Madagascar & Dependencies

Madagascar and dependencies Back to French index.
In 1500 Diogo Dias, a Portuguese navigator, was the first European to visit the island. In 1643 the French arrived and established a trading post at Fort-Dauphin. In 1890 the British relinquished their interests in Madagascar to France, and in 1895, Madagascar became a French protectorate. During World War II, Madagascar was occupied by British and South African forces (1942), but the following year it was turned over to the Free French.
	Madagascar, formerly called the Malagasy Republic, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, located about 400 km (250 mi) across the Mozambique Channel to the southeastern coast of Africa. Approximately the same size as Texas, Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world, including its five small off-shore island dependencies.
In 1960 the Malagasy Republic became an independent nation.