Note on the Chinese population in Africa：case of Madagascar

Cheng Jian Ramiakajato Antsa Lalaina

Madagascar has the second largest overseas population of Chinese in Africa right after South Africa； boasting a number of about 100 000 individuals still growing.Despite the fact that diplomatic relationship between the two countries started in 1972，the Chinese population presence can be traced back to 150 years ago while most Chinese community in Africa came less than 50 years ago.

1.Origin of Chinese migration to Madagascar

The scholars （Slawecki，1971； Chang，1972） cite the abolition of slavery by the English in 1833 and by the French in 1848 as the major forces in the rapid expansion of the Chinese diaspora into the islands of the Indian Ocean，including Madagascar，Reunion and Mauritius in the 19th century （around 1840s）.The English and French planters and land owners on the Island needed affordable labor in abundance and the size of the available working labors in the island back then （without the support of a free labor slave based system） was not enough to make plantations of tropical and subtropical crops such as sugar cotton，rubber，and tobacco fully operative.As the French controlled parts of India and China（ during the Qing dynasty，between 1644—1911） Chinese workers were available and several Chinese men came to Madagascar between 1896 to 1899 to build infrastructures.However once the projects were done，most of the workers went back to China.Those who chose to stay started farming or operating small retail or groceries stores especially along the eastern costal cities，which are still boasting the largest community of Chinese in Madagascar up to this day.Some Chinese workers came from nearby Mauritius and Reunion island.It was estimated that from 1900 to 1950，about 5，000 Chinese settled for good in Madagascar，with 3，182 coming from China，1，311 from Mauritius，and 502 from Reunion （Pan，1999）.

2.Modern migration of Chinese to Madagascar

Starting around the years 1990s and 2000s，thanks to the success of the Sino-African economic forum，new waves of Chinese migrants came to Madagascar.This wave is different from the first Chinese settlers of the island as they spoke mandarin and are from diverse regions of China while the first ones where mostly speaking Cantonese from Fujian and Guangdong.Another major difference is the lifestyle of these “new Chinese”.The 19th century Chinese descents were mostly from low income neighbourhood with a majority of farmers.The new wave was more diverse and well off，mostly from middle class，they have various backgrounds such as traders，doctors，Chinese companies employees，volunteers.The earliest of them knew Madagascar through the connection of government officials or came to accomplish official overseas missions and stayed.Later settlers especially those who came after 2000 are aware of the economic potential of Madagascar and specifically came for business purposes.Most of them are not intending to stay more than few years，just waiting to save enough money to invest back in China.However，some of the most successful Chinese entrepreneurs are favorable in staying on the island for a longer period of time to take care of their successful business.Culturally，the “old Chinese” dont have strong emotional and cultural connection to mainland China anymore： they adopted some of the Malagasy culture and celebrations，learned French and Malagasy.On the other side，Chinese who arrived later in the 2000s are strongly rooted in the Chinese culture，forming a strong community of Mandarin speakers and spreading Chinese culture.

Today，the Chinese community of Madagascar is more scattered than in the 90s or early 2000s.Most of the newcomers follows the business opportunities.Chinese businesses open in all part of the big Island，even the deep south which has been always deemed a remote place starts attracting Chinese population due to the presence of mineral resources.These new groups of Chinese settlers have different types of business： clothing shops，Chinese restaurants，electronic shops.A smaller group is made out of spice commodities traders （vanilla pods，cloves） who collect and export spice to China.Chinese people contribute greatly in the development of Madagascar.

REFERENCE

[1]Fournet-Guérin，Catherine.La nouvelle immigration chinoise à Tananarive[J].Perspectives chinoises，2006（96）： 46–57.

[2]Andriamanana，Sarah R.Chinese immigration to California and to Madagascar： a comparative study，Ph[D].D.dissertation，University of Texas at Austin，1987.

[3]A.Kathirasen.A vibrant minority： The Chinese and Indians，who make up a tiny minority in Madagascar，are doing very well for themselves[J].Singapore：New Straits Times，2001.

作者簡(jiǎn)介

RAMIAKAJATO Antsa Lalaina，國(guó)家：馬達(dá)加斯加；學(xué)歷：研究生；單位：河北經(jīng)貿(mào)大學(xué)；方向：國(guó)際貿(mào)易學(xué)。