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Native name: Komori :جزر القمر (Arabic) Archipel des Comores (French) |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Indian Ocean |
| Coordinates | 12°08′24″S 44°15′00″E / 12.14°S 44.25°ECoordinates: 12°08′24″S 44°15′00″E / 12.14°S 44.25°E |
| Total islands | 5 |
| Major islands | Grande Comore (Ngazidja) Mohéli (Mwali) Anjouan (Nzwani) Mayotte |
| Area | 2,236 km2 (863 sq mi) |
| Highest point | Kartala (2,361 m (7,750 ft)) |
| Country | |
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Comoros
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| Islands | Grande Comore (Ngazidja) Mohéli (Mwali) Anjouan (Nzwani) |
| Largest city | Moroni (pop. 60,200) |
| President | Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi |
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France
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| Overseas collectivity | Mayotte |
| Largest city | Mamoudzou (53,022) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 984,500 |
The Comoro Islands (Shikomori Komori; Arabic جزر القمر Juzur al-Qamar; French Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Tanzania and north-west of Madagascar. They are divided into an independent nation, the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores), and the island of Mayotte, a de facto French Overseas Community. According to different sources, the islet of Banc du Geyser and the Glorioso Islands may or may not form a part of this archipelago.
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The Comoros are located in the Mozambique Channel to the north-west of Madagascar and facing Mozambique. These four volcanic islands, covering a total area of 2236 km², are:
Two islets, have been considered part of this archipelago, by various sources, and at different times:
In addition, between Madagascar and Mayotte, there is the Banc du Leven, a former island which is submerged these days.
"The affinity between the Comorian flora and the Madagascan flora is certain. The presence of the Banc du Leven, along about one hundred kilometres to the extreme north-west of Madagascar between the Montagne d'Ambre and the archipelago could partly explain this affinity. In fact, this bank with a tabular appearance presents coralligenous sediments which can be attributed to the presence of a coral reef during the Würm glaciation.[1]" — Callmander, M.W. 2002. Biogéographie et systématique des Pandanaceae de l’Océan Indien occidental. Doctoral Thesis, University of Neuchâtel, 253 p.
Politically, the islands are currently divided into two entities:
The Union of the Comoros is recognized as including the three northernmost islands. Anjouan and Mohéli declared their independence in 1997, however these unilateral declarations of independence received no international recognition and were later rescinded.
Grande Comore is the youngest of the islands, and has a massive active volcano on it, which scientists predict is likely to erupt in the near future.
The first traces of inhabitation date back to the 6th century. Since then, numerous ethnicities have crossed over and mixed, among which are populations of Bantu, Malagasy, Indonesian, Arab, Portuguese, French and Indian origin. Islam arrived here in the 10th Century. These islands formed with Zanzibar, Pemba, Lamu... and the towns along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast a united and prosperous area with Swahili culture, living by trading slaves, ivory and other African goods destined for markets in the Middle East and India. During this period, power was in the hands of a number of local rulers. During their explorations of all this region, the Portuguese discovered and landed on the Islands of the Moon (qamar in Arabic means ‘moon’) in 1505.
Between 1841 and 1912, the French subdued the islands in a series of a number of incredible moves mixing, just like in Madagascar, acts of war, treachery and love stories. They succeeded in establishing protectorates and then a colony administered by the Governor General of Madagascar. The colony itself was formally established only after the Berlin conference of 1884-85 in which European powers divided up Africa.[2]
Since the workforce on Réunion was becoming increasingly more expensive, the Comoro Islands, forgotten by the central administration, offered the colonists and colonial societies (like la Bambao) various perspectives and a workforce in plantations of aromatic plants and vanilla. In 1946, the islands were no longer administratively attached to Madagascar and for the first time in their history formed a united and recognized administrative entity, an Overseas Territory of France (Territoire d'outre-mer or TOM).[2]
In 1974, France organized a referendum for self-determination in the archipelago: three of the four islands opted for independence (Grande Comore, Mohéli and Anjouan) and formed the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands. Only Mayotte wished to remain united with France.
In 1997, demands for increased autonomy on the islands of Nzwani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) led to the breakup of the Federal Islamic Republic.The government reformed under a new constitution in 2001 as the Union of the Comoro Islands. The new constitution gave each of the three islands considerable autonomy than had been enjoyed previously. An attempt by the President of Anjouan to secede was overthrown by military intervention by troops of the Comoran Union and the African Union. The island continues its present form of federal government albeit with minor changes approved in a 2009 referendum.[2]
Mayotte, which had voted to retain French suzerainty in the 1975 referendum, obtained a statute as a département d'outre-mer (DOM) (Overseas Department) following another referendum held on the island on the 29th March 2009.[2]
On June 30 2009, Yemenia Flight 626 crashed off the Comoros Islands. Out of 153 people, one survived.
The Comoro Archipelago consists of volcanic islands. These volcanic islands like some of the high mountains in the north of Madagascar were formed in the Tertiary and Quaternary Eras. The island of Mayotte is the oldest one still above sea level and underwent three volcanic phases between 15 million and 500,000 years ago. The ages progressively decrease from east to west. The most recent island is that of Grande Comore, and its volcano, Karthala, is still active, and has one of the largest calderas in the world.
The Comoro Archipelago enjoys a tropical maritime climate, characterized by slight daytime temperature variations throughout the year of around 26°C at sea-level and by abundant precipitation: 2679 mm a year. The average temperature of the sea water is 25°C. There are two seasons in the Comoros: the hot and humid season flowing in from the north-west from November to April and the dry season from May to October. The climate on Mayotte is, nevertheless, noticeably warmer and drier. The climate is also characterized by important local variations in temperature and precipitation according to altitude, relief and the degree of exposure to the elements. Annual precipitation therefore varies in the region of 1,000 to 6,000 mm and the absolute minimum of 0°C is reached on the summit of Karthala.
The hot, dry season is caused by a vast low pressure area which extends over a large part of the Indian Ocean and Central Africa. This low pressure favours gusty winds and cyclones. The last cyclone was "Gafilo" which passed close to the Comoros on the 5th of March 2004 causing great material damage. During the hot and dry season it can rain as much as 200 mm in twenty-four hours. The dry season is calmer. The low pressure moves towards the continent of Asia (this is the Monsoon, the wind blowing from the south-east) and an anticyclone forms below the Comoros. This still does not prevent the islands from having a few gusts of wind, but their intensity is a lot less than during the hot season.
The two winds that bring the two different seasons are called the Kashkasi (in November) and the Kusi.
Several mammals are endemic to the islands. The Maki of Mayotte, a type of lemur which is only found on this island, is protected by French law, and by local tradition. A species of bat discovered by David Livingstone in 1863, previously abundant, has now been reduced to a population of about 120 specimens, all of which live on Anjouan. A British preservation group sent an expedition to the Comoros in 1992, with the object of transporting some specimens to Great Britain, in order to form a reproducing colony.
Twenty-two species of birds are endemic to the archipelago, and seventeen of them only live on territories controlled by the Union; especially notable examples of these are the Karthala Scops-Owl, the Anjouan Scops-Owl and the Moucherolle of Humblot.
Partly as a result of international pressure during the 1990s, the government of the Union has begun to take greater care of the environment. Measures have been taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but also to check the destruction of the environment, especially on Anjouan, which is densely populated. More precisely, in order to minimize the felling of trees for fuel, kerosene has been subsidized, and efforts are underway to replace the lost forest cover caused by the distillation of Ylang-ylang for perfume. The Fund for the Support of Community Development, sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA, a subsidiary of the World Bank) and the Comorian government, is applying itself to improving the water supply on the islands.
Like other islands in the region, these islands possess numerous endemic species; here are some of the most notable species:
No large African animals (elephants, giraffes, lions, crocodiles, zebras or antelopes) are found on the Comoros, despite the islands being relatively close to the Mainland.
On the Comoros there are numerous tropical ecosystems that are primarily dependent on the altitude. There you can find many kinds of tropical plants, large numbers of which are endemic. Like most islands, the diversity of the local flora suffers from two pressures, on the one hand the reduction of available space caused by the reduction of biotopes due to the invasion of humans in what used to be the wildest areas and on the other hand the invasion of exotic plant species such as guava trees. The flora has only been poorly studied, France has however been made attempts on Mayotte to fill in the gaps. Efforts to preserve species are still not enough to save the richest zones, and disturbances of biotopes are expected to take place for many years to come.
The Comoro Archipelago is divided between:
The United Nations General Assembly continued to condemn the French presence in Mayotte until 1994. France, however, used its power of veto in the UN to prevent the Security Council from passing a resolution condemning France.
The African Union judged the French presence on Mayotte to be illegal.[3]
Mayotte forms a part of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union. It should become a Special Member State Territory at the moment that it is made a French Department.
The Comoros underwent a political crisis that started off in 1997 with the separatism on Anjouan. The political authorities on the island had turned the population of the island against the central government, advocating at first reunification with France, and later a greater autonomy bordering on independence.
Since 2006, the President of the Union of the Comoros Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, originally from the island of Anjouan has been in open conflict with the authorities of Anjouan, a conflict which ended in a military landing of the National Army of Development in order to re-establish the authority of the Union on the island.
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Area sq. m. |
Population. |
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Great Comoro.. . |
385 |
50,000 |
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Anjuan or Johanna. . |
145 |
12,000 |
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Mayotte |
140 |
11,000 |
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Moheli |
90 |
9,000 |
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Total . |
760 |
82,000 |
COMORO ISLANDS, a group of volcanic islands belonging to France, in the Indian Ocean, at the northern entrance of the Mozambique Channel midway between Madagascar and the African continent. The following table of the area and population of the four largest islands gives one of the sets of figures offered by various authorities: - There are besides a large number of islets of coral formation.. Particulars of the four islands named follow.
I. Great Comoro, or Angazia, the largest and most westerly, has a length of about 38 m., with a width of about 12 m. Near its southern extremity it rises into a fine dome-shaped volcanic mountain, Kartola (Karthala), which is over 8500 ft. high, and is visible for more than ioo m. Up to about 6000 ft. it is clothed with dense vegetation. Eruptions are recorded for the years 1830, 1855 and 1858; and another eruption occurred in 1904. In the north the ground rises gradually to a plateau some 2000 ft. above the sea; from this plateau many regularly shaped truncated cones rise another 2000 ft. The centre of the island consists of a desert field of lava streams, about 1600 ft. high. The chief towns are Maroni (pop. about 2000), Itzanda and Mitsamuli; the first, situated at the head of a bay in 11° 40' S.,, being the seat of the French administrator.
2. Anjuan, or Johanna, next in size, lies E. by S. of Comoro.. It is some 30 m. long by 20 at its greatest breadth. The land rises in a succession of richly wooded heights till it culminates in a central peak, upwards of 5000 ft. above the sea, in 12° 14' S., 44 27' E. The former capital, Mossamondu, on the N.W. coast, is substantially built of stone, surrounded by a wall, and commanded by a dilapidated citadel; it is the residence of the sultan and of the French administrator. There is a small but safe anchorage at Pomony, on the S. side, formerly used as a coal depot by ships of the British navy.
3. Mayotte, about 21 m. long by 6 or 7 m. broad, is surrounded by an extensive and dangerous coral reef. The principal heights on its extremely irregular surface are: Mavegani Mountain, which rises in two peaks to a maximum of 2164 ft., and Uchongin, 2100 ft. The French headquarters are on the islet of Zaudzi, which lies within the reef in 12° 46' S., 45° 20' E. There are substantial government buildings and store-houses. On the mainland opposite Zaudzi is Msapere, the chief centre of trade. Mayotte was devastated in 1898 by a cyclone of great severity.
4. Moheli or Mohilla lies S. of and between Anjuan and Grand Comoro. It is 15 m. long and '7 or 8 m. at its maximum breadth. Unlike the other three it has no peaks, but rises gradually to a central ridge about 1900 ft. in height. Fomboni (pop. about 2000) in the N.W. and Numa Choa in the S.W. are the chief towns.
All the islands possess a very fertile soil; there are forests of coco-nut palms, and among the products are rice, maize, sweetpotatoes, yams, coffee, cotton, vanilla and various tropical fruits, the papaw tree being abundant. The fauna is allied to that of Madagascar rather than to the mainland of Africa; it includes some land birds and a species of lemur peculiar to the islands. Large numbers of cattle and sheep, the former similar to the small species at Aden, are reared as well as, in Great Comoro, the zebra. Turtles are caught in abundance along the coasts, and form an article of export. The climate is in general warm, but not torrid nor unsuitable for Europeans. The dry season lasts from May to the end of October, the rest of the year being rainy. The natives. are of mixed Malagasy, Negro and Arab blood. The majority are Mahommedans. The European inhabitants, mostly French, number about 600. There are some 200 British Indians, traders, in the islands. The external trade of the islands has developed since the annexation of Madagascar to France, and is of the value of about £100,000 a year. Sugar refineries, distilleries of rum, and sawmills are worked in Mayotte by French settlers. Cane sugar and vanilla are the chief exports. The islands are regularly visited by vessels of the Messageries Maritimes fleet, and a coaling station for the French navy has been established.
The islands were first visited by Europeans in the 16th century; they are marked on the map of Diego Ribero made in 1527. At that time, and for long afterwards, the dominant influence in, and the civilization of, the islands was Arab. According to tradition the islands were first peopled by Arab voyagers driven thither by tempests. The petty sultans who exercised authority were notorious slave traders. A Sakalava chief who had been driven from Madagascar by the Hovas took refuge in Mayotte c. 1830, and, with the aid of the sultan of Johanna, conquered the island, which for a century had been given over to civil war. French naval officers having reported on the strategic value of Mayotte, Admiral de Hell, governor of Reunion, sent an officer there in 1841, and a treaty was negotiated ceding the island to France. Possession was taken in 1843, the sultan of Johanna renouncing his claims in the same year. In 1886 the sultans of the other three islands were placed under French protection, France fearing that otherwise the islands would be taken by Germany. The French experienced some difficulty with the natives, but by 1892 had established their position. The islands, as regulated by the decree of the 9th of April 1908, are under the supreme authority of the governor-general of Madagascar. The local administration is in the hands of an official who himself governs Mayotte but is represented in the other islands by administrators. On the council which assists the governor are two nominated native notables. In 1910 the sultan of Great Comoro ceded his sovereign rights to France. In Anjuan the native government is continued under French supervision. The budgets of the four islands in 1904 came to some X30,000, that of Mayotte being about half the total. The chief sources of revenue are poll and house taxes, and, in Mayotte, a land tax.
The Iles Glorieuses, three islets 160 m. N.E. of Mayotte, with a population of some 20 souls engaged in the collection of guano and the capture of turtles, were in 1892 annexed to France and placed under the control of the administrator of Mayotte.
See Notice sur Mayotte et les Comores, by Emile Vienne, one of the memoirs on the French colonies prepared for the Paris Exhibition of 190o; Le Sultanat d'Anjouan, by Jules Repiquet (Paris, 1901), a systematic account of the geography, ethnology and history of Johanna; Les colonies franraises (Paris, 1900), vol. ii. pp. 179-197, in which the story of the archipelago is set forth by various writers; an account of the islands by A. Voeltzkow in the Zeitschrift of the Berlin Geog. Soc. (No. 9, 1906), and Carte des Iles Comores, by A. Meunier (Paris, 1904).
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