Article Outline
Mayotte, one of the four main islands of the Comoros archipelago. It lies at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, 320 km (200 mi) from the coast of Madagascar and 71 km (44 mi) southeast of the Comorian island of Nzwani. Mayotte is a dependency of France, although sovereignty over the island is claimed by the country of Comoros. The territory of Mayotte consists of three islands: the main island and two smaller adjacent islands, Pamanzi and Dzaoudzi. The capital is Mamoudzou, the largest town on the main island of Mayotte.
The main island has an area of 374 km (144 sq mi) and is volcanic in origin. It has a mountainous terrain with a rocky coastline. The highest mountain, Mount Bénara, has an elevation of 660 m (2,166 ft), but the most striking feature of the island is the bare sugarloaf mountain of Outchongui in the south. Mayotte is almost entirely surrounded by a coral reef, which is rich in marine life and provides extensive protected anchorages within its lagoon. The island climate is dominated by the monsoons from the Indian Ocean, which bring cyclones and torrential rain between November and April. Temperatures vary from about 18°C (65°F) in the dry season to about 30°C (85°F) during the rainy season. The island's soils are rich in minerals and at one time supported tropical rain forest. Almost all of this forest has been cleared, however, mostly by sugar planters in the 19th century, and it has been succeeded by palm trees, food crops, and scrub. Erosion and depleted soil fertility have been environmental problems, but the island has abundant supplies of freshwater.
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The People of Mayotte
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The population of Mayotte was 223,765 in 2009. Most of the people of Mayotte, called Mahorais, live in villages or small towns, including Mamoudzou (1999 population, 45,457), Dzaoudzi (8,257), Pamanzi Be, and Chingoni. Since 1975, when Mayotte chose to remain a French territory, there has been extensive immigration from the other islands of the Comoros, and the Comorian element in the population is now in a clear majority. The population is 98 percent Muslim (see Islam). During the 19th century a large number of migrants from Madagascar settled on the island. Many of these were non-Muslims and some embraced Roman Catholicism after the French occupation. Loan-words from Malagasy, the language of Madagascar, have significantly added to the Shimahore language spoken by the Mahorais.
In the 19th century Mayotte attracted Creole sugar planters from Réunion (another French-controlled island in the Indian Ocean). Since then the export of sugar has been replaced by a small export of ylang-ylang (the essence extracted from ylang-ylang flowers and used to make perfume), vanilla, and coffee, much of it grown and processed by landowners with small holdings. The economy of most of the people depends on subsistence farming, fishing, and on employment provided by the French administration and armed forces. France heavily subsidizes the economy, and imports are many times the value of exports.
The airport is located on the island of Pamanzi, which is connected by causeways to Dzaoudzi and to the main island. A ferry runs from Dzaoudzi to Mamoudzou, on the main island. Dzaoudzi and Mamoudzou have deepwater anchorages, but the approach through gaps in the reef is difficult.
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