By:
Monica Calderon(:
Official language: Malagasy, French, and English
Population: 17,404,000
Government type: Republic
Economy Industries: meat, soap,
brewing, hides, sugar textiles,
glassware, cement, and autos
Natural Resources: graphite,
chromites, coal, bauxite, salt,
quartz, tar sands, gem stones, mica,
fish, hydro power
Independence from French – June 26,
1990
French was the colonial power between
the 1890’s and 1960’s
Madagascar was settled 2,000 years ago
by Malayan – Indonesian people
The Island became a French
protectorate, 1896, and a colony, 1896
47th largest country
4th largest Island
Madagascar was first settled by humans around
1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D
Produced 70% of the worlds most labor-intensive
crop-Vanilla
Diego Dias was the first European to lay eyes on
Madagascar
Indonesia is closely related to Madagascar in terms of
culture including language
Before Madagascar became an Island, it was still
attached to a subcontinent –Indian subcontinent
Madagascar's Independence


In Madagascar, Independence Day is an occasion of great
magnitude. Celebrated on the 26th of June, the Malagasy people
celebrate with good food, drinking, and dancing. One of the
spectacles of the day is a presentation of ‘Hira Gasy’ which is a
musical presentation of Malagasy folklore; in this, singers wearing
their best traditional attire combine song and dance with
traditional folk tales from Madagascar. This is combined with a
speaker who presents each musical number with a piece of poetry
or an excerpt from a favorite folk tale.
Madagascar has undergone significant changes during the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Occupying a strategic location
off the southeast coast of Africa, the island historically became the
target of British and French imperial ambitions. Ultimately, the
competition resulted in French colonization at the end of the
nineteenth century. The country gained full independence from
colonial rule on June 26, 1960.
 the unification of Madagascar under a single state
(a process lasting from the late 18th to early 19th
centuries)
 French colonization (late 19th century)
 revolt against colonial rule (1947)
 revolution against the first President of
Madagascar, Philibert Tsiranana (1972)
 establishment of a multi-party democracy (early
1990s)
Madagascar was renamed as Democratic Republic of
Madagascar in 1975 and finally given the name ‘Republic of
Madagascar’ in 1993.
 Madagascar boasts of unique flora and fauna, majority of which
is not found anywhere else in the world.
 Due to soil erosion and deforestation, many of the plants and
animals found in the island have been categorized as
endangered species.
 Madagascar was renamed as Democratic Republic of
Madagascar in 1975 and finally given the name ‘Republic of
Madagascar’ in 1993.

Madagascar was part of the African continent but broke off and
drifted to where it is now about two million years ago. This
means that the plants and animals of Madagascar are unique,
and different from those of Africa. More than three quarters of
the plants and animals are found nowhere else, including huge
tree ferns and palm trees, amazing desert plants, and animals
such as the lemur.
 Madagascar was governed by France from 1895, but became a
republic in 1958, calling itself the Malagasy Republic. It
remained under French guidance until 1960, when it became a
fully independent country. In 1975, the country re-named itself
the Democratic Republic of Madagascar. In 1993 it became the
Republic of Madagascar.

THE END