History

Pre-Colonial Times

The first human inhabitants of the Comoro Islands are thought to have been Polynesian and Melanesian settlers, Malays and Indonesians, travelling by boat. They settled in at least the 6th century AD, the date of the earliest known archaeological site, found on Nzwani, and some sources speculate settlement as early as the first century.

The islands of Comoros became populated by a succession of diverse groups from the coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Indonesia and Madagascar. Settlers of the Swahili people first reached the islands as a part of the greater Bantu expansion that took place on the continent of Africa throughout the first millennium.

Development of the Comoros is periodised into phases beginning with Swahili influence and settlement in the Dembini phase from the 9th to 10th centuries, in which the islands maintained only a single central village each. By the 11th to the 15th centuries, trade with the island of Madagascar and Middle Eastern merchants flourished and smaller villages sprung up while towns grew. Unconfirmed legends tell of early Arab or Persian settlements before their known arrivals, and Swahili oral historians frequently trace genealogies back to Persian or Arab ancestors. Contact with Middle Eastern merchants brought Islam to the islands for the first time, and it gained in popularity, as large mosques were soon constructed. The Comoro Islands, like other coastal areas in the region, were important stops in early Islamic trade routes frequented by Persians and Arabs. Despite its distance from the coast, Comoros is situated amidst the major sea route between Kilwa and Mozambique, an outlet for Zimbabwean gold.

By the 19th century, Shirazi influence dominated the islands. Sunni Arabs from Shiraz, Iran (the Shirazi) traded along East Africa, the Middle East and India, and had established colonies in the Comoros. Arab influence increased with the ascendancy of Zanzibar under Arab Omani rule, and Comorian culture, especially architecture and religion, increasingly reflected Arab contact. Many rival sultanates were established in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Colonisation

France first established colonial rule in the Comoros beginning in 1841. The first French colonists landed in Mayotte, and Andrian Tsouli, the King of Mayotte, signed the Treaty of April 1841, which ceded the island to French authorities. In 1886, Mohéli was turned over to French protection by its Queen Salimba Mochimba. That same year, after consolidating his authority over all of Grand Comore, Sultan Said Ali agreed to French protection of his island, though he retained sovereignty until 1909. Also in 1909, Sultan Said Muhamed of Anjouan abdicated in favour of French rule of the island. The Comoros (or Les Comores) was officially made a French colony in 1912, and the islands were placed under the administration of the French colonial governor general of Madagascar in 1914.

The Comoros continued to be used as a way station for merchants to the Far East and India until the construction of the Suez Canal greatly reduced traffic passing through the Mozambique Channel. The only native commodities exported by the Comoros were coconuts. French settlers, French-owned companies and wealthy Arab merchants established a plantation-based economy that now uses about one-third of the land for export crops. After its annexation, France converted Mayotte into a sugar plantation colony. The other islands were soon transformed as well, and the major crops ylang-ylang, vanilla, coffee, cocoa and sisal were introduced.

Agreement was reached with France in 1973 for Comoros to become independent in 1978. On July 6, 1975, however, the Comorian parliament passed a resolution declaring independence. The deputies of Mayotte, which stayed under French control, abstained. Referendums on all four of the islands excluding Mayotte showed strong support for independence. Ahmed Abdallah became the first president and proclaimed the Comoros' independence on September 5, 1975.

Independence

The next thirty years were a period of political turmoil. It began in 1975 when mercenary Bob Denard (backed by the French government) removed President Ahmed Abdallah from office in an armed coup on August 3, 1975, and replaced him with United National Front of the Comoros (UNF) member Prince Said Mohammed Jaffar. Just a few months later, in January 1976, Jaffar was ousted in favour of his Minister of Defense Ali Soilih.

Around that time, in two referendums (December 1974 and February 1976), the population of Mayotte voted against independence from France (by 63.8% and 99.4% respectively). The three independent islands, ruled by President Soilih, instituted a number of socialist and isolationist policies that soon strained relations with France. On May 13, 1978 Bob Denard returned and overthrew President Solih by force and re-instated Abdallah with the support of the French and South African governments. In contrast to Soilih, Abdallah's presidency was marked by authoritarian rule and increased adherence to traditional Islam. During Soilih's short rule, there had been seven further documented coup attempts before the successful overthrow by Denard in May 1978. Soilih was killed after being forced from office.

Abdallah continued as president until 1989 when, fearing a probable coup d'état, he signed a decree ordering the Presidential Guard, led by Bob Denard, to disarm the armed forces. Shortly after the signing of the decree, Abdallah was allegedly killed in his office by a disgruntled military officer, who injured Denard at the same time. However, later sources claim that an anti-tank missile launched into his bedroom was the cause of Abdallah's death. A few days later, Bob Denard was evacuated to South Africa by French paratroopers.

Said Mohamed Djohar, Soilih's older half-brother, then became president and served until September 1995 when Bob Denard returned and attempted another coup. France intervened with paratroopers and forced Denard to surrender. The French moved Djohar to Reunion and the Paris-backed Mohamed Taki Abdulkarim became president by election. He led the country from 1996, during a time of labour crises, government suppression and secessionist conflicts, until he died in November 1998 and was succeeded by Interim President Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde.

The islands of Anjouan and Mohéli declared their independence from the Comoros in 1997, attempting to rejoin French rule. However, France refused the islands, and there were bloody confrontations between federal troops and rebels during Taki's government. Colonel Azali Assoumani, Army Chief of Staff, seized power in a bloodless coup in April 1999, overthrowing the Interim President Tadjiddine Ben Said Massounde citing weak leadership in the face of crisis.

A subsequent failed attempt by Azali to consolidate power and re-establish control over these islands was the subject of international criticism, and the African Union, under the auspices of President Mbeki of South Africa, intervened, imposing sanctions on Anjouan to help broker negotiations and effect a reconciliation. This involved a system of governmental autonomy for each island, plus a Union government for the three islands.

Azali stepped down in 2002 to run in the democratic election of the President of the Comoro Union, which he won. Under ongoing international pressure, as a military ruler who had originally come to power by force and was not always democratic while in office, Azali led the Union through constitutional changes that enabled new elections. A "Loi des compétences" (a law that defines the responsibilities of each governmental body) was passed in early 2005 and is in the process of implementation.

The elections in 2006 were won by Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, a Sunni Muslim Cleric nick-named the "Ayatollah" for his time spent studying Islam in Iran. Azali honoured the election results, thus allowing the first-ever peaceful and democratic exchange of power in the archipelagos' recent and turbulent history.

Mayotte Dispute

Comoros lays claim to Mayotte (aka Mahoré), a neighbouring island, which however is currently a French Overseas collectivity. Mayotte is the only island in the Comoro archipelago that, by a popular vote in a referundum, chose to retain its link with France instead of joining an independent Comoro Islands state. France has also vetoed against United Nations Security Council resolutions that would have affirmed Comorian sovereignty over Mayotte. Other bodies, including the UN General Assembly, the Organisation of African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, have questioned France's sovereignty over Mayotte.