Tôlanaro (or Tolagnaro , or Fort-Dauphin ) is a city of the province of Toliara (Tuléar), chief town of the area of Anosy, located in the south-east of the island of Madagascar. The city is distant of 1122 km Tananarive, the capital of Madagascar.

Geography and climate

The city profits from 1700 mm annual precipitations, because of the proximity of a mountainous barrier. Thus, the area of Tôlanaro is greener and more fertile than the areas avoisinantes.
The average temperature is of 23°C, and oscillates between 20°C and 26°C by mois.
Tôlanaro is dominated by the peak Saint Louis which culminates to 529 m of altitude, in the north of the city.

History

Portuguese discovers the island of Madagascar to the XVIe century, but gives up being established there durably at the beginning of the XVIIe century. End XIVe, Dutch tries to create a stopover in bay of Antongil, but gives up this company because of the insalubrity of the lieux.
In March 1642, Jacques de Pronis and Foucquenbourg, made Compagnie of the Indies Orientales ( Company of the East ), accompanied by twelve colonists embark with Dieppe aboard the ship Saint-Louis with an aim of founding a commercial counter with Madagascar. After having planned to be established in bay of Antongil, or on the Holy island Marie, the colonists unload in bay of Manafiafy (or Holy Luce points). With its beginnings, the colony included/understood eight French shipwrecked men, seventy colonists sent by the Société of the East on board the the St. Lawrence , and the crew of the Saint-Louis which could not return to France because of the stranding of its ship on the road of the return towards the France. But, the area being unhealthy because of the lagoons and the marshes, and seeing the fevers carrying its men, Pronis decides to transfer the colony on the peninsula from Tholongar to the end of the year 1643 (Twenty-seven French dies following the fevers).
In 1643, on this point of Tholongar, it bases the French commercial counter of Fort-Dauphin, on order of Richelieu (the denomination of the fort, Fort Dolphin , is in the honor of the applicant to the crown of France, the future sun king, Louis XIV). At the origin, the city was to be used as point of supply on the road of the Indies.
Initially, the fort was only one construction summary surrounded by palisade of bois.
In 1648, Etienne de Flacourt replaces Jacques de Pronis with the head of the counter, and carries out during this period a meticulous study of the habits, history, and flora of the island of Madagascar. Its work is made up of three volumes, the Dictionnaire , the Catéchisme and especially central work, the Histoire of Large Isle Madagascar . Arrived in company of two priests Lazaristes, it sets out again of the island in 1655, while having as a preliminary established a plan of occupation of Madagascar, but without to have really been able to concretize its mission commerciale.
In 1668, Souchu de Rennefort described the fort in its account Relation of the first voyage of the Company of the Eastern Indies in the isle of Madagascar or Dauphine .

Strong Dauphin" was drawn square by that which began it. There are two bastions which order the Port on the Northern side, the enclosure of the remainder was made of piles of the size of the arm when we occupied it, and the symmetry forced with 50 feet from length and 26 broad, the principal door looks at the occident and sees in front of it a small meadow and a pleasant landscape, the other opposed, looks at the East and the sea

After the departure of Flacourt, the counter périclite gradually. Thereafter, the departure of the colonists intensifies in particular because of the many difficulties encountered by the colony, of which most constraining are insulation, the conflicts between the colonists and especially the fights against the Anosy local populations. In August 1674, the last French colonists are driven out by the tribe of Tanosy, which had already marked its hostility towards Portuguese and Dutch, one century rather. After the massacre of many colonists, the survivors took refuge in the fort in order to hold a seat while waiting for reinforcements. September 8th, 1674, the ship Blanc Pinion saved the remainder of the colony and the last colonists take refuge then on the island Bourbon (the Réunion).
After the departure of the French colonists, Fort-Dauphin and his area pass under the control of king Tanosy, and were féquentés by many ships, of which good number of them were devoted to the Piraterie.
Of 1766 with 1771, French ordered by the count of Maudave try to be restored in Fort-Dauphin, in order to make old counter a base of provisioning for their colonies of the Mascareignes (the Réunion, the Mauritius and the Île Rodrigues). The colonists were well accommodated by the local population, and the project knew promising beginnings, in spite of the lack of means. However in 1770, the central administration of the navy gave up the project undertaken four years more tôt.
Until the end of the XVIIIe century and during the XIXe century, Fort-Dauphin remained an important commercial port, very attended by the fleets sailing in the Indian Ocean.

Population and Demography

The area of Tôlanaro is populated by the people of Antanosy.
At the time of the census of 1975, the city counted 19.605 inhabitants. In 1993, the population was of 30.690 inhabitants and it reached approximately 39.000 inhabitants with the mid- 2001. Today, more than 46.000 inhabitants live in Tôlanaro.
Since 1955, the city is also the seat of a évêché.

source: Censuses of 1975 and 1993, estimates of 2001 and 2005.

Economy and Productions

The port of Tôlanaro is an open door on the world, which is useful above all with export of the Langouste S, the Crabe S and the Algue S desséchées.
In spite of the presence of many raw materials in the area, much under-are still exploited (invaluable Pierres, Bauxite, Titane).
Nevertheless, the recent introduction of ilmenite by Rio Tinto gives a whiplash to the local economy, with in consequence an inflation hard to bear for the autochtones.
The Tourisme is also one of the major activities of Tôlanaro.

Many plantations of Sisal.

Infrastrucutures

The town of Tôlanaro is difficult to reach by the route.
The Airport, in the west of the city, has regular connections with the capital Tananarive (Tananarive), and Tuléar. Recently, a regular air link is established with Saint Denis of the Meeting like Johannesbourg the jeudi.
Moreover, the city also has a hospital.

Remarkable sites

Natural sites

National park of Andohahela

The national park of Andohahela is located at the North-West of Tôlanaro.

Reserve of Nahampohana

Old “botanical station of acclimatization” of species useful to Madagascar, created about 1900, this garden of 67 hectares to the foot of the peak St Louis comprises from now on many endemic plants, (among which didieracées, trees in the shape of cactus), several species of lémurs, tortoises, chameleons and crocodiles and a course in the boat on the river. Two dwelling houses and a restaurant accommodate you there.

Durable tourism:

Conversion of an unutilised botanical station and with the abandonment into tourist center of attraction which generates 15 employment. In project, reinforcement of the truck farming to nourish the hosts of the restaurant, sale of the essential oils produced on the reserve (Camphor, Niaouli), of the letchis and mangos. This reserve is not enclosed, people of the close village use it, within the limit of the respect of the site and of its vocation.

source: future French version of site WHL on durable tourism, madagascarhotel-link, given collected by the author on the ground in November 2006

Reserve of Berenty

This reserve is especially known for the Lémurien S which it lodges. However 99 avian species were also listed there. Some are endemic Field of the South (Coua runner, Thamnornis, Newtonie d' Archbold and Vanga de Lafresnaye) or more widespread in Madagascar (Héron de Humblot, Epervier of Madagascar, masked Ganga, giant Coua, Small-duke of Madagascar, Ninox with eyebrows and Malagasy Martin-chasseur).

Splits of Lokaro

The lake Vinanibe

• the old name of the lake at the time of colonization fançaise was Vinany-Be. A company: The Public limit company of Vinany-Be of French right was founded at the end of the 19th century for the exploitation of wood tropical, its head office was with Excideuil, the Dordogne.

The peak Saint-Louis

The peak Saint Louis culminates to 529 m of altitude, in the north of Tôlanaro.

The beach of Libanona

Historic sites

There exist many raised stones, sacrificial sites of the Antanosy culture, indexed and worth visiting in the area. It is known that Fort Dolphin was the place of a French establishment of the time of the minority of Louis XIV, but Portuguais had preceded them. Pronis, Flacourt, but also the monks of St Vincent of Paul left traces. Interesting vestiges exist for the amateurs of “cultural” excursions: those of strong Flacourt (XVII century) in the course of installation, those of the “Tranovato” Portuguese fort of the small island Santa Cruz (16th century), colonial buildings of the botanical garden of Nahampohena, but it is necessary to also note the residences of the XX century beginning pertaining to the American missionaries, and architecture 1950 of the Town hall currently in the course of restoration… An old colonial past, immortalized by the " Songs madécasses" of Evariste de Parny, and the " history of large Isle Madagascar " of Etienne de Flacourt. To safeguard these vestiges is essential, to accompany them by an alive and gravitational museography for the tourists as for the school ones is important. The small ethnographic museum Atandroy de Berenty is to be announced like model.

Strong Flacourt

Currently occupied by the Malagasy Army. Renovation project in progress.

sources: inquire into the ground Nov. 2006 for site WHM worldhotel-link.com

Various Names

• Tôlanaro (or Tolanaro)

• Tolagnaro
• Taolagnaro
• Taolanaro
• Fort-Dauphin
• Tôlagnaro
• Faradofay
• Tôla

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