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67-481: Western France may refer to: Metropolitan France , the part of France in Europe West France (European Parliament constituency) : Brittany, Pays de la Loire, and Poitou-Charentes See also [ edit ] West Francia Geography of France Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

134-546: A 29 March 2009 referendum . The outcome was a 95.5 percent vote in favour of changing the island's status from a French "overseas community" to become France's 101st département . Its non-official traditional Islamic law , applied in some aspects of the day-to-day life, will be gradually abolished and replaced by the uniform French civil code . Additionally, French social welfare and taxes apply in Mayotte, though some of each will be brought in gradually. Comoros continues to claim

201-468: A Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte . One Engins de Débarquement Amphibie – Standards (EDA-S) landing craft is to be delivered to naval forces based in Mayotte by 2025. The landing craft will replace a CTM landing craft currently deployed in the territory, to better support coastal operations. About 170 personnel of the National Gendarmerie are stationed in Mayotte while, as of late 2022,

268-502: A Malagasy language , of which there are two varieties, Kibushi sakalava, most closely related to the Sakalava dialect of Malagasy, and Kibushi antalaotsi, most closely related to the dialect spoken by the Antalaotra of Madagascar . Both have been influenced by Shimaore. The island was populated from neighbouring East Africa with later arrival of Arabs , who brought Islam . A sultanate

335-430: A March 2009 referendum with an overwhelming result in favour of the department status. The department faces enormous challenges. According to an INSEE report published in 2018, 84% of the population live under the poverty line (established at €959 per month and per household), compared to 16% in metropolitan France, 40% of dwellings are corrugated sheet metal shacks, 29% of households have no running water, and 34% of

402-506: A June 2012 European Commission opinion on Mayotte's European constitutional status. In recent national elections, Mayotte has been a stronghold for the right-wing populist National Rally party, and gave its presidential candidate Marine Le Pen her highest vote percentage in the 2022 French presidential election first round. Defence of the territory is the responsibility of the French Armed Forces , principally carried out by

469-709: A directive of the European Council in December 2013, Mayotte became an outermost region of the European Union on 1 January 2014. This successful agreement between the 27 member states follows a petition made by the French government for Mayotte to become an integral territory of the European Union nonetheless benefiting from the derogation clause applicable in existing outermost regions, namely Article 349 TFEU, as favoured in

536-413: A dozen passes, including one in the east called the "S-pass". The lagoon, which averages 5 to 10 km (3.1 to 6.2 mi) wide, is up to 100 m (330 ft) deep. It is dotted with about a hundred coral islets, such as Mtsamboro . This reef serves as a refuge for boats and oceanic fauna. The volcanic activity that created the islands makes the soil particularly fertile. The total area of Mayotte

603-801: A hexagon first appeared in French geography texts of the 1850s. Mainland or Continental France (French: la France continentale ), or just "the mainland" (French: le continent ), does not include the French islands in the Atlantic Ocean , English Channel , or Mediterranean Sea , the largest of which is Corsica. In Corsica, people from mainland France are referred to as les continentaux . 46°00′N 2°00′E  /  46.000°N 2.000°E  / 46.000; 2.000 Mayotte Mayotte ( / m aɪ ˈ ɒ t / my- OT ; French : Mayotte , [majɔt] ; Shimaore : Maore , IPA: [maˈore] ; Kibushi : Maori , IPA: [maˈori] ), officially

670-731: A nation or country as opposed to its colonies overseas. Today, some people in Overseas France object to the use of the term la France métropolitaine due to its colonial history. They prefer to call it "the European territory of France" ( le territoire européen de la France ), as the Treaties of the European Union do. Likewise, they oppose treating overseas France and metropolitan France as separate entities. For example, INSEE used to calculate its statistics (demography, economy, etc.) for metropolitan France only, and to analyze separate statistics for

737-477: A newly discovered undersea volcano located 50 km (31 mi) away from Mayotte at a depth of 3,500 m (11,500 ft). Mayotte is surrounded by a typical tropical coral reef . It consists in a large outer barrier reef , enclosing one of the world's largest and deepest lagoons , followed by a fringing reef , interrupted by many mangroves . All Mayotte waters are ruled by a National Marine Park, and many places are natural reserves. The outer coral reef

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804-454: A period of about 20 years. Since it became an overseas department in 2011, Mayotte possesses a single local assembly, officially called the " Departmental Council " ( conseil départemental ), which acts both as a regional and departmental council, or a single territorial collectivity . This was a unique arrangement at the time, but French Guiana and Martinique adopted this arrangement in 2015. Despite its domestic constitutional evolution from

871-567: A person from metropolitan France is often called a métro , short for métropolitain . The term "metropolitan France" dates from the country's colonial period (from the 16th to the 20th centuries), when France was referred to as la Métropole (literally "the Metropolis"), as distinguished from its colonies and protectorates, known as les colonies or l'Empire . Similar terms existed to describe other European colonial powers (e.g. "metropolitan Britain", "España metropolitana"). This application of

938-519: A smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), as well as several islets around these two. Mayotte is the most prosperous territory in the Mozambique Channel, making it a major destination for immigration . Mayotte's land area is 374 square kilometres (144 sq mi) and, with its 320,901 people according to January 2024 official estimates, is very densely populated at 858 inhabitants per km (2,228 per sq mi). The biggest city and prefecture

1005-406: Is Mamoudzou on Grande-Terre. The Dzaoudzi–Pamandzi International Airport is located on the neighbouring island of Petite-Terre. The territory is also known as Maore, the native name of its main island. Mayotte is one of the overseas departments of France as well as one of the 18 regions of France , with the same status as the departments of Metropolitan France . It is an outermost region of

1072-479: Is 195 km (121 mi) long, housing 1,500 km (580 sq mi) of lagoon, including 7.3 km (2.8 sq mi) of mangrove . There are at least 250 different species of coral, 760 tropical fish species, and the National Natural Heritage Inventory (INPN) has no fewer than 3,616 marine species, but this is probably a far cry from the actual count. As this region of the world

1139-427: Is 7000 year BP. The November 11, 2018, seismic event occurred about 15 miles (24 km) off the coast of Mayotte. It was recorded by seismograms in many places, including Kenya , Chile , New Zealand , Canada , and Hawaii located almost 11,000 miles (18,000 km) away. The seismic waves lasted for more than 20 minutes, but despite this, no one felt it. Subsequently, the earthquake swarm has been linked to

1206-454: Is a primarily volcanic island rising steeply from the bed of the ocean to a height of 660 metres (2,170 ft) on Mont Bénara ( OpenStreetMap gives this as 661 metres (2,169 ft)). Two volcanic centres are reported, a southern one (Pic Chongui, 594 metres (1,949 ft)) with a breached crater to the NW, and a northern centre (Mont M'Tsapéré, 572 metres (1,877 ft)) with a breached crater to

1273-430: Is about 374 km (144 sq mi), which makes it by far the smallest French overseas department (after Martinique , which is three times larger at 1,128 km (436 sq mi)). However, this area is difficult to assess accurately, given the number of small uninhabited islets, some of which are completely underwater at high tide, but may reveal significant areas at low tide. The main islands are Mayotte

1340-772: Is classified as natural reserve; however, the primal forest now covers barely 5% of the island due to illegal deforestation. Just like many volcanic islands, Mayotte shelters quite a limited mammal biodiversity, the only native species being flying foxes ( Pteropus seychellensis comorensis ). However, there are 18 species of reptiles, 23 of terrestrial molluscs, 116 butterflies, 38 dragonflies, 50 grasshoppers, and 150 beetles. By 2021, there were 30 protected areas on Mayotte, totaling 55 km (21 sq mi) or 13.94% of Mayotte's land area, and 100% of Mayotte's marine area. Protected areas on Mayotte include Mayotte Marine Natural Park , Pointes et plages de Saziley et Charifou , and Ilôt Mbouzi National Nature Reserve. On 3 May 2021,

1407-534: Is described as "the largest barrier-reef-lagoon complex within the southwestern Indian Ocean". Mayotte is the oldest of the four large islands of the Comoros archipelago , a chain of land emerging from a crescent-shaped submarine relief at the entrance to the Mozambique Channel . Located 295 km (183 mi) west of Madagascar and 67 km (42 mi) southeast of Anjouan , sometimes visible at sunset in

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1474-481: Is made up of 577 deputies, 539 of whom (93.4% of the total) are elected in metropolitan France, 27 (4.7% of the total) in overseas France, and 11 (1.9% of the total) by French citizens living in foreign countries. Legislators in 2023 voted to use the name l'Hexagone ("the Hexagon ") to refer to what had previously been known as metropolitan France in an effort to move away from colonial language. The image of France as

1541-400: Is still poorly inventoried by scientists, the waters of Mayotte continue to harbour many species unknown to science, and allow important scientific discoveries each year. Mayotte has a great diversity in its plant life: more than 1,300 species are recorded, half of them being endemic, making this island one of the richest in plant diversity in the world compared to its size. 15% of the island

1608-590: Is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959). Thus, metropolitan France accounts for 82.0% of the French Republic's land territory. At sea, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of metropolitan France covers 333,691 km (128,839 sq mi), while the EEZ of Overseas France covers 9,825,538 km (3,793,661 sq mi), for a total of 10,159,229 km (3,922,500 sq mi) in

1675-479: Is the collective name for all the French departments and territories outside Europe . Metropolitan and overseas France together form the French Republic. Metropolitan France accounts for 82.0% of the land territory, 3.3% of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and 95.9% of the population of the French Republic. Some small parts of France (e.g. Cerdanya ) are a part of the Iberian Peninsula . In overseas France,

1742-576: The Anjouan Sultanate during this period. Mayotte was sparsely populated and mainly consisted of Comorian speakers that were politically aligned with the local sultan and the Malagasy who were autonomous. In 1832, Mayotte was conquered by Andriantsoly, former king of Iboina on Madagascar; in 1833, it was conquered by the neighbouring sultanate of Mwali ( Mohéli in French). On 19 November 1835, Mayotte

1809-518: The Department of Mayotte ( French : Département de Mayotte ), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France . It is located in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeastern Africa , between Northwestern Madagascar and Northeastern Mozambique . Mayotte consists of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Maore),

1876-405: The European Union and, as an overseas department of France, part of the eurozone . French is the official language and is spoken as a second language by an increasing part of the population, with 63% of the population 14 years and older reporting in the 2007 census that they could speak it. The native languages of Mayotte are Shimaore , which is the most spoken, and the lesser spoken Kibushi ,

1943-556: The GDP per capita of Mayotte at market exchange rates, not at PPP , was €9,692 (US$ 10,850), which was eight times larger than the GDP per capita of the Comoros that year, but only 42.8% of the GDP per capita of Réunion and 26.4% of the GDP per capita of Metropolitan France . Living standards are therefore lower than in metropolitan France. At the 2017 census, 10% of dwellings in Mayotte had no electricity, 29% of dwellings had no running water inside

2010-480: The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and experiencing as a result a recession of −0.4% in 2009. The economy rebounded as early as 2010, driven by the transformation of the territory into an overseas department, decided in a referendum in 2009 and taking effect in 2011. From 2010 to 2017, the economy of Mayotte grew on average by +6.9% per year in real terms, but economic growth slowed to +2.1% in 2018 due to

2077-478: The Maritime Gendarmerie operates the patrol boats Odet and Verdon in the territory. Mayotte is divided into 17 communes . There are also 13 cantons (not shown here). It is the only department and region of France without an arrondissement . The official currency in Mayotte is the euro . In 2019, the GDP of Mayotte at market exchange rates was €2.66 billion (US$ 2.98 bn). In that same year

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2144-632: The Ministry of the Interior releases election results, they use the term la France entière to refer to the entire French Republic, including all of overseas France, and not just the five overseas departments. Since INSEE now calculates statistics for la France entière , this practice has spread to international institutions. For instance, the French GDP published by the World Bank includes metropolitan France and

2211-516: The Swahili coast culture. However, its sister island Anjouan was preferred by international traders due to its better suitability to large boats, and, for a long time, Mayotte remained poorly developed compared to the three other Comoros islands, often being targeted by pirates and Malagasy or Comorian raids. In the early 19th century, Mayotte was controlled by a mercantile family that claimed Omani origins. The Sultans of Mayotte had political ties with

2278-731: The United Nations General Assembly adopted a series of legally non-binding resolutions on Mayotte, under the pro-Comoros title "Question of the Comorian Island of Mayotte" up until 1995. In the decades since 1995, the subject of Mayotte has not been discussed by the General Assembly, and all the following referendums over Mayotte independence have shown a strong will of Mayotte people to remain French. Mayotte became an overseas department of France in March 2011 in consequence of

2345-402: The French Republic (excluding Adélie Land). Thus, metropolitan France accounts for 3.3% of the French Republic's EEZ. According to INSEE , 65,250,000 people lived in metropolitan France as of January 2021, while 2,785,000 lived in overseas France, for a total of 68,035,000 inhabitants in the French Republic. Thus, metropolitan France accounts for 95.9% of the French Republic's population. In

2412-470: The French government created the Forests of Mayotte National Nature Reserve ( Réserve Naturelle Nationale des Forêts de Mayotte ). The reserve consists of 2,801 ha (6,920 acres) in six mountain forests, covering 51% of Mayotte's reserve forests and 7.5% of Mayotte's total land area. Areas protected by the reserve include Mount Mtsapéré , Mount Combani , Mount Benara , and Mount Choungui . The purpose of

2479-700: The French government. Mayotte also sends two deputies to the French National Assembly and two senators to the French Senate . The deputies represent Mayotte's 1st constituency and Mayotte's 2nd constituency . The situation of Mayotte proved to be awkward for France: while a significant majority of the local population did not want to join the Comoros in becoming independent of France, some post-colonial leftist or Marxist-Leninist governments voiced criticism of Mayotte's ongoing ties to France. Furthermore,

2546-428: The capital of all the colonial Comoros) until 1977, when the capital was relocated to Mamoudzou on the main island of Grande-Terre. It is situated on Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi ), which at 10 square kilometres (4 sq mi) is the largest of several islets adjacent to Maore. The area of the lagoon behind the reef is approximately 1,500 square kilometres (580 sq mi), reaching a maximum depth of about 80m. It

2613-431: The cities were abandoned, and nature regained its rights over the old plantations. The French administration therefore tried to repopulate the island, recalling first of all the Mayotte exiles or refugees in the region (Comoros, Madagascar), proposing the former exiled masters return in exchange for compensation, then by inviting wealthy Anjouan families to come and set up trade. France launched some first major works, such as

2680-511: The dwelling, and 54% of dwellings had no toilets inside the dwelling. The economy of Mayotte has grown significantly since the end of the 20th century due to financial transfers from the French central state and the gradual transformation of the territory into a full-fledged French department after a 2009 referendum, with considerable upgrading of public services and infrastructure. The economy of Mayotte grew by an average of +9.3% per year in real terms from 2001 to 2008, before being affected by

2747-491: The figures for France since the mid-2010s too. INSEE refers to metropolitan France and the five overseas departments as la France entière ("the whole of France"). "The whole of France" includes the five overseas departments, but does not include the other overseas collectivities and territories that have more autonomy than the departments. Other branches of the French administration may have different definitions of what la France entière is. For example, in contrast to INSEE, when

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2814-515: The five overseas departments. The World Bank refers to this total as "France"; it does not use the phrase "the whole of France", as INSEE does. Metropolitan France covers a land area of 543,940 km (210,020 sq mi), while overseas France covers a land area of 119,396 km (46,099 sq mi), for a total of 663,336 km (256,115 sq mi) in the French Republic (excluding Adélie Land in Antarctica where sovereignty

2881-466: The help of a powerful ally, he began to negotiate with the French, installed in the nearby Malagasy island of Nosy Bé in 1840. Mayotte was purchased by France in 1841, and integrated to the Crown. In the immediate aftermath, slavery was abolished and laborers were imported to the area to work in fields and plantations. The abolition of slavery led to several slave-owning elites leaving Mayotte as their authority

2948-524: The inhabitants between the age of 15 and 64 do not have a job. In 2019, with an annual population growth of 3.8%, half the population was less than 17 years old. In addition, as a result of immigration from neighboring islands, 48% of the population were foreign nationals. The term Mayotte (or Maore) may refer to all of the department's islands, of which the largest is known as Maore ( French : Grande-Terre ) and includes Maore's surrounding islands, most notably Pamanzi ( French : Petite-Terre ), or only to

3015-527: The island, while criticising the French military base there. In 2018, the department experienced civil unrest over migration from the Comoros. The politics of Mayotte takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic government and of a multi-party system , whereby the President of the Departmental Council is the head of the local assembly. Executive power is exercised by

3082-533: The island. A draft 1976 United Nations Security Council resolution recognising Comorian sovereignty over Mayotte, supported by 11 of the 15 members of the council, was vetoed by France. It was the only time, as of 2020 , that France cast a lone veto in the council; the veto was criticized because France was a party to the dispute before the Security Council, and consequently should have abstained from voting, according to some other Council members. As mentioned,

3149-509: The largest island. The name is believed to come from Mawuti , contraction of the Arabic جزيرة الموت Jazīrat al-Mawt – meaning "island of death" (maybe due to the dangerous reefs circling the island) and corrupted to Mayotta in Portuguese, later turned into French. However, the local name is Mahore , and the Arabic etymology is doubtful. The main island, Grande-Terre (or Maore), geologically

3216-458: The massive civil unrest experienced by the territory that year, with weeks of demonstrations, roadblocks, and work stoppages paralyzing Mayotte's economy between January and April 2018. Economic growth rebounded to +5.2% in 2019, but Mayotte was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with growth estimated at only +1.1% in 2020. Thanks to rapid economic growth, Mayotte has begun to catch up with

3283-473: The oldest of the Comoro Islands , is 39 kilometres (24 mi) long and 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide, and its highest point is Mount Benara , at 660 metres (2,165 ft) above sea level. Because of the volcanic rock , the soil is relatively rich in some areas. A coral reef encircling much of the island ensures protection for ships and a habitat for fish. Dzaoudzi was the capital of Mayotte (and earlier

3350-405: The overseas departments and territories. People in the overseas departments have opposed this separate treatment, arguing that the then four overseas departments were fully part of France. As a result, since the end of the 1990s INSEE has included the four overseas departments in its figures for France (such as total population or GDP). The fifth overseas department, Mayotte , has been included in

3417-407: The peculiar local administration of Mayotte, largely ruled by customary Muslim law, would be difficult to integrate into the legal structures of France, not to mention the costs of bringing the standards of living to levels close to those of Metropolitan France . For these reasons, the laws passed by the national parliament had to state specifically that they applied to Mayotte. The status of Mayotte

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3484-582: The realization in 1848 of the Boulevard des Crabes connecting the rock of Dzaoudzi to Pamandzi and the rest of Petite-Terre. As it had done in the West Indies and Réunion , the French government planned to make Mayotte a sugar island: despite the steep slopes, large plantations were developed, 17 sugar factories were built and hundreds of foreign workers (mainly African, in particular Mozambic Makwas) hired from 1851 onwards. However, production remained mediocre, and

3551-545: The reserve is to protect the relict primary forests of the island, restore the island's secondary forests, and protect the island's native flora and fauna. In 1500, the Maore sultanate was established on the island. In 1503, Mayotte was observed and named (firstly Espirito Santo ) by Portuguese explorers, but not colonized. The island has known several eras of wealth (especially during the 11th century at Acoua or between 9th and 12th centuries at Dembéni), being an important part of

3618-423: The result of the March 2009 Mahoran status referendum , which was overwhelmingly approved by around 95% of voters. Becoming an overseas department will mean it will adopt the same legal and social system as used in the rest of France. This will require abandoning some customary laws, adopting the standard French civil code, and reforming the judiciary, educational, social and fiscal systems, and will take place over

3685-498: The second round of the 2017 French presidential election , 35,467,327 French people cast a ballot (meaning a turnout of 74.56%). 33,883,463 of these (95.53% of the total voters) cast their ballots in metropolitan France (turnout: 76.26%), 1,003,910 (2.83% of the total voters) cast their ballots in overseas France (turnout: 53.59%), and 579,954 (1.64% of the total voters) cast their ballots in foreign countries (French people living abroad; turnout: 45.84%). The French National Assembly

3752-484: The shade, it is composed of several islands and islets covered with lush vegetation. The two largest islands are Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre, backed by a coral reef . This 160 km (99 mi) long coral reef surrounds a 1,100 km (420 sq mi) lagoon , one of the largest and deepest in the world. Part of the barrier reef features a double barrier that is rare on the planet. It protects almost all of Mayotte from ocean currents and waves, except for

3819-435: The south-east. Mont Bénara is on the curving ridge between these two peaks, approximately at the contact point of the two structures. Volcanic activity started about 7.7 million years ago in the south, ceasing about 2.7 million years ago. In the north, activity started about 4.7 million years ago and lasted until about 1.4 million years ago. Both centres had several phases of activity. The most recent age reported for an ash band

3886-484: The status of an overseas collectivity to that of an overseas department, effectively becoming a full constituent territory within the French Republic, with regards to the European Union, Mayotte remained an 'overseas country and territory' (OCT) in association with the Union (as per Article 355(2) TFEU) and not a constituent territory of the European Union in the same way as the other four overseas departments. However, following

3953-477: The sugar crisis of 1883–1885 quickly led to the end of this crop in Mayotte (which had just reached its peak of production), leaving only a few factory ruins, some of which are still visible now. The last sugar plant to be closed was Dzoumogné in 1955: the best preserved, and now heritage, is Soulou, in the west of the island. At the Berlin conference in 1885, France took control over the whole Comoros archipelago, which

4020-409: The symbols of the island. Mayotte was the only island in the archipelago that voted in referendums in 1974 and 1976 to retain its link with France and forgo independence (with 63.8% and 99.4% of votes respectively). UN General Assembly resolutions , which are legally non-binding, have voted not to recognise France's continued rule of Mayotte, and the independent Comoros have never ceased to claim

4087-519: The title Western France . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_France&oldid=911979768 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Metropolitan France In contrast, overseas France ( France d'outre-mer )

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4154-489: The words "metropolis" and "metropolitan" came from Ancient Greek " metropolis " (from μήτηρ mētēr "mother" and πόλις pólis "city, town"), which was the name for a city-state that created colonies across the Mediterranean (e.g. Marseille was a colony of the city-state of Phocaea ; therefore Phocaea was the "metropolis" of Marseille). By extension "metropolis" and "metropolitan" came to mean "motherland",

4221-568: Was actually already ruled by French traders; the colony took the name of "Mayotte and Dependencies". In 1898, two cyclones razed the island to the ground, and a smallpox epidemic decimated the survivors. Mayotte had to start from the beginning once again, and the French government had to repopulate the island with workers from Mozambique, Comoros and Madagascar. The sugar industry was abandoned, replaced by vanilla, coffee, copra, sisal, then fragrant plants such as vetiver , citronella , sandalwood , and especially ylang-ylang , which later became one of

4288-506: Was again conquered by the Ndzuwani Sultanate ( Anjouan sultanate in French); a governor was installed with the unusual Islamic style of Qadi (from the Arabic قاض , meaning "judge"). However in 1836, it regained its independence under a last local Sultan. Andriantsoly reconquered the island in 1836, but his depopulated and unfortified island was in a weak position towards the sultans of Comoros, Malagasy kings, and pirates. Looking for

4355-468: Was changed in 2001 towards one very close to the status of the departments of France , with the particular designation of departmental collectivity . This change was approved by 73% of voters in a referendum . After the constitutional reform of 2003 it became an overseas collectivity while retaining the title "departmental collectivity" of Mayotte. Mayotte became an overseas department of France ( département d'outre-mer , DOM) on 31 March 2011 following

4422-436: Was established in 1500. The vast majority of the population today is Muslim . In the 19th century, Mayotte was conquered by Andriantsoly, former king of Iboina on Madagascar. Mayotte chose to remain with France after the Comoros declared its independence following the 1974 referendum . Mayotte became an overseas department on 31 March 2011 and became an outermost region of the European Union on 1 January 2014, following

4489-439: Was undermined. However, the freed slaves were often subsequently forced to work under harsher conditions for the French government or colonists in their plantations. Additionally, many of the imported laborers were victims of the slave trade. Mayotte therefore became a French island, but it remained an island with a sparse population due to decades of wars, as well as by the exodus of former elites and some of their slaves: most of

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