Mahajanga

Mahajanga exists because the Sakalava exist. This northwest port on the Mozambique Channel became the trading capital of the Boina Kingdom in the late 17th century under King Andriamandisoarivo (1685-1718), independent of—and rival to—the Merina highlands. Where Antananarivo engineered rice terraces inward, Mahajanga faced outward: Arab dhows, Comorian traders, and African merchants created a cosmopolitan entrepôt that survived by connecting Madagascar's northwest to Indian Ocean networks the highland kingdoms couldn't reach. French colonizers declared it a protectorate in 1841, recognizing that controlling this secondary port meant controlling alternative trade routes that bypassed Merina power. The city's 258,068 people in 2020 maintain cultural diversity the capital lacks—mosques alongside churches, Antalaotra seafaring traditions alongside highland Malagasy. Madagascar's third-largest city and second-most important port after Toamasina, Mahajanga handles regional trade and fishing that doesn't need to transit through the east coast bottleneck. But second most important defines its constraint: when export volumes concentrate at Toamasina, Mahajanga's port operates below capacity. The Betsiboka River deposits sediment into Bombetoka Bay, requiring constant dredging to maintain harbor depth. Climate change increases cyclone intensity from the Mozambique Channel, battering infrastructure without the investment priority given to Toamasina. By 2026, Mahajanga tests whether a secondary port can maintain economic viability when trade volumes contract and infrastructure investment flows to the primary gateway.