Antananarivo capital city of Madagascar. Antananarivo is located in central Madagascar Island, at an elevation of 4,100 ft (1,250 m). The city was founded in the 17th century and was controlled by the Merina from 1793 until the end of the 19th century. The French made Antananarivo the capital of their colony when they took control of the region at the end of the 19th century and renamed it Tananarive. The name became Antananarivo after the 1972 revolution.