page_title: History of the Comoros
section_title: Europeans
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Comoros / Early inhabitants / Europeans
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Island of Anjouan, one of the Islands of the Comoros from map by Jacque-Nicolas Bellin, featured in "Histoire Générale des Voyages" by Antoine François Prévost As reprinted in Joseph Smith, Captain Kidd Lore, and Treasure-Seeking in New York and New England during the Early Republic
context_page_description: The history of the Comoros extends to about 1000 BC when the archipelago was first inhabited. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.
context_section_description: Portuguese explorers first visited the archipelago in 1505.
  Apart from a visit by the French Parmentier brothers in 1529, for much of the 16th century the only Europeans to visit the islands were Portuguese.  British and Dutch ships began arriving around the start of the 17th century and the island of Ndzwani soon became a major supply point on the route to the East Indies.  Ndzwani was generally ruled by a single sultan, who occasionally attempted to extend his authority to Mayotte and Mwali; Ngazidja was more fragmented, on occasion being divided into as many as 12 small kingdoms.
  Sir James Lancaster's voyage to the Indian Ocean in 1591 was the first attempt by the English to break into the spice trade, which was dominated by the Portuguese.  Only one of his four ships made it back from the Indies on that voyage, and that one with a decimated crew of 5 men and a boy.  Lancaster himself was marooned by a cyclone on the Comoros.  Many of his crew were speared to death by angry islanders although Lancaster found his way home in 1594.  (Dalrymple W. 2019; Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 1635573955).
  Both the British and the French turned their attention to the Comoros islands in the middle of the 19th century. The French finally acquired the islands through a cunning mixture of strategies, including the policy of "divide and conquer", chequebook politics and a serendipitous affair between a sultana and a French trader that was put to good use by the French, who kept control of the islands, quelling unrest and the occasional uprising.
  William Sunley, a planter and British Consul from 1848–1866, was an influence on Anjouan.
caption: Map of Anjouan (1748) by French hydrographer  Jacques Nicolas Bellin
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