Abstract. – The foundation of the Boeny Kingdom at the end of the 17th century marks the emergence of a new political unit, which was added to similar constructions of the same dynasty along the west coast of Madagascar. Within a few years the Boeny Kingdom became the island’s most impressive polity in terms of territory, or military and economic power realized up to this point in history, and it was to play a decisive role for more than a century. In spite of later political decline, the Boeny Kingdom constitutes even today an important neo-traditional unit in Madagascar. This article for the first time offers a detailed reconstruction of the main events between 1683 and 1686 that allowed the future King Tsimenata to defeat and integrate his main adversaries, Islamic traders living in a number of entrepôts along the northwestern coast. The analyses, based on a critical study of all the main historic documents available, are placed within the framework of the political dynamics of early states on Madagascar.
[Madagascar, Boeny kingdom, Sakalava, king Tsimenata, ethnohistory, early state, historical reconstruction]