COMORO ISLANDS |
| Les Comores |
Located in a strategic position at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, the archipelago of the Comoro Islands arose from the seabed of the western Indian Ocean as the result of volcanic activity. The islands: Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Moheli), Nzwani (Anjouan), and Maore (Mayotte) with their French names in parentheses, have distinct topograhical characteristics due to their different ages. Maore, the oldest of the islands, is highly eroded with slow, meandering streams. Ngazidja, the youngest of the islands is dominated by a massive, active volcano. Volcanic experts are concerned that a very violent eruption may occur in the near future. The other two islands are mountainous but have no active volcanic activity. The Comoro Islands once played a major role in the maritime economy of the western Indian Ocean. For centuries, they were a major stopover on the mercantile routes from Africa to the Orient.
Ancient documents speak of widespread maritime trade in the Indian Ocean involving large,
seaworthy sailing vessels. The tales of Sinbad the Sailor provide an entertaining and fanciful view
of sailing in the Indian Ocean but they are based on a factual, centuries old maritime trade. Sailors
traveled between ports in the Comoros, the East African Coast, Arabia, and India in the search for a wide variety
of goods including gems, rare animals, exotic woods, spices, and slaves.
The town of Domoni on the eastern shore of the island of Nzwani (Anjouan), for one, is
mentioned as a major trading center in the fifteenth century by the famous navigator, Ibn Madjid.
Ibn Madjid is best known to the western world as the navigator who possibly guided
the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, from East Africa to India. But he was also widely known
in the countries of the Indian Ocean littoral and he traveled extensively throughout the area during the 1400s.
He wrote of African, Indian, and Persian sailing vessels visiting Domoni.
Archaeological evidence, furthermore,
indicates the town was founded before the 12th century and that trade existed
between Domoni and places as far away as Japan by the 18th century.
Traditional sailing
vessels of the Indian Ocean,
much like the 60 foot merchantman pictured at right, carried tons of cargo, yet
were notably fast sailing ships, and were remarkable in that they had no metal
in their construction. Their hulls were made from wooden planks sewn together
with rope made from coconut fiber. They were flexible, shallow draft craft able
to stand the pounding of surf without breaking apart. Consequently, they required
no deep water ports. Instead, they were beached or anchored just offshore.
During the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, large numbers of European and American ships visited the islands. They were well-known to whalers, seamerchants, and pirates, including the infamous Captain Kidd. The island of Nzwani, in particular, was a favorite stopover for reprovisioning food and water. But with the introduction of steamships and the opening of the Suez Canal, the Comoros ceased to be a stop on the major trade routes of the Indian Ocean. In the 20th century, except for an occasional historical incident, they virtually disappeared from the world's awareness. For much of the western world, they became "Forgotten Islands."
The mountainous islands have diverse microecologies with spectacular scenery, exotic plants and rare animals. Several species of animals are unique to the Comoros. One, Livingstone's flying fox, is a fruit bat that soars on wings spanning more than four feet. It roosts in steep-sided valleys high in the mountainous forests of Nzwani and Mwali. With pressure being put upon the forests from increasing human populations on these islands, the bat's habitat is redically changing through deforestation and the species has become seriously endangered.
Several different kinds of insects and over a dozen bird species are also unique to the islands. Many are now are facing extinction.
In the waters around the islands, lives the coelacanth. A species of fish with an amazing history, one was recently caught this year by a Comorian fisherman from the island of Nzwani (Anjouan). The coelacanth once was thought by western scientists to be a fossil fish extinct for 60 million years. But it was discovered in 1938 that they still exist and in the 1950s an ichthyologist learned that local fishermen catch coelacanths in deep water close to the Comoro Islands. Several specimens have since been caught, preserved, and sent to museums around the world. To learn more about this remarkable story visit the fish out of time.
There is an abundance
of life in the Indian Ocean surrounding the Comoros. One can find everything from giant whales,
large sharks, big manta rays, sailfish, sunfish, to lobsters, crabs and tiny
shrimp. Deep water close to the islands, coral reefs, miles of sandy beaches,
THE UNION OF THE COMOROS
The islands became a French colony following the Berlin conference of 1884-5 in which European powers divided up Africa. They remained under direct French political control until 1975. In that year, the local government declared itself independent from France and formed the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands. Three of the islands: Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Moheli), and Nzwani (Anjouan), became members of the Republic but the fourth major island of the archipelago, Maore (Mayotte), continued to be administered by France. Although it's control by France has been continuously challenged by the Comorian government and the claim that Mayotte belongs within the sphere of the independent nation of the Comoros has been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, it remains today a French Overseas Territory. Furthermore, in a general referendum held in April, 2009 on the island, voters overwhelmingly were in favor of becoming a French Department, making it an integral part of the French Republic.
In 1997, separatists on the islands of Nzwani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) demanded more independence from the Republic. This led to the breakup of the Federal Islamic Republic and a reformation of the central government under a new constitution in 2001 as the Union of the Comoro Islands. The new constitution gave each of the three islands considerable autonomy. Besides an elected president of the Union, each island would have an elected president. In 2007, the president of Nzwani, who favored complete independence from the Union, refused to relinquish his position and agree to the results of a proper general election on the island. Consequently, in March of 2008, he was removed by a combined military force of soldiers from the Comorian Union and the African Union. This has led to a constitutionally elected president of Nzwani and a return to a normalized relationship with the central government.
Under the Union's 2001 constitution, presidential elections were scheduled to be held every four years with the office rotating between the three islands. In 2006, Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi from the island of Nzwani (Anjouan) was elected President. He replaced Azali Assoumani from Ngazidja (Grande Comore). The next President is scheduled to be from the island of Mwali (Moheli).
On 17 May, 2009, a constitutional referendum was passed by a large majority of those voting extending President Sambi's term in office until 2011. The next presidential election will be held at that time. The new President will still be a candidate from Mwali but the term of office will now be five years. Other results of the referendum are that the President will have the power to dissolve Parliament, the President can make Islam the state religion and the office of president on each of the three islands will be changed to governor.
General information about the Comoro Islands can be found below under the following categories. A young Comorian woman from the island of Nzwani (Anjouan) says, "Wangalie!" ("Take a look!")
For
those interested in doing research about the islands an extensive bibliography
is available.
For details
about each of the islands of the archipelago select from:
Other world wide web sites with information about the Comoro Islands you may want to visit are:
The World Tourism Directory provides addresses and telephone numbers of a range of useful resources.
Official Site of the President of the Union of the Comoros. (In French)
Comorian Web Portal. (In French)
Les Comores. (In French)
Radio and Television from the Comoros. (In French, Arabic, and Comorian)
World Bank Country Profile.
BBC News Country Profile.
Comoro Islands Resources Page of Stanford University Libraries.
University of Pennsylvania's African Studies Program.
Library of Congress Country Studies.
United States Department of State Background Notes.
CIA World
Factbook.
There is an entry for the Comoros in
the Encyclopedia of the Nations.
IMF (International Monetary Fund) publications on the Comoros.
Interested in examples of Comorian money? Go to Coins or Numismatics of the Comoros.
Africa Intelligence provides information about the western Indian Ocean area by drawing information from articles in journals such as The Indian Ocean Newsletter.
Interested in recent military activity in the Comoros? See the Air Combat Information Group site or the site by a former officer of South African Military Intelligence.
For more general background information you may want to visit the following sites:
There have been
virtual visits
of the Comoro Islands.
Any questions, suggestions, or comments contact
Traditional doll
from Nzwani.