What did Andrianampoinimerina mean by saying that the sea would be the boundary of his rice field?

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When King Andrianampoinimerina (reigned 1787–1810) declared that "the sea would be the boundary of his rice field," he was expressing his political ambition to unify the entire island of Madagascar under the Merina kingdom.12

By using the metaphor of a "rice field"—a central element of Merina life and economy—he framed the expansion of his realm as a natural and necessary consolidation of his territory. This statement served as a directive to his son and successor, Radama I, to continue the work of bringing the various kingdoms across the island under centralized Merina rule.31