The island of Mohéli / Mwali, originally a dependency of the Sultanate of
Anjouan, evolved towards a separate political entity in the first part of the
19th century. It became a French protectorate in 1886 (1)
(1) French interest for the island started in 1843, when a first attempt
to establish a protectorate was made. In the course of the following
years French influence further increased and on some occasions (in
1861, in 1871) French troops intervened in island affairs.
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FRENCH REPRESENTATIVES
Residents
Résidents
(subordinated to the French administrators of Mayotte)
1886 - 1887 Louis Hyacinthe Désiré Jules Vincent 1846 - 1894
1887 - 1888 ... Barneaud*
1888 - 1889 Edmond Edouard Regnot 1850 - 1891
1889 ... Barneaud* (2x)
1889 : The residency of Mohéli was suppressed. The Sultanate became dependent
of the Residents of Anjouan. (2)
(2) From 1897 onwards these residents would be represented in Mohéli by a
Chancellor. The first of these was Gustave-Adolphe Paul Emile Dufour
(1862 - 19..), who was in office 1897 - 1898.
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HEADS OF STATE
Sultans
House of Ramanetaka ("Malagasy Dynasty")
(ruled from 1832)
1867 - 1875 Mohamed bin Saidi Mohamed Nasr M'Kadari 1859 - 1875
Regents
1867 - 1868 Jumbe Sudi "Jumbe Fatima" bint
Abderremane°, mother, left for
France 1836 - 1878
1868 - 1871 Joseph Lambert, Duc d'Imerina
(3) 1824 - 1873
1871 - 1875 Jumbe Sudi "Jumbe Fatima" bint
Abderremane°, (2x)
1875 - 1878 Jumbe Sudi "Jumbe Fatima" bint Abderremane°
(2x)
1878 - 1885 Abderremane bin Saidi Mohamed Nasr M'Kadari,
son, assassinated 1860 - 1885
House of Shekhe Mukhtar ("Arabic or Mohéli Dynasty")
(ruled already until 1832)
1885 - 1886 Mohammed bin Shekhe 1830 -
1886 - 1888 Marjani bin Abudu Shekhe, nephew,
abdicated 1851 -
Regents (4)
1888 - 1889 -Fadeli bin Othman
-Balia Juma°
-Abudu Tsivandini
1889 - 1897 Mahmudu bin Mohamed Nasr M'Kadari,
deposed (5)1863 - 1898
(3) A French trader who, since a convention signed in 1865, owned most of
the cultivable lands of the island, in this way being its most powerfull
man and its de facto ruler.
(4) The regents acted for the absent Ursule Salima Machamba° (1876 - 1964),
- a daughter of Jumbe Fatima (s.a.) and Emile Charles Marie Fleurot
de Langle, a French trader (1... - 1881) - who had been chosen by
the French as Sultane.
She never showed interest for the throne of Mohéli and never came to
the island. So the French government didn't insist on her installation
and in 1899 replaced her nomination as Sultane by a yearly allowance
of 3000 Frs.
(5) After the assassination of his brother Abderremane, Mahmud had ruled
most of the island until 1886 when he was driven out by the French.
After him, no new regent was appointed and the Kadi of Fomboni now
became the highest indigenous authority.
In 1912 the Sultanate was formally abolished and the island became part of
the new French dependency of the Comoros.
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