Wonder Woman of the Week: Djoumbe Fatima
Our Wonder Woman this week was once queen of an often forgotten kingdom that ruled the waves of the western Indian Ocean. Djoumbe Fatima was born in either 1836 or 37 as the daughter of King Ramanetaka of the island kingdom of Moheli in modern-day Comoros. Moheli was an important stop on trade routes connecting East Africa to South and Southeast Asia, and Ramanetaka's kinship with the Malagasy kings of Madagascar would help kindle the rise in importance of the Kingdom of Moheli. Unfortunately for the kingdom, Ramanetaka died with only his six year-old daughter to ascend to the throne. Djoumbe's mother and step-father- Ramanetaka's old advisor- trained Djoumbe how to be their next queen; and their training paid off.
In the 1840's, the young Queen Djoumbe Fatima met her first test as rulers when Christian missionaries began to arrive in an early attempt at laying the foundations for colonization. Fatima managed to drive the missionaries off to maintain her island's Islamic status; but colonization attempts did not end there. In the late 1840's France was colonizing other islands in the region- including Mayotte- and had their eyes on Comoros. The French sent Madame Druit to act s a new advisor for the young queen and attempted to use the governess as a tool for turning Fatima into a protectorate monarch. Instead, Fatima exiled Druit and married a member of the Zanzibar royal family in preparation for defense against a French invasion.
The French would not return until over a decade later after Fatima had already had her first child and was preparing to leave her throne to her new son. The French attempted a peaceful annexation, but Fatima again refused to relinquish her kingdom's independence. Queen Djoumbe relinquished her throne soon after to allow her son to rule as king until he died; after which, Fatima resumed her seat on the throne and reigned until her death in 1878- having spent her entire life successfully resisting foreign pressure to relinquish her kingdom's independence. The French would not take control of the island until almost a half a century later in 1909.
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