PARIS – Following are some facts about the French overseas territory of Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido this weekend.
GEOGRAPHY
Mayotte is a French territory located off the southeastern shores of Africa. It lies to the east of the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros and northwest of Madagascar.
Mayotte is made up of two main islands: Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre. The nearby Comoros cover three small volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli. Unlike Mayotte, the Comoros declared independence from France in 1975.
Mayotte’s land area is 374 square kilometres (144 sq mi) – slightly more than twice the size of Washington DC. It has a population of some 321,000 people according to official estimates.
HISTORY
The islands were first settled by Arab seafarers about 1,000 years ago. The Arabs brought in slaves from Africa and established a series of small sultanates on the different islands, which traded with East Africa and Madagascar.
France colonised Mayotte in 1843 and extended its influence to formally annex the whole archipelago in 1904.
A measure of self-rule in 1961 failed to end agitation for full independence. In a 1974 referendum, 95% backed separation but 63% on Mayotte voted to stay French. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli unilaterally declared independence on July 6, 1975. Mayotte remains part of France.
ECONOMY
Mayotte is heavily dependent on French financial assistance. While it has flourished under French control, Comoros’ rapidly growing population has suffered poverty and political instability. Hundreds of Comorians risk their lives every year on the dangerous sea crossing to Mayotte.
French social welfare and taxes apply in Mayotte.
In 1898, two cyclones razed Mayotte and a smallpox epidemic decimated the survivors. The sugar industry was abandoned, replaced by vanilla, coffee, sisal and later fragrant plants such as ylang-ylang.
Unemployment runs high in Mayotte: roughly one in three people of working age are jobless. Three in four people live below France’s national poverty rate, according to the national INSEE statistics institute. REUTERS
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