Pre Colonial History of Comoros

Comoros pre-colonial history bears the mark of its earliest settlers, the immigrants from Polynesia and parts of Asia like Indonesia. Remains of African tribes were also found on the tropical Indian Ocean Island.

The noticeable characteristic of Comoros pre-colonial history is the dominance of Arab culture and ethos. The pre-colonial history of Comoros is marked by successive invasions of human civilizations from other parts of the Indian Ocean. Historians have found remains of invasion forces from different parts of Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar and the Persian Gulf. The pre-colonial history in Comoros were however, dominated by the Shirazi Arab Royal clans. The Shirazi migrants settled in Comoros introduced the religion of Islam and built mosques.

The European colonial powers first knew of the Comoros island chain from the Portuguese. The first Portuguese visited the island in 1505. The islands were mapped by two Portuguese explorers- Fernando Soares and Diogo Dias in the early 16th century. Portugal used the islands to replenish their ships on the way to the East Coast of Africa. The French took over administrative control of Comoros in the 19th century. France made the Comoros islands a part of its colonial empire. The 19th century saw the islands being controlled from Paris.