The first people on the island are believed to be Indonesians and Africans. In 1500 Diogo Dias, a Portuguese sea captain, was the first European to see this island. In the 17th century the Portuguese, English, and French successively and unsuccessfully tried to colonize Madagascar. The French had a temporary control of the island in 1642, until in 1674 they were driven out by a powerful monarchy among the Merina, a people of Malay origin. The British gained influence

The major ethnic groups are Merina (Hova) who are about 27% of the total population and the related Betsileo which is 12%. Indonesia is primarily where these people descended from. Some of the other ethnic groups are Betsmisaraka(15%), Tsimihety(7%), Sakalava(6%), and Antaisaka(5%). There are three major religions. 48% of the people follow traditions beliefs, 49% practice Christianity, and 2% are Muslim.. The life expectancy for females is 58.5 years and for men it is 53.8 years. The infant mortality rate is 80 deaths per 1,000 live births. The low life expectancy and the infant mortality rate could be occurring because for 9,344 people there is only one physician. And there is only one hospital bed for 1,068 people. The literacy rate is 66.5%( Female 59.7% and male73.6%). The number of years compulsory schooling is 9 years, and there are 48 students to one teacher. Is this maybe why everyone on this island is not literate?

Madagascar has more than 10,000 varieties of plants which proves that is has one of the richest collections of flora in the world. There are a thousand different species of orchids, a water storing bottle tree, six different types of baobab trees, the carnivorous pitcher plant, and more. One reason for the variety in plants is because it has four different habitats. There are also many every interesting animals in Madagascar as well. There are 300 species of butterfly, 28 kinds of bats, 150 types of frogs, 210 species of birds, 260 different reptiles, and 32 species of primates. The lemur is one specie of primate. You can be sure to see a lemur if you were ever to visit Madagascar. There are 30 species of Lemurs in Madagascar.

Textiles and wood carving are two very dominate arts in Madagascar. They also paint and do stone carving. They are a very artistic culture! Some holidays and special events are the usual Christian holidays celebrated such as Easter and Christmas. Othe

Some topics in this essay:
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