Tea at Trianon: The Remains of Antongona and the Merina Dynasty

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, March 12, 2020

The Remains of Antongona and the Merina Dynasty

From Ancient Origins:

Antongona consists of two archaeological sites that date from the 1500s to roughly 1800. The two areas, which are walled and fortified, are 984 ft (300m) apart. They are set on two high, rocky hills which was of great strategic value and offers an expansive view of the surrounding plain. Both sites are accessed by narrow, winding sets of flagged steps. The steep approach to the gates is narrowed by earthen works and to access Antongona, there are seven gates to pass through. These designs were used to obstruct and deter even the most determined attacker. Inside the walls lie the remains of various buildings of the former village. There are also two royal wooden houses built in a traditional Malagasy style, which were based on the designs of the tombs of early Madagascan kings. The site has a museum is dedicated to the history of Merina kingdom and its culture. (Read more.)