colony · Central and Southern Africa
Ile Sainte-Marie
Origins
In the 1690s Ile Sainte-Marie (Nosy Boraha) became a base for pirates raiding the Indian Ocean, with a trading post run by Adam Baldridge supplying them. Descendants of the pirates and local Malagasy later formed part of the Betsimisaraka Confederation. In 1750 Princess Bety, daughter of Ratsimilaho, ceded the island to France.
Rule and society
The French East India Company established a small post, but disease and a Malagasy uprising soon forced its abandonment. France reoccupied the island in 1818 under Sylvain Roux, building at Ambodifotatra a base for trade and for French claims on Madagascar. It was administered from Ile Bourbon for much of the 19th century, with a small Catholic population.
Decline and legacy
In 1896 Sainte-Marie was attached to the new French colony of Madagascar, and it has been part of Madagascar since independence in 1960.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Ile Sainte-Marie was a colony of French Empire1750 CE – 1896 CE
More states of Central and Southern Africa →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ile Sainte-Marie. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ile-sainte-marie
- MLA
- “Ile Sainte-Marie.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ile-sainte-marie. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Ile Sainte-Marie.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ile-sainte-marie.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ile Sainte-Marie’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ile-sainte-marie (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻