Mayotte Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
French overseas region and department located in the Indian Ocean
About Mayotte
The first known human habitation was in the 7th century CE, and early settlement was from the East African mainland and from Madagascar. Mayotte lay on the Arab trade routes, adopted Islam, and from 1500 became a sultanate. From time to time it fought with its neighbours, and in the 1830s Andriantsoly in exile from Madagascar grabbed power here as Sultan. Madagascar was backed by the British so he needed an equivalent Great Power ally, and in 1841 he sold the whole place to France. He got 5000 francs, which he mostly drank, until in 1847 an assassin nailed him slightly ahead of the bottle. Subsequently all of Comoros, Réunion and Mayotte became a French protectorate. Attempts to develop Mayotte for sugar plantations, as in the Caribbean, were stymied by the rugged terrain and long transpor
Mayotte Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 18 sections including: