The Great Beginning Splitting from Africa many moons ago, just to the southeast of Africa, in the Indian Ocean is Madagascar. Twice the size of Arizona and the fourth largest Island in the world this Island is home to many people, plants, and animals. In the beginning, Madagascar, was primarily inhabited by exotic plants and animal species that are very rare and only found on the Island of Madagascar. This paradise consists of low coastal lines, a flat plateau, rain-forest, and a tropical climate allowed the animals and plants to flourish until human’s arrival. The first humans arrived around 200-500 B.C. to a land that was filled with opportunity to grow and support a civilization and with that growth came the extinction to some of the Islands rare plants and Animals. Madagascar has rich agriculture, weather, and landscape making the island an attraction to many settlers from Africa, India, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. However, the people of Madagascar are called Malagasy and speak primarily Malagasy which comes from the combination of Austronesian, Bantu, North Indian, Arab and Somali settlers with a bit of English and French influence.
The settlement of Madagascar grew due to trade, which brought in goods and more travelers as often trade lead to conflict in the kingdom and outside influences trying to gain control on the island. In comparison to Guns, Germs and Steel the people saw the threat of the far more advanced countries trying to take over certain areas, Steal resources and wage war, Madagascar faced these threats from the British French and others but eventually the Malagasy people were able to get their Independence from France in 1960. Following their victory of Independence the Island continued to grow and expand to benefit the increasing population but as the population increased the environment was taking a toll. The Island of natural luxuries is now home to twenty-three million people. Therefore, Madagascar earliest settlement and today’s settlement is similar to the Fertile Crescent because it had resources of water, food, and shelter so it made living fairly easy but expansion has been limited to the islands square mile of 224,533. So the only difference Madagascar has compared to the Fertile Crescent that it had no choice but to expand on a north and south axis because it is limited east to west.
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