Editing Mayotte (section)

== History ==

{{for|the history of Mayotte before 1974|History of the Comoros}}

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 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 [[List of sultans on the Comoros#Sultans of and on Mayotte|Sultans of Mayotte]] had political ties with the [[List of sultans on the Comoros#Sultans of and on Ndzuwani (Anjouan)|Anjouan Sultanate]] during this period. Mayotte was sparsely populated and mainly consisted of [[Comorian languages|Comorian speakers]] that were politically aligned with the local sultan and the Malagasy who were autonomous.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambek |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcjXAAAAMAAJ |title=Knowledge and Practice in Mayotte: Local Discourses of Islam, Sorcery and Spirit Possession |date=1993 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-2960-7 |pages=41–42 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Andriantsoly.jpg|thumb|[[Andriantsoly]], the last sultan of Mayotte, from 1832 to 1843]]
In 1832, Mayotte was conquered by Andriantsoly, former king of [[Boina Kingdom|Iboina]] on Madagascar; in 1833, it was conquered by the neighbouring sultanate of [[Mwali]] (''Mohéli'' in French).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gibb |first=Sir H. A. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5U3AAAAIAAJ&dq=sultanate+of+moheli+1833&pg=PA381 |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam |date=1998 |publisher=Brill Archive |language=en}}</ref> On 19 November 1835, Mayotte 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 {{lang|ar|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. Seeking the help of a powerful ally, he began to negotiate with the French, installed in the nearby Malagasy island of [[Nosy Be|Nosy Bé]] in 1840.

Mayotte was purchased by France in 1841, and integrated to [[Louis Philippe I|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 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambek |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcjXAAAAMAAJ |title=Knowledge and Practice in Mayotte: Local Discourses of Islam, Sorcery and Spirit Possession |date=1993 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-2960-7 |pages=43 |language=en}}</ref>

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 the cities were abandoned, and nature reclaimed 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 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 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 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 oil|citronella]], [[sandalwood]], and especially [[ylang-ylang]], which later became one of the symbols of the island.

[[File:Comoros-CIA WFB Map.png|thumb|Map of the Comoros Union (three islands on the left) and the Mayotte French department (right)]]
Mayotte was the only island in the archipelago that voted in referendums in [[1974 Comorian independence referendum|1974]] and [[1976 Mahoran Comoros referendum|1976]] to retain its link with France and forgo independence (with 63.8% and 99.4% of votes respectively). [[United Nations resolution|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 the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.diploweb.com/Le-bras-de-fer-franco-comorien-au-sujet-de-Mayotte.html|title=Bras de fer franco-comorien au sujet de Mayotte|website=www.diploweb.com|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=France Cast UN Veto|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8O0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6434,579759&dq=france+mayotte+veto&hl=en|access-date=13 April 2011|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=7 February 1976|quote=The vote was 11–1 with three abstentions – the United States, Britain and Italy.}}</ref> It was the only time, {{as of|2020|lc=y}}, that France cast a lone veto in the council;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://research.un.org/en/docs/sc/quick |publisher=UN |title=Security Council – Veto List |access-date=16 May 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Procedure of the UN Security Council |last=Sievers |first=Loraine |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2014 |isbn=9780199685295 |edition=4th |location=Oxford |pages=345–346 |last2=Daws |first2=Sam}}</ref> As mentioned, 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 a [[2009 Mahoran status referendum|29 March 2009 referendum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/lefigaromagazine/2009/03/14/01006-20090314ARTFIG00183--enquete-sur-le-futur-101-e-departement-.php| title=Enquête sur le Futur 101e Département|language=fr| date=2009-03-13}}</ref> The outcome was a 95.5% vote in favour of changing the island's status from a French "overseas community" to become France's 101st [[département]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/comorosandmayotte/5072354/Mayotte-votes-to-become-Frances-101st-dpartement.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/comorosandmayotte/5072354/Mayotte-votes-to-become-Frances-101st-dpartement.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mayotte votes to become France's 101st ''department'' |work=The Telegraph|date=29 March 2009 |access-date=1 April 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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 [[Napoleonic code|French civil code]].<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2009/03/29/mayotte-vote-en-faveur-de-la-departementalisation_1174015_823448.html#ens_id=1173404 Mayotte vote en faveur de la départementalisation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330221524/http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2009/03/29/mayotte-vote-en-faveur-de-la-departementalisation_1174015_823448.html#ens_id=1173404 |date=30 March 2009 }}, ''Le Monde'', 29 March 2009.</ref> Additionally, French social welfare and taxes apply in Mayotte, though some of each will be brought in gradually.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.connexionfrance.com/Mayotte-department-101-France-Outre-Mer-overseas-Indian-Ocean-12618-view-article.html |title=Mayotte becomes 101st department |work=The Connexion |date=31 March 2011 |access-date=2 April 2011 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210219/http://www.connexionfrance.com/Mayotte-department-101-France-Outre-Mer-overseas-Indian-Ocean-12618-view-article.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Comoros continues to claim the island, while criticising the French military base there.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gadebate.un.org/en/67/comoros|title=Comoros|date=26 September 2012|website=General Assembly of the United Nations|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=February 2021|reason=Remarks from 2009 and 2011 sources about transitions that WILL occur need to be reviewed and, I'm guessing, removed as faits accomplis.}}

In 2018, the department experienced civil unrest over migration from the Comoros.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-21|title=Uneasy Calm on Mayotte after Anti-Immigration Protests|url=https://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/uneasy-calm-mayotte-anti-immigration-protests/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Future Directions International|language=en-AU|archive-date=8 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208190214/https://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/uneasy-calm-mayotte-anti-immigration-protests/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

{{Further|2024 Mayotte crisis}}<!--- Add here for now. Can be expanded into content. --->

In December 2024, [[Cyclone Chido]] caused extreme damage to Mayotte, destroying most homes, administrative buildings and part of the town hall in the capital Mamoudzou.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cyclone Chido: "S'il n'y a pas de morts ou de blessés, ça serait vraiment un miracle", selon le président de l'association des maires de Mayotte|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/france/mayotte/cyclone-chido-s-il-n-y-a-pas-de-morts-ou-de-blesses-ca-serait-vraiment-un-miracle-selon-le-president-de-l-association-des-maires-de-mayotte_6955169.html|language=fr|date=14 December 2024|access-date=14 December 2024|publisher=[[France Info (radio network)|France Info]]}}</ref> President [[Emmanuel Macron]] arrived on the department's largest island, [[Grande-Terre, Mayotte|Grande-Terre]], on 19 December, and delivered food and health aid. A state of emergency has been declared for the department.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Mayeni |title=Cyclone Chido: Macron visits Mayotte as thousand still missing after storm |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgxnnl151yo |work=BBC |date=19 December 2024}}</ref>