History and mythsIn 1503, Portuguese navigators discovered the island, on Assumption Day, after having escaped a shipwreck, and gave it the name of Santa Maria, in honor of the Virgin Mary, hence the name Saint Mary .
Around 1592, a Dutch ship called at Sainte Marie for supplies.
The commander of the vessel will name the island, Ibrahim Island, Nosin'Iborahimo in Malagasy, hence later "Nosy Boraha".
But legend has it that its name "Nosy Boraha" comes from a man named Boraha, going fishing, was dragged away by a whale. He wandered at sea for hours but was saved by a fish called "Sorokay" which brought him back to dry land. He gave his name to the island he has just discovered Nosy Boraha which means the island of Boraha. And since that day, it is forbidden for the "zafin-boraha" which means the descendants of Boraha, to eat the "Sorokay" fish.
QUEEN BETTYDaughter of King Ratsimilaho and granddaughter of the English pirate Thomas Tew, Betty is a Madagascan queen born around 1735 and died on October 14, 1805 in Vacoas-Phœnix (Mauritius).
She had an extraordinary life and special ties with France. In addition to having married a Gascon, Jean Onésine Filet known as "La Bigorne", she ceded to the French government Sainte Marie, a small island located in the east of Madagascar. She fell madly in love with the corporal….
Indeed, on July 30, 1750, Bétia officially ceded the island of Sainte-Marie to France. According to legend, his gesture is motivated by his love for the French Corporal La Bigorne, trade chief of the Compagnie des Indes.
In fact, it seems that his father had already started negotiations with the Compagnie des Indes and that the French commercial agent Gosse had succeeded in convincing Bétia to cede his land to the King of France.
Suspected of being behind the death of Governor Gosse, Bétia was arrested for rebellion and temporarily imprisoned before being found not guilty. Around 1750 or 1751, she left for Île-de-France, present-day Mauritius, where she moved with her entourage where she got involved in trade and carried on her business successfully.
In 1762, she returned to Sainte-Marie on behalf of the Compagnie des Indes. Responsible for ensuring the resumption of trade with the Malagasy island and with the counter of Foulpointe, Bétia agrees to cede her throne to Zanahary, her brother, as a sign of peace. France thus recognizes the latter's sovereignty over the island.
Betty was baptized on February 1, 1775 by Father Delfolie at the cathedral of Port-Louis. On May 19, 1780, she was naturalized French under the name of Marie Elisabeth Sabbabadie Betty "in recognition of the services rendered by her husband to the French in Madagascar" ...