Discover MADAGASCAR: World’s Capital of Vanilla Production | 10 INTERESTING FACTS
Did you know that it is presumed that it took humans 300,000 years to discover it? Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean. It was previously known as the Malagasy Republic but is now officially referred to as the Republic of Madagascar. It has an area of 592,800 square kilometers making it the world’s second largest island country. Madagascar consists of the island of Madagascar and several other small peripheral islands. It is approximately 400 kilometers off the East African coast across the Mozambique channel. Malagasy and French are the official languages of the state. Its capital city is Antananarivo and its currency is the Malagasy ariary.
During the golden age of piracy, Madagascar was the perfect safe haven for pirates. Piracy was so rife that it threatened the world economy. The lucrative trade of the colonial powers of Spain, the Americas, France and Britain was affected. The Caribbean seas became so unsafe with the flocking of pirates in Madagascar. For instance, some time in the 1600s, there were about 1500 pirates living on the island.
Saint Marie was a popular pirate base from where they would head up to intercept and rob Mughal shipping on the Hajj pilgrimage. Others targeted Coromandel and Malabar coasts of India attacking wealthy Mughal merchants or the East Indiamen. The land had few laws. Madagascar had a sheltered harbor, ready supply of fresh produce, clean water, friendly natives and was close to the lucrative shipping routes of the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
From the 18th Century, piracy started declining due to reasons such as increasing competition from native Indian pirates and the end of the Mughal empire. Most of them chose to accept government pardon instead of facing the gallows when caught. By 1711, there were less than 100 pirates in Madagascar. When you go exploring the natural scenery of the island, you will more likely encounter a lemur and not a pirate with a patch on one eye ready to rob you.
Madagascar is referred to as the eighth continent because nearly 8% of its species exists nowhere else in the world. It has unique plant and animal species. The flora and fauna of the country have independently evolved from other continents. Its fascinating national parks will amaze you with a variety of lemurs like the large Indri indri and Silky sifaka, beautiful chameleons, orchid-filled rainforests, grandidier's baobabs, geckoes, tenrecs and many more.
According to a review done for Peter Tyson’s book on Madagascar, “Madagascar is a land where lizards scream and monkey-like lemurs sing songs of inexpressible beauty. It is a place where creatures you may never have heard of—fossa and tenrecs, vangas and aye ayes—thrive in a true ‘Lost World’ along with bizarre plants like the octopus tree and the three-cornered palm. And where the ancestors of the Malagasy, as the island’s people are known, come alive in rollicking ceremonies known as ‘turning the bones.’”
Madagascar is yet to be announced as the 8th continent.
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