Joseph-François Lambert

Joseph-François Lambert, the "Duke of Imerina" (1824–1873) was a French adventurer, businessman, and diplomat who fathered the Lambert Charter.

Lambert was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine in 1824. He traveled to Mauritius where, at the age of 22, he married a wealthy widow and accumulated further wealth by entering the slave trade. In 1854 he relieved a garrison in Madagascar held by Merina troops that had come under threat by a coastal community rebelling against the rule of Queen Ranavalona I. As a reward, he was invited to a royal audience with the queen at her royal compound in Antananarivo. There he met Jean Laborde, a Frenchman who had established an armament industry for the Merina army. Lambert also made the acquaintance of the queen's son and future heir, Prince Rakoto.

According to Lambert, the prince gave him the exclusive right to exploit all minerals, forests, and unoccupied land in Madagascar in exchange for a 10-percent royalty payable to the Merina monarchy, although the true events are far more complicated. In years to come, the French would use this "Lambert Charter" and a letter of the prince to Napoléon III asking for French protection to justify the Franco-Hova Wars and the annexation of Madagascar as a colony. The Lambert Charter was signed on 28 June 1855. The authenticity of the documents has been questioned and, in any case, the prince had no official French authority at that time and his actions could have been treacherous.

With these documents, Lambert went to London and Paris to try to elicit help and support to overthrow the ruling queen and have her replaced by her son. Although no official help was forthcoming, he returned to Madagascar in 1857 to implement the plotted coup himself. The world traveler Ida Pfeiffer was a member of his travel party and thus an unwitting participant in the coup attempt, which ultimately failed. Queen Ranavalona executed the locals who were involved and banished the Europeans implicated, including Lambert, Laborde, and Pfeiffer. Lambert with the survivors embarked and returned to Mauritius.

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