Fianarantsoa

Fianarantsoa stands among the hills and rice fields of the southern Malagasy highlands. The surrounding country was home to Betsileo kingdoms before their incorporation into the expanding Merina realm. In the early 1830s Queen Ranavalona I established Fianarantsoa as a regional capital for the conquered south. From this new centre Merina expeditions set out into the lands of the Bara, Mahafaly and Masikoro, extending the reach of the highland kingdom.