Madagascar, an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, presents a unique geographical and cultural puzzle. Only 250 miles (400 kilometers) separates the island of Madagascar from the southeast coast of Africa. This proximity has led to many assumptions about the origins of its inhabitants.
Location of Madagascar in relation to Africa
Geographical Overview
Madagascar is located in the southwestern Indian Ocean. It is separated from the African coast by the 250-mile- (400-km-) wide Mozambique Channel. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. It has a total area of 587,040 square kilometres (226,660 sq mi) with 581,540 square kilometres (224,530 sq mi) of land and 6,900 square kilometres (2,700 sq mi) of water.
Relief and Drainage
Madagascar consists of three parallel longitudinal zones: the central plateau, the coastal strip in the east, and the zone of low plateaus and plains in the west. The central plateau, situated between 2,500 and 4,500 feet (800 and 1,400 metres) above sea level, has been uplifted and worn down several times and is tilted to the west. The Tsaratanana region in the north is separated from the rest of the plateau by the Tsaratanana Massif, whose summit, Maromokotro, reaches 9,436 feet (2,876 metres) and is the highest point on the island. The steep eastern face of the plateau is drained by numerous short, torrential rivers. The more gently sloping western side of the plateau is crossed by longer and larger rivers, including the Onilahy, the Mangoky, the Tsiribihina, and the Betsiboka, which bring huge deposits of fertile alluvium down into the vast plains and many-channeled estuaries.
The coastal strip has an average width of about 30 miles (50 km). It is a narrow alluvial plain that terminates in a low coastline bordered with lagoons linked together by the Pangalanes (Ampangalana) Canal, which is more than 370 miles (600 km) long.
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The People of Madagascar
Although located some 250 miles (400 km) from the African continent, Madagascar’s population is primarily related not to African peoples but rather to those of Indonesia, more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) to the east. The Malagasy peoples, moreover, do not consider themselves to be Africans, but, because of the continuing bond with France that resulted from former colonial rule, the island developed political, economic, and cultural links with the French-speaking countries of western Africa.
The short distance between the two land masses traditionally led the outside world to assume that the native inhabitants of Madagascar - known as the Malagasy - originally came from the west, probably from the present day southeast African nation of Mozambique. Yet upon closer examination of the Malagasy’s language and their physical features, many scholars began to question this notion.
The Malagasy of the central plateau of Madagascar, known as the Highlanders, had light skin and facial features more akin to Southeast Asia or Indonesia. They also practiced a rice culture that was not unlike the rice cultures of Asia. And yet the coastal Malagasy, known as the Côtiers, seemed just the opposite. But both the Highlanders and the Côtiers speak the same language, which shares 90% of its vocabulary with a language spoken today in Southeast Borneo, and which has been officially classified as a branch of the Austronesian language family called West Malayo-Polynesian.
Genetic Studies
Trying to find the answers to these questions has vexed archaeologists, historians and linguists for generations. Over the past several years, geneticists have entered the fray to try and unravel the mysterious origins of the Malagasy. This study, led by Sergio Tofanelli of the University of Pisa, built upon a 2005 study by Matt Hurles and colleagues that was the first genetic exploration of the Malagasy people. But Tofanelli and his colleagues wanted to dig even deeper into the genetic history of the Malagasy.
They focused on two regions of the human genome often used in genetic ancestry studies: the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the Y chromosome. Tofanelli and his research team examined the mtDNA and Y chromosomes of Malagasy individuals scattered across the island, from both the Highlander and Côtiers groups. The researchers’ analysis revealed a mixture of both African and Asian genetic ancestry, in both the Highlanders and the Côtiers, which is perhaps contrary to the two groups’ physical apperance. So what does this mean? That even the Côtiers people, who often look more African in appearance, have an ancestry that traced back to Asia, specifically Borneo.
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The results from these analyses then begged the next question - how and when did the earliest inhabitants of Madgascar arrive on the island? Was it in two separate migrations - one from the east and one from the west - or did the Asian/African genetic make-up of the Malagasy exist prior to their first steps on Madagascar? It is easy to assume that any intermarriage between Africans and Southeast Asians happened after each arrived on the island.
In fact, Tofanelli describes the genetic make-up of the Malagasy as a consequence of “the encounter of people surfing the extreme edges of two of the broadest historical waves of expansion” in human history. But Tofanelli proposes an alternative hypothesis as well. He argues for a long history of contact between Bantu-speaking Africans and seafarers from Borneo dating back thousands of years. As evidence he cites banana cultivation in Cameroon and Uganda that can be traced back to Southeast Asia, as well as the introduction of humped cattle into Africa from Asia. If the Southeast Asians and eastern Africans shared farming techniques, it stands to reason that they may have shared genes as well.
Geological History
Madagascar originated as part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Its west coast was formed when Africa broke off from Gondwana around 165 million years ago. Madagascar eventually broke off from India about 88 million years ago.
Climate
The climate is tropical along the coast, temperate inland, and arid in the south. The weather is dominated by the southeastern trade winds that originate in the Indian Ocean anticyclone, a center of high atmospheric pressure that seasonally changes its position over the ocean. Madagascar has two seasons: a warm, wet season from November to April; and a cooler, dry season from May to October. There is, however, great variation in climate owing to elevation and position relative to dominant winds.
The east coast has a tropical rainforest climate; being most directly exposed to the trade winds, it has the highest rainfall, averaging as high as 4,000 mm (157.5 in) annually in some places. Because rain clouds discharge much of their moisture east of the highest elevations on the island, the Central Highlands are drier and, owing to the altitude, also cooler. The west coast is drier than either the east coast or the Central Highlands because the trade winds lose their humidity by the time they reach this region.
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Biodiversity
The animal life and vegetation of the island are equally anomalous, differing greatly from that of nearby Africa and being in many respects unique. Madagascar has been called the "Great Red Island" because of the prominence of red lateritic soils. Madagascar has been described as an "alternate world" or a "world apart" because of the uniqueness and rarity of many of its plant and animal species. Many of the characteristic African species-large mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra, and antelope and predators such as lions and leopards-do not exist in Madagascar.
The island of Madagascar has been described as an "alternate world" or a "world apart" because of the uniqueness and rarity of many of its plant and animal species. In addition, the island has been spared the great variety of venomous snakes indigenous to the African continent. Although it is assumed that most life forms on the island had an African (or South American) origin, isolation has allowed old species-elsewhere extinct-to survive and new species unique to the island to evolve.
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Mozambique Channel
The Indian Ocean has several marginal seas, gulfs, channels, bays and straits of different sizes and topographies. It separates the southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. Per the International Hydrographic Organization, the eastern boundary lies on the western coast of Madagascar. The southern end is defined by a line connecting Cape Sainte-Marie to Ponto do Ouro.
The Mozambique channel is 1600 km or 1000 miles long. It is around 400 to 950 km wide. Mozambique channel is called by different names. It is called Canal du Mozambique in French and Lakandranon’i Mozambika in Malagasy.
The Mozambique Channel plays an important role in the economy of Eastern and Southern Africa. Many companies like Eni and Anadarko have conducted exploration activities in the Rovuma Basin. The northern part of the channel has rich fisheries which are exploited by countries like Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles.
The Mozambique Channel enjoys a strategic position and has 29 ports along its coastline. Most of the ports on the channel have a rich history. They were established in the 11th-12th centuries by Omani Arab and Persian merchants and traders.
Key Facts about the Mozambique Channel
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Length | 1600 km (1000 miles) |
| Width | 400 to 950 km |
| Location | Separates Madagascar and Mozambique |
| Economic Importance | Rich fisheries, strategic ports |
Map of Mozambique Channel
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