26th June: Madagascar Independence Day

Today is Madagascar's Independence Day. Here are 10 things you might not know about Madagascar.

1. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. The only larger islands are Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. The Capital and largest city is Antananarivo.
2. The country got its name through a mistake. Early settlers didn't really have a name for the country as a whole; it was the Europeans who arrived in the middle ages who named it. The name Madageiscar first appeared in the memoirs of 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco Polo - it was a corrupted transliteration of the name Mogadishu, the Somali port. Polo had landed on Madagascar and thought he was in Somalia. It was almost called São Lourenço after Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias landed on the island on St. Laurence's Day in 1500, but people seemed to prefer Marco Polo's mistake!
3. 90% of the wildlife found on Madagascar is not found anywhere else on Earth. Species endemic to the country include lemurs and the fossa, a type of cat, numerous birds and two-thirds of the world's chameleon species, including the smallest known, Brookesia micra. The males of Brookesia micra reach a maximum length of 16 mm (0.63 in) - small enough to stand on the head of a match. 80% of the plant life is found nowhere else, including hundreds of species of orchids and six of the world's eight baobab species.
4. As well as the smallest chameleon, Madagascar was once home to the largest bird on the planet, the elephant bird. They became extinct, probably in the 17th or 18th century, and would have been over ten feet (3 meters) tall. Interestingly, although these birds lived in close geographical proximity to the ostrich, and resemble ostriches, their closest living relative is the kiwi.
5. The national emblem is the traveller's palm or Ravenala (meaning "forest leaves"). The name traveller's palm may have come from the fact that the stems can hold rainwater which a thirsty traveller could drink (although it's not advisable to drink this water without purifying it first); or because the fans tend to be oriented east-west and so travellers could use them as a compass. They are pollinated by ruffed lemurs.
6. Many people in Madagascar follow traditional religions (Christianity was actually banned for a time during its history) and ancestor worship is common. In some areas of the country, it is very important not to offend one's dead relatives in case they become "angatra" or ghosts, and bring misfortune to the family. Keeping them happy involves digging them up every few years and changing the linen in which they are wrapped. People traditionally consult Mpanandro ("Makers of the Days", a type of astrologer) when deciding on dates for important events such as weddings.
7. Lemurs are sacred in Madagascar and there is a taboo against hunting them - possibly because early people believed them to have common ancestry with humans.
8. Madagascar is the world's number one supplier of vanilla, Cloves and ylang-ylang. Other key agricultural resources include Coffee, lychees and Shrimp. Madagascar provides half of the world's supply of sapphires, which were discovered near Ilakaka in the late 1990s.
9. Hery Rajaonarimampianina, the president of Madagascar at time of writing, has a longer surname than any other president in the world.
10. Madagascar is thought to be the site of the mythical independent pirate nation of Libertalia. Madagascar was certainly a popular resting place for European pirates and traders between the late 1700s and early 1800s. Pirates would, according to the legend, renounce their national identities and call themselves Liberi. They waged war against states and lawmakers, releasing prisoners and freeing slaves.