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55-590: The island is roughly equidistant to the land masses of Madagascar , Australia , and Antarctica – as well as the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (about 3,200 km; 1,700 nautical miles from each). It is the northernmost volcanic island within the Antarctic Plate . The research station at Martin-de-Viviès , first called Camp Heurtin and then La Roche Godon ,

110-497: A DX-pedition landed on Amsterdam Island using MV Braveheart and began amateur radio operations from two separate locations using callsign FT5ZM. The DX-pedition remained active until 12 February and achieved over 170,000 two-way contacts with amateur radio stations worldwide. The island is a potentially active volcano . It has an area of 56.6 km (21.9 sq mi), measuring about 10 km (6 mi) on its longest side, and reaches as high as 867 m (2,844 ft) at

165-455: A French colony. The pacification led by the French administration lasted about fifteen years, in response to the rural guerrillas scattered throughout the country. In total, the conflicts between the French authorities and Malagasy guerrillas killed more than 100,000 Malagasy people. The French abolished slavery in 1896 after taking control of Madagascar. Over 500,000 slaves were freed following

220-596: A French protectorate, although this was disputed by Madagascar, as well as taking out a loan of 10 million francs. In 1888, the queen was granted the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'Honneur. The queen was reluctantly passionate about preventing her country to fall to France. The queen tried to cease French incursion, however, this remained futile and in September 1895, the queen was forced to surrender Madagascar's capital, Tananarive, to

275-562: A hot spot. This is either the Kerguelen hotspot or a potentially separate Amsterdam-Saint Paul hotspot but resolution of this issue is complicated by the recent volcanism on the island due to it being adjacent to the Southeast Indian Ridge. Recent authors have favoured a separate Amsterdam and St. Paul hotspot. There has been evidence at Boomerang Seamount to the north east of the island that Kerguelen-type source mantle exists beneath

330-595: A limited edition, now an expensive collectors' item. However, Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were often confused at the time, and Péron may have been marooned on Saint-Paul. Amsterdam and St. Paul islands were recommended in 1786 for a convict settlement by Alexander Dalrymple , the Examiner of Sea-Journals for the East India Company , when the British government was considering New South Wales and Norfolk Island for such

385-630: A low forest, although the trees are also found on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island . It was called the Grand Bois ("Great Forest"), which covered the lowlands of the island until forest fires set by sealers cleared much of it in 1825. Only eight fragments remain. Sailors from HMS Raleigh , who visited the island on 27 May 1880, described the vegetation as: "Rough ground, grass several feet high, myrtle 10–15 feet [3–5 m] high in sheltered ravines, sedge, ferns (principally polypodium ) and cabbages, grown into bushes with stumps several inches thick in

440-471: A mean annual temperature of 14 °C (57.2 °F), annual rainfall of 1,100 mm (43 in), persistent westerly winds and high levels of humidity. Under the Trewartha climate classification the island is well inside the maritime subtropical zone due to its very low diurnal temperature variation keeping means high. Phylica arborea trees occur on Amsterdam, which is the only place where they form

495-438: A set of objects if the distances between that point and each object in the set are equal. In two-dimensional Euclidean geometry , the locus of points equidistant from two given (different) points is their perpendicular bisector . In three dimensions, the locus of points equidistant from two given points is a plane, and generalising further, in n-dimensional space the locus of points equidistant from two points in n -space

550-461: A settlement. An investigation of those islands was subsequently undertaken in December 1792 and January 1793 by George Lord Macartney , Britain's first ambassador to China, during his voyage to that country, who established that they were not suitable for settlement. Sealers are said to have landed on the island, for the first time, in 1789. Between that date and 1876, 47 sealing vessels are recorded at

605-521: A source, 90,000 Malagasy people died during the uprising, which was brutally shut down by the French colonial regime. In 1956, France's socialist government renewed the French commitment to greater autonomy in Madagascar and other colonial possessions by enacting the Loi Cadre (Enabling Law). The Loi Cadre provided for universal suffrage and was the basis for parliamentary government in each colony. In

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660-401: Is an ( n −1)-space. For a triangle the circumcentre is a point equidistant from each of the three vertices . Every non-degenerate triangle has such a point. This result can be generalised to cyclic polygons : the circumcentre is equidistant from each of the vertices. Likewise, the incentre of a triangle or any other tangential polygon is equidistant from the points of tangency of

715-480: Is located on the mainly undersea Amsterdam–Saint Paul Plateau which is of volcanic hotspot origin. There is a magma chamber located at between 20–36 km (12–22 mi) depth below Amsterdam Island. The plateau which extends north west towards the Nieuw Amsterdam Fracture Zone (Amsterdam Fracture Zone) and south to beyond the island of St Paul with its presently known active area being delimited by

770-683: Is now Madagascar . The colony was formerly a protectorate of France known as Malagasy Protectorate . The protectorate became a colony, following Queen Ranavalona III 's exile to Réunion . In 1958, the colonial administration in Madagascar was abolished, and it became an autonomous territory of the French Community as the Malagasy Republic , which existed until 1975. The United Kingdom had been an ally of Madagascar. In May 1862, John Russell, 1st Earl Russell , Britain's foreign secretary instructed Connolly Pakenham that Radama II should keep

825-467: Is the only settlement on the island and is the seasonal home to about thirty researchers and staff studying biology, meteorology, and geomagnetics . The first person known to have sighted the island was the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián de Elcano , on 18 March 1522, during his circumnavigation of the world. Elcano called it Desesperanza (Despair), because he couldn't find a safe place to land and his crew

880-399: Is the same for all points. In hyperbolic geometry the set of points that are equidistant from and on one side of a given line form a hypercycle (which is a curve not a line). French Madagascar The Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies ( French : Colonie de Madagascar et dépendances ) was a French colony off the coast of Southeast Africa between 1897 and 1958 in what

935-805: The Constituent Assembly of the Fourth Republic in Paris . The two delegates chosen by the Malagasy, Joseph Raseta and Joseph Ravoahangy, both campaigned to implement the ideal of the self-determination of peoples affirmed by the Atlantic Charter of 1941 and by the Brazzaville Conference of 1944. Raseta and Ravoahangy, together with Jacques Rabemananjara , a writer long resident in Paris, organised

990-541: The Council of Notables in each of twenty-four districts. The two sections never met together, and neither had real decision-making authority. Huge mining and forestry concessions were granted to large companies. Indigenous leaders loyal to the French administration were also granted part of the land. Forced labour was introduced in favour of the French companies. The 1930s saw the Malagasy anti-colonial movement gain momentum. Malagasy trade unionism began to appear underground and

1045-510: The Democratic Movement for Malagasy Restoration (MDRM), the foremost among several political parties formed in Madagascar by early 1946. Although Protestant Merina was well represented in MDRM's higher echelons, the party's 300,000 members were drawn from a broad political base reaching across the entire island and crosscutting ethnic and social divisions. >Several smaller MDRM rivals included

1100-459: The anti-colonial and pro-independence platforms of socialist parties . Jean Ralaimongo , for example, returned to Madagascar in 1924 and became embroiled in labour questions that were causing considerable tension throughout the island. Among the first concessions to Malagasy equality was the formation in 1924 of two economic and financial delegations. One was composed of French settlers, the other of twenty-four Malagasy representatives elected by

1155-624: The côtiers . In sharp contrast, those advocating complete independence from France came together under the auspices of the Congress Party for the Independence of Madagascar ( Antokon'ny Kongresy Fanafahana an'i Madagasikara – AKFM) . Primarily based in Antananarivo and Antsiranana , party support centred among the Merina under the leadership of Richard Andriamanjato , himself a Merina and a member of

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1210-517: The 1790s (which has been lost), but this was either extinct by 1800 or was a straggler of an extant species. The common waxbill has been introduced. Both the Plateau des Tourbières and Falaises d'Entrecasteaux have been identified as Important Bird Areas by BirdLife International , the latter for its large breeding colony of Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses . There are no native land mammals. Subantarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals breed on

1265-592: The Amsterdam and St. Paul Plateau. Which ever hot spot is responsible is moving south as Île Amsterdam rocks are older than St. Paul rocks. The Amsterdam–St. Paul Plateau while formed in the last 10 million years, started this formation beneath the Australian Plate so the island is built on the components of two tectonic plates. Île Amsterdam has a mild, oceanic climate , Cfb under the Köppen climate classification , with

1320-655: The Communist Party of the Region of Madagascar was formed. But as early as 1939, all organisations were dissolved by the administration of the colony, which opted for the Vichy regime . Only in the aftermath of the Second World War was France willing to accept a form of Malagasy self-rule under French tutelage. In the autumn of 1945, separate French and Malagasy electoral colleges voted to elect representatives from Madagascar to

1375-486: The French . Although the uprising eventually spread over one-third of the island, the French were able to restore order after reinforcements arrived from France. Casualties among the Malagasy were estimated in the 11,000 to 80,000 range. The repression was accompanied by summary executions , torture, forced regroupings and the burning of villages. The French Army experimented with "psychological warfare": suspects were thrown alive from planes in order to terrorise villagers in

1430-579: The French Southern and Antarctic Lands was formed. (Madagascar gained independence in 1958.) The first French base on Île Amsterdam was established in 1949, and was originally called Camp Heurtin. It is now the Martin-de-Viviès research station, named after Paul de Martin de Viviès who, with twenty-three others, spent the winter of 1949 on the island. The station was originally named Camp Heurtin and has been in operation since 1 January 1981, superseding

1485-472: The French. According to the queen's perspective, the treaty was supposed to preserve her crown and the monarchy in Madagascar, however France's yearning for expanding their colonial empire in Africa, the treaty proved to be nothing but a ruse. Queen Ranavalona was removed from power and was exiled to French island of Réunion for two years, followed by to Algiers after. After her exile, Madagascar formally became

1540-641: The Merina a dominant influence on the political process during much of the country's history. The Merina were heavily represented in the Malagasy component of the small elite to whom suffrage had been restricted in the earlier years of French rule. Now the côtiers , who outnumbered the Merina, would be a majority. The end of the 1950s was marked by growing debate over the future of Madagascar's relationship with France. Two major political parties emerged. The newly created Democratic Social Party of Madagascar ( Parti Social Démocrate de Madagascar – PSD) favoured self-rule while maintaining close ties with France. The PSD

1595-624: The Mont de la Dives. The high central area of the island, at an elevation of over 500 metres (1,600 ft), containing its peaks and caldera, is known as the Plateau des Tourbières ( Plateau of Bogs ). The cliffs that characterise the western coastline of the island, rising to over 700 metres (2,300 ft), are known as the Falaises d'Entrecasteaux after the 18th-century French navigator Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux . No historical eruptions are known, although

1650-754: The Party of the Malagasy Disinherited ( Parti des Déshérités Malgaches ), whose members were mainly côtiers or descendants of slaves from the Central Highlands . The 1946 constitution of the French Fourth Republic made Madagascar a territoire d'outre-mer (overseas territory) within the French Union . It accorded full citizenship to all Malagasy parallel with that enjoyed by citizens in France. But

1705-641: The St. Paul Fracture Zone, is a 250 by 200 km (160 by 120 mi) feature of the sea floor near the Southeast Indian Ridge , which is an active spreading center between the Antarctic plate that the island lies on, and the Australian Plate . Helium isotopic compositional studies are consistent with its formation from the combined effects of accretion at the mid-ocean ridge ridge and mantle plume activity of

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1760-537: The abolition. Many former slaves would remain in their former masters' homes as servants. Nationalist sentiment against French colonial rule emerged among a group of Merina intellectuals. The group, based in Antananarivo , was led by a Malagasy Protestant clergyman, Pastor Ravelojoana, who was especially inspired by the Japanese model of modernization . A secret society dedicated to affirming Malagasy cultural identity

1815-547: The areas of operation. The group of leaders responsible for the uprising, which came to be referred to as the Revolt of 1947, never has been identified conclusively. Although the MDRM leadership consistently maintained its innocence, the French outlawed the party. French military courts tried the military leaders of the revolt and executed twenty of them. Other trials produced, by one report, some 5,000 to 6,000 convictions, and penalties ranged from brief imprisonment to death. According to

1870-496: The assimilationist policy inherent in its framework was incongruent with the MDRM goal of full independence for Madagascar, so Ravoahangy and Raseta abstained from voting. The two delegates also objected to the separate French and Malagasy electoral colleges, even though Madagascar was represented in the French National Assembly. The constitution divided Madagascar administratively into a number of provinces, each of which

1925-506: The case of Madagascar, the law established executive councils to function alongside provincial and national assemblies, and dissolved the separate electoral colleges for the French and Malagasy groups. The provision for universal suffrage had significant implications in Madagascar because of the basic ethno-political split between the Merina and the côtiers , reinforced by the divisions between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Superior armed strength and educational and cultural advantages had given

1980-546: The cattle on the island. In May 1880 HMS  Raleigh circumnavigated the island searching for a missing ship the Knowsley Hall . A cutter and gig were despatched to the island to search for signs of habitation. There was a flagpole on Hoskin Point and 45–65 m (50–70 yards) north were two huts, one of which had an intact roof and contained three bunks, empty casks, an iron pot and the eggshells and feathers of sea-birds. There

2035-492: The country away from foreign powers. In 1882, the French started to occupy much of Madagascar's northern and western territories. In 1883, the Franco-Hova Wars commenced between France and Merina Kingdom , but the outcome remained inconclusive. The British government acted as a restraining hand on France's desire to swallow up the island. On 17 December 1885, Queen Ranavalona III signed the treaty in which Madagascar became

2090-411: The directrix is measured along a line perpendicular to the directrix. In shape analysis , the topological skeleton or medial axis of a shape is a thin version of that shape that is equidistant from its boundaries . In Euclidean geometry , parallel lines (lines that never intersect) are equidistant in the sense that the distance of any point on one line from the nearest point on the other line

2145-629: The exploration and sealing vessel Eliza Scott (154 tons) visited the island in November 1838 in search of seals. He returned with a few fish and reported having seen the remains of a hut and the carcass of a whale. The islands of Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were first claimed by France in June 1843. A decree of 8 June 1843 mandated the Polish captain Adam Mieroslawski to take into possession and administer in

2200-408: The first station, La Roche Godon. The Global Atmosphere Watch still maintains a presence on Île Amsterdam. From 1987 to 1998, there were frequent amateur radio operations from Amsterdam Island. There was a resident radio amateur operator in the 1950s, using callsign FB8ZZ. In January 2014 Clublog listed Amsterdam and St Paul Islands as the seventh most-wanted DXCC entity. On 25 January 2014

2255-720: The fresh morphology of the latest volcanism at Dumas Craters on the NE flank suggests it may have occurred as recently as the late 19th century. All the rocks are tholeiitic basalt and the oldest basalt sampled is no more than 720,000 years old. There are two stratovolcanoes being Mont De La Dives which dominates and is younger and Le Mount du Fernand. Vents manifest as either cones or craters include Cratere Antonelli, Le Brulot, Le Chaudron, Le Cyclope, Crateres Dumas, Le Forneau, Cratere Inferieur, Grande Marmite, Cratere Hebert, Museau De Tanche, Cratere de l'Olympe, Cratere Superieur, Crateres Venus, and Cratere Vulcain (see map on this page). The island

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2310-406: The garden..." The island is home to the endemic Amsterdam albatross , which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières. Other rare species are the brown skua , Antarctic tern and western rockhopper penguin . The Amsterdam duck is now extinct , as are the local breeding populations of several petrels . There was once possibly a species of rail inhabiting the island, as a specimen was taken in

2365-414: The island in 1871, and by 1988 had increased to an estimated 2,000. Following recognition that the cattle were damaging the island ecosystems, a fence was built restricting them to the northern part of the island. In 2007 it was decided to eradicate the population of cattle entirely, resulting in the slaughter of the cattle between 2008 and 2010. Equidistant A point is said to be equidistant from

2420-472: The island, 9 of which were wrecked. Relics of the sealing era can still be found. The island was a stop on the British Macartney Embassy on its voyage to China in 1793. On 11 October 1833, the British barque Lady Munro was wrecked at the island. Of the 97 persons aboard, 21 survivors were picked up two weeks later by a US sealing schooner , General Jackson . John Balleny in command of

2475-446: The island. Introduced mammals include the house mouse , brown rat , and feral cats . An eradication campaign of these invasive species was started in 2023, which plans to eradicate all cats and rats from the island by late 2024. A distinct breed of wild cattle, Amsterdam Island cattle , also inhabited the island from 1871 to 2010. They originated from the introduction of five animals by Heurtin during his brief attempt at settlement of

2530-581: The name of France both islands. The decree as well as the ship's log from the Olympe ship from 1 and 3 July 1843, stating that the islands had been taken into possession by Mieroslawski, are still preserved. However, the French government renounced its possession of the islands in 1853. In January 1871 an attempt to settle the island was made by a party led by Heurtin, a French resident of Réunion . After seven months, their attempts to raise cattle and grow crops were fruitless, and they returned to Réunion, abandoning

2585-525: The nationalists stressed labour reform and equality of civil and political status for the Malagasy, stopping short of advocating independence. For example, the French League for Madagascar, under the leadership of Anatole France , demanded French citizenship for all Malagasy people in recognition of their country's wartime contribution of soldiers and resources. A number of veterans who remained in France were exposed to French political thought, most notably

2640-410: The other two opposite sides. A point on the axis of symmetry of a kite is equidistant between two sides. The center of a circle is equidistant from every point on the circle. Likewise the center of a sphere is equidistant from every point on the sphere. A parabola is the set of points in a plane equidistant from a fixed point (the focus ) and a fixed line (the directrix), where distance from

2695-446: The polygon's sides with the circle. Every point on a perpendicular bisector of the side of a triangle or other polygon is equidistant from the two vertices at the ends of that side. Every point on the bisector of an angle of any polygon is equidistant from the two sides that emanate from that angle. The center of a rectangle is equidistant from all four vertices, and it is equidistant from two opposite sides and also equidistant from

2750-428: The return of soldiers from France, strained an already volatile situation. Many of the veterans felt they had been less well treated by France than had veterans from metropolitan France; others had been politically radicalised by their wartime experiences. The blend of fear, respect, and emulation on which Franco-Malagasy relations had been based seemed at an end. On 29 March 1947, Malagasy nationalists revolted against

2805-462: Was also an upturned serviceable boat in the other hut, believed to belong to the fishermen who visited the island. In 1892, the crew of the French sloop Bourdonnais , followed by the ship L'Eure in 1893, again took possession of Saint-Paul and Amsterdam Island in the name of the French government. The island was attached to the French colony of Madagascar from 21 November 1924 until 6 August 1955 when

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2860-549: Was desperate for water after 40 days of sailing from Timor. On 17 June 1633, Dutch colonial governor and mariner Anthonie van Diemen sighted the island, and named it after his ship, Nieuw Amsterdam . The first recorded landing on the island occurred in December 1696, led by the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh . French mariner Pierre François Péron wrote that he was marooned on the island between 1792 and 1795. Péron's Memoires , in which he describes his experiences, were published in

2915-557: Was formed in 1913, calling itself Iron and Stone Ramification ( Vy Vato Sakelika , VVS). Although the VVS was brutally suppressed, its actions eventually led French authorities to provide the Malagasy with their first representative voice in government. Malagasy veterans of military service in France during the First World War bolstered the embryonic nationalist movement. Throughout the 1920s,

2970-459: Was led by Philibert Tsiranana , a well-educated Tsimihety from the northern coastal region who was one of three Malagasy deputies elected in 1956 to the National Assembly in Paris. The PSD built upon Tsiranana's traditional political stronghold of Mahajanga in northwest Madagascar and rapidly extended its sources of support by absorbing most of the smaller parties that had been organised by

3025-534: Was to have a locally elected provincial assembly. Not long after, a National Representative Assembly was constituted at Antananarivo. In the first elections for the provincial assemblies, the MDRM won all seats or a majority of seats, except in Mahajanga Province. Despite these reforms, the political scene in Madagascar remained unstable. Economic and social concerns, including food shortages, black-market scandals, labour conscription, renewed ethnic tensions, and

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