history of Madagascar

The History of Madagascar started from the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea, containing amongst others the African continent and the Indian subcontinent, and by the island's late colonization by human settlers from South Borneo, Indonesia and from East Africa.These two factors facilitated the evolution and survival of thousands of endemic plant and animal species, some of which have gone extinct or are currently threatened with extinction. Trade in the Indian Ocean at the time of first colonization of Madagascar was dominated by Indonesian ships, probably of Borobudur ship and K'un-lun po types.

Over two thousand years, the island has received waves of settlers of diverse origins, primarily Austronesian and Bantu. Centuries of intermarriages between both groups created the Malagasy people, who are roughly an equal mixture of both groups. They speak Malagasy, an Austronesian language with Bantu, French and Arabic influences.