work = Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world | publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst | language = de | access-date = 7 April 2017}}</ref> Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)<ref name = meteoclimat> {{cite web | url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=771 | title = Station Taolagnaro (Tôlanaro) | publisher = Meteo Climat |language = fr | access-date = 7 April 2017}}</ref> | date = November 2011 }}

==Culture== ===Religion=== The majority of its population are Christian, though almost all religions practised in Madagascar are found in Fort-Dauphin. * FJKM - Fiangonan'i Jesoa Kristy eto Madagasikara ([[Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar]]) * FLM - Fiangonana Loterana Malagasy ([[Malagasy Lutheran Church]]) * [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Tolagnaro]] includes a huge site with a primary school, middle school, a large cathedral and a smaller church in town. Near the Marillac Airport are the Sisters of Marillac à Fort Dauphin and St. Vincentienne Marillac, a large private Catholic school. * FFPM - ([[United Pentecostal Church of Madagascar]]) * EEM Eklesia Episkopaly Malagasy (Anglican Church of Madagascar) * Eglise Rhema Terre de Sel

Fort Dauphin was the headquarters of American Lutheran missionaries [[American Lutheran Church]] who worked in southern Madagascar starting in 1888 for almost 100 years.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

The Lutheran missionaries also traded land above the original Fort Dauphin harbour for what was then a sand dune. There is also a section of the town's cemetery where quite a few American Lutheran missionaries and several others are buried.<ref>Vigen, James B. (1991). ''A historical and missiological account of the pioneer missionaries in the establishment of the American Lutheran mission in southeast Madagascar, 1887–1911: John P. and Oline Hogstad''. Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago.</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20110723212606/http://www.mhs.no/arkiv/article_429.shtml Hogstad, Johan Peter]</ref>

The Mahovoky Hotel and Annex and the American style homes in the forest at Libanona were part of this mission.

==Infrastructure== ===Roads=== * the [[Route nationale 12a (Madagascar)|National Road 12a]], from Fort-Dauphin to [[Vangaindrano]]. * the [[Route nationale 13 (Madagascar)|National Road 13]], from Fort-Dauphin to [[Ambovombe]] and [[Ihosy]].

===Airport=== *Tolagnaro Airport

===Seaport=== * [[Port d'Ehoala]] [[File:View towards Ankoba beach from Voky Be.jpg|thumb|View towards Ankoba beach from a hill in the center of Fort Dauphin]]

==Education== There are 161 public primary schools in the district of Fort-Dauphin, 8 public colleges and 1 public [[lycée]]. There are also 32 private primary schools, 5 private colleges and 2 private lycées.<ref>[https://www.pseau.org/outils/ouvrages/mg_mef_monographie-region-anosy_2014.pdf Monographie Anosy]</ref>

There is one certified French School at the primary level, École primaire française de Fort-Dauphin,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aefe.fr/reseau-scolaire-mondial/rechercher-un-etablissement/madagascar-fort-dauphin-ecole-primaire-francaise |title=École primaire française de Fort-Dauphin |access-date=25 September 2023 |archive-date=25 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925171355/https://www.aefe.fr/reseau-scolaire-mondial/rechercher-un-etablissement/madagascar-fort-dauphin-ecole-primaire-francaise |url-status=dead }}</ref> and a middle school and high school (college et lycée) AEFE, and Lycee La Clairefontaine.<ref>[https://www.lyceelaclairefontaineftd.org/ Lycee La Clairefontaine]</ref>

===Research=== In 1995 and 2006, Malagasy [[agronomists]] and American [[political ecologists]] studied the production of Catharanthus roseus around Fort Dauphin and [[Ambovombe-Androy|Ambovombe]] and its export as a natural source of the alkaloids used to make vincristine, [[vinblastine]] and other [[vinca alkaloid]] cancer drugs. Their research focused on the wild collection of periwinkle roots and leaves from roadsides and fields and its industrial cultivation on large farms.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Andriamanalintsoa |first1=Jean Joseph |title=Contribution a l'etude de la producition de la pervenche de Madagascar ou Catharanthus roseus, Cas d' Ambovombe, d'Amboasary-sud, de Beloha et Tsihombe |date=1995 |publisher=Universityersité d'Antananarivo, Ecole Superieur des Sciences Agronomiques |location=Antananarivo, Madagascar |language=French |format=PhD Dissertation| url=http://madadoc.irenala.edu.mg/documents/v4312_MEM%2012099.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Neimark |first1=Benjamin |title=Industrial Heartlands of Nature: The Political Economy of Biological Prospecting in Madagascar |date=2009 |publisher=Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |location=New Brunswick |page=70-112 |url=https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3WD40Q7 |language=English |format=PhD Dissertation |chapter=At the "Pharm" gate: The case study of the rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)|doi=10.7282/T3WD40Q7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neimark |first1=Ben |title=Green grabbing at the 'pharm' gate: rosy periwinkle production in southern Madagascar |journal=The Journal of Peasant Studies |date=2012 |volume=39 |issue=2 |page=423-445 |doi=10.1080/03066150.2012.666975 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/03066150.2012.666975?scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab |access-date=14 July 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="134"> File:MG-ehoala-hafen.jpg| Port d'Ehoala in 2023 File:TôlanaroNewPort.JPG|New port and access roads under construction in April 2007 File:LibanonaBeach.jpg|Libanona Beach, Tôlagnaro in April 2007 File:Andohahela NP.jpg|Andohahela National Park File:Fort Dauphin.jpg|Old port File:Fort Dauphin La Residence.jpg|Fort Dauphin in 1900 </gallery>

==Notable resident== *[[Abraham Samuel]], pirate, led a combined pirate-Antanosy kingdom from Fort Dauphin from 1697 until he died there in 1705.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} {{Wikivoyage|Taolagnaro|Tôlanaro}} * [https://www.riotinto.com/operations/madagascar Rio Tinto's QIT Madagascar Minerals] * [http://www.mongabay.com/indigenous_ethnicities/african/Antanosy.html Antanosy people] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091222060114/http://archive.elca.org/archives/dgm/madagascar.html Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Global Mission Bibliography] * [http://wikimapia.org/#lat=-25.0220731&lon=46.9820881&z=14&l=0&m=s&v=2 Fort-Dauphin sur WikiMapia] {{Anosy|state=collapsed}} {{Madagascar topics}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort-Dauphin}} [[Category:Fort-Dauphin (Madagascar)| ]] [[Category:Cities in Madagascar]] [[Category:Populated places in Anosy]] [[Category:Regional capitals in Madagascar]] [[Category:Pirate dens and locations]]