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

 47 th largest country  4 th 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

 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, Madagascar's Independence

 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  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.

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