Salima Machamba (1 November 1874, Fomboni – 7 August 1964, Pesmes) was sultan of Mohéli (Mwali) in 1888–1909. Her official paternal name was Salima Machamba bint Saidi Hamadi Makadara. She was a relative of Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar.

Salima Machamba
Queen (Sultan) of Mohéli (Mwali)
Reign1888–1909
PredecessorMarjani bin Abudu Shekhe
SuccessorFrench colonialism
Born1 November 1874
Fomboni, Mohéli
Died7 August 1964(1964-08-07) (aged 89)
Pesmes, Haute-Saône, France
Burial10 August 1964
L'église Saint-Hilaire, Pesmes
ConsortCamille Paule (1867–1946)
Issue
DynastyMerina
FatherEmile Fleuriot de Langle
MotherJumbe Fatima bint Abderremane, Sultan of Mohéli (1836/37–1878)
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Life

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Salima Machamba was born on 1 November 1874 in Fomboni, to Jumbe Fatima bint Abderremane, Queen (Sultan) of Mohéli (Mwali) and Emile Fleuriot de Langle (1837–1881), a great-grandson of Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle.[1][2] She was born out of wedlock, but officially bore the name of her mother's husband and was recognised as Salima Machamba bint Saidi Hamadi Makadara.[3]

She was chosen as the puppet queen of Mohéli by the French, who made Comoros a French protectorate. She fell in love with and married on 28 August 1901 Camille Paule, a French gendarme,in Saint Denis, Réunion. In 1909 she was deposed by the French government and Comoros was annexed by France.

She was deported with her family to France. She gave birth to three children. The French government provided her with a yearly allowance of 3,000 gold Francs. She lived as a simple farmer in Haute-Saône, and died in Pesmes on 7 August 1964. She was buried at L'église Saint-Hilaire, Pesmes on 10 August 1964.[4] Her granddaughter Anne Etter represents the royal family of Mohéli in Comoros as the president of Association Développement des Iles Comores.[5]

Children

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From her marriage to Camille Paule (1 March 1867, Pesmes – 22 September 1946, Champagney, Jura), three children:

Notes

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  1. ^ (in French) "Salima Machamba, Reine de Moheli et agricultrice à Cléry", Archives départementales de la Côte d'Or, 2016.
  2. ^ (in French) Anne Etter, « À Salima de Mohéli, dernière reine comorienne, la fidélité d’une petite-fille », Éditions Komedit, 2012.
  3. ^ See Nivois (1995).
  4. ^ See Nivois (1995).
  5. ^ * La France en Union des Comores Ambassade de France à Moroni/Le portrait de la femme du mois (Access date: 27 October 2014)

Bibliography

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  • Nivois, Julienne: A Pesmes, en Franche-Comté..., Une Reine oubliée par l'Histoire, Éditions Dominique Guéniot, Paris, 1995.
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Salima Machamba
Born: November 1874 Died: August 1964
Regnal titles
Preceded by Sultan of Mohéli (Mwali)
1888–1909
Succeeded by