colony · Central and Southern Africa
Territory of the Comoros
Origins
The Comoro Islands had been attached to French Madagascar since 1912. In 1946 France made them a separate overseas territory, the Territoire des Comores, with its own elected assembly and deputies in the French parliament, and with Dzaoudzi on Mayotte as the administrative capital.
Rule and society
The islands' economy rested on vanilla, cloves, copra and ylang-ylang essential oil, largely controlled by French companies and local elites. Internal autonomy was granted in 1961 under Said Mohamed Cheikh. The capital was moved from Dzaoudzi to Moroni on Grande Comore in the 1960s, a decision resented on Mayotte.
Decline and legacy
In the 1974 referendum three islands voted for independence while Mayotte voted to stay French. Ahmed Abdallah declared independence on 6 July 1975, but France kept Mayotte, which the Comoros still claim.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Territory of the Comoros was a colony of French Empire1946 CE – 1975 CE
More states of Central and Southern Africa →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Territory of the Comoros. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-the-comoros
- MLA
- “Territory of the Comoros.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-the-comoros. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Territory of the Comoros.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-the-comoros.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Territory of the Comoros’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-the-comoros (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻