OVERVIEW:
Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to Madagascar. Most notable are the lemur infraorder of primates, the carnivorous fossa, three endemic bird families and six endemic baobab species.
The Malagasy people do not pronounce the first and last syllable of many place names. When the French took control of the island, they changed the spelling of many places to match the pronunciation. After Independence, the Malagasy changed it back; but you will still find the "shortened" names in literature et cetera. For example, Antananarivo is the official name but everyone calls it "Tananarive" or "Tana" for short. In fact almost all the towns are generally called by their old names by everyone except officials. French guidebooks reflect this reality but confusingly, almost all English guidebooks stick to the official names which means that travellers have to grapple with two difficult-to-pronounce names instead of one.
While Madagascar is an island off the coast of Africa, it was originally settled by people from Indonesia. Only later did African and Arab immigrants mix into the population of the island. As a result, Madagascar is a little bit of an oddity when compared to other African nations. Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule.
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