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Merina people were settled in the central Madagascar, formed one of the three major kingdoms on the island by the 18th century – the other two being Sakalava kingdom on the west-northwest and Betsimisaraka kingdom on the east-northeast. According to the island's oral traditions, the "most Austronesian looking" Merina people reached the interior of the island in the 15th century and established their society there because of wars and migrant pressure at the coast. The Merina people's culture likely mixed and merged with the Madagascar natives named Vazimba about whom little is known. The Merina were probably the early arrivals, though this is uncertain and other ethnic groups on Madagascar consider them relative newcomers to the island. This influx of diverse people led to various Malagasy sub-ethnicities in the mid-2nd millennium. Traditional region of the Merina people (purple center), relative to other Malagasy ethnic groups. The Merina people were socially stratified with hierarchical castes, inherited occupations and endogamy, and one or two of the major and long serving monarchs of the Merina people were queens. They built innovative and elaborate irrigation infrastructure and highly productive rice farms in high plateaus of Madagascar by the 18th century. The French fought two wars with the Merina people in 1883-1885 and in 1895, colonized Madagascar in 1895–96 and abolished the Merina monarchy in 1897. Beginning in the late 18th century, Merina sovereigns expanded the political region under their control from their interior capital, outwards into the island, with their king Radama I ultimately helping unite the island under their rule. The Merina people are most commonly found in the center of the island (former Antananarivo Province). They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar. Their origins are mixed, predominantly with Austronesians arriving before the 5th century AD, then many centuries later with Arabs, Africans and other ethnic groups. They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. Christianity (Catholic, Protestant) syncretic with Traditional Religion īetsileo other Malagasy groups Austronesian peoples