Madagascar

Madagascar Island, constituting with minor adjacent islands the Malagasy Republic, in the Indian Ocean off southeast Africa It is the fourth largest island in the world. The first Europeans known to have visited the island were the Portuguese, in 1500. Their missionaries tried unsuccessfully to convert the natives to Christianity in series of raids. Early French settlers were often massacred. The island also became a haven for pirates such as William (»Billy the«) Kidd (1645–1701). These…