Nosy Boraha , previously known as Sainte-Marie, main town Ambodifotatra, is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

off the east coast of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

. The island forms an administrative district within Analanjirofo Region, and covers an area of 222 km². It has a population estimated at 30,000. Sainte-Marie Island is known for its authentic and preserved character, its whale watching, its beautiful beaches, its romantic history and the kindness of its inhabitants.

Administration

The island is organized as the city (''commune urbaine'') and district of Nosy Boraha in Analanjirofo Region. *1 town hall *17 fokontany (villages) *1 deputy

Population

The Betsimisaraka are the largest ethnic group on the island, though there had been a long history of mixed marriages, including with pirates in the 17th century.

Transport infrastructure

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer r ...

in the South (inaugurated 2015) *1 commercial port (Ilot Madame) *1 passenger port (Ambodifotatra) Ferries leave from Soanierana Ivongo and

Mahambo Mahambo is a town and commune ( mg, kaominina) in Madagascar. It belongs to the Districts of Madagascar, district of Fenerive Est District, Fenerive Est, which is a part of Analanjirofo Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be app ...

, but there are also boats from

Toamasina Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...

Geography

This island is long and less than wide.

Whale watching

Humpback whale Sainte Marie Madagascar July 2013

The channel between Nosy Boraha and Madagascar is known for

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

. Substantial pods of

humpback whales The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The humpb ...

(Megaptera) migrate from the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and othe ...

to the Baie de Tintingue, where the conditions are well suited for mating and raising calves before their annual migration to colder water. Although scarce, southern right whales as a part of the recolonization of their former ranges, are known to appear along the coast from time to time.

History

Golden age of Piracy

Pirates Cemetery Ile Ste Marie Madagascar

Ile Sainte-Marie, or St. Mary's Island as it is known in English, became a popular base for pirates, between the 17th and 18th centuries. Beginning with

Adam Baldridge Adam Baldridge (fl. 1690 – 1697) was an English pirate and one of the early founders of the pirate settlements in Madagascar. History After fleeing from Jamaica to escape murder charges, Baldridge sailed to Madagascar and, by 1690, had establi ...

in 1691 and ending with

John Pro John Pro (died 1719) was a Dutch pirate best known for leading a pirate trading post near Madagascar. History Pro made his fortune as a pirate cruising the Indian Ocean against Moorish shipping, possibly alongside David Williams or Thomas Coll ...

in 1719, the location was favourable for pirate activity, being near maritime routes travelled by ships returning from the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

, their holds overflowing with loot. The location also provided bays and inlets for protection from storms, abundant fruit and quiet waters. Legendary pirates including

William Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

Robert Culliford Robert Culliford (c. 1666 - ?, last name occasionally Collover) was a pirate from Cornwall who is best remembered for repeatedly ''checking the designs'' of Captain William Kidd. Early career and capture Culliford and Kidd first met as shipmates ...

Olivier Levasseur __NOTOC__ Olivier Levasseur (1688, 1689, or 1690 – 7 July 1730), was a French pirate, nicknamed ''La Buse'' ("The Buzzard") or ''La Bouche'' ("The Mouth") in his early days for the speed and ruthlessness with which he always attacked his enem ...

Henry Every Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (20 August 1659after 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases ...

Abraham Samuel Abraham Samuel, also known as "Tolinar Rex," born in Martinique (or possibly in Anosy, Madagascar), was a mulatto pirate of the Indian Ocean in the days of the Pirate Round in the late-1690s. Being shipwrecked on his way back to New York, he bri ...

and

Thomas Tew Thomas Tew (died September 1695), also known as the Rhode Island Pirate, was a 17th-century English privateer-turned-pirate. He embarked on two major pirate voyages and met a bloody death on the second, and he pioneered the route which became kn ...

lived in the ''île aux Forbans'', an island located in the bay of Sainte Marie's main town, Ambodifotatra. Many of them were interred in cemeteries on Nosy Boraha, although the remains have never been identified. The utopian pirate republic of Libertalia was also rumoured to exist in this area, although the republic's existence, let alone its location, has never been proven.

French Colonization

In 1750, the ruler of the Kingdom of Betsimisaraka,

Bety of Betsimisaraka Marie Elisabeth "Bety" Sobobie of Betsimisaraka or ''Betia'' (1735–1805), was queen regnant of the kingdom of Betsimisaraka, consisting of the island Île Sainte-Marie and parts of eastern Madagascar, from 1750 to 1754 (Île Sainte-Marie) and 1 ...

, ceded the Island to the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

in a Treaty. However, in 1752 the French Colonists were massacred when the local population rebelled. France left the settlement abandoned for roughly half a century until returning in 1818, when the island was converted into a

Penal Colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

.In 1857 the French established the first Catholic church in Madagascar, which is still in use today. French Rule came to an end in 1960 after the island's population voted in a referendum to join the

Malagasy Republic The Malagasy Republic ( mg, Repoblika Malagasy, french: République malgache) was a state situated in Southeast Africa. It was established in 1958 as an autonomous republic within the newly created French Community, became fully independent i ...

Diving

Free from sharks, the lagoon of the island is endowed with significant coralline growth. Its underwater fauna is conserved as a natural heritage and popular diving site in the Indian Ocean. On 7 May 2015, a large "silver" ingot, which was believed to be Captain Kidd's treasure, was found off the coast of the island. After further analysis,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

determined that the piece actually consisted of 95% lead; they judged it to be "a broken part of the Sainte-Marie port constructions."

Traditions

On Nosy Boraha, the inhabitants are attached to traditions. The social or family events are faithfully linked to practices invoking the ancestors' spirits. The wealth and variety of these rituals underline the authenticity and depth of the "Saint-marien" cultural identity.

Fauna and flora

The insular character and the coralline soil encouraged various adaptations, as much of animal as of plant structure. Thus, Boraha is endowed with a rich fauna and flora. There are several species of

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagas ...

as well as numerous

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...

species, among which is the "Queen of Madagascar" (''

Eulophiella ''Eulophiella'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains 5 known species, all endemic to Madagascar. #'' Eulophiella capuroniana'' Bosser & Morat #'' Eulophiella elisabethae'' Linden & Rolfe #'' Eulophie ...

roempleriana''). The island was home to the only known population of Delalande's coua, a species of

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

that became extinct in the late 19th century, possibly due to predation by feral cats.

Museums

Ilot Madame Museum is the only museum found on this island.

Popular Culture

Nosy Boraha is the setting for the fantasy historical children's book ''Kintana and the Captain's Curse'' by Susan Brownrigg. (Uclan Publishing, July 2021.)

Crime

Recent violent assaults have been reported on the island and it is not recommended to visit alone.

Gallery

File:Sainte marie Madagascar paved road.JPG, The island's paved road runs up the west coast. File:Sainte marie Madagascar first church.JPG, Madagascar's first church was built here by the French. File:Sainte marie Madagascar pirate cemetery 2.JPG, The pirate cemetery is a popular tourist destination. File:Sainte marie Madagascar pirogue taxi depot.JPG, Dugout canoes ferry passengers between Ste. Marie and Île aux Nattes. File:Sainte marie Madagascar view of ile aux nattes.JPG, View of Île aux Nattes from Ste. Marie. File:Humpback Whale, Île Sainte-Marie (3954153574).jpg, Rare

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

at Île Sainte-Marie.

References

External links

Office of Tourism of Sainte Marie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ile Sainte-Marie Sainte-Marie Populated places in Analanjirofo Pirate dens and locations Piracy in the Indian Ocean