Oral tradition holds that the Vazimba were the first inhabitants of the Island of Madagascar from time immemorial. Historians, however, believe that the Great Island appears to have been settled by humans relatively late — approximately 1,500 years ago. The first arrivals are thought to have originated from Indonesia, more precisely from the south of the island of Borneo, also known as Kalimantan. The Malagasy language is indeed closely related to the languages spoken by Malayo-Polynesian peoples. The island subsequently welcomed Bantu populations from Africa, spice traders from the Middle East, and Portuguese navigators.
The island’s history during the first millennium remains unclear. However, it appears that the current indigenous ethnic groups of Madagascar established their respective kingdoms at the beginning of the second millennium. It was not until the early 19th century that the Kingdom of Madagascar took shape under the unification led by King Andrianampoinimerina. The kingdom transformed throughout the century, introducing writing, industrialization, the first hospital and medical school (1864), newspapers and schools, while preserving oral tradition.
On December 17, 1885, Queen Ranavalona III signed a Franco-Malagasy alliance treaty that allowed France to exercise its imperialism over Madagascar, thus outpacing England. Using alleged disagreements over the implementation of this treaty as a pretext, the French invaded the island in 1895 and became its colonizers from 1896 onwards. Madagascar officially gained independence on June 26, 1960. However, it would take until the 1972 revolt for the country to be truly freed from French influence.