Anosy
| Anosy Region | |
|---|---|
| Region | |
 Location in Madagascar |
|
| Country |
 Madagascar
|
| Capital | Tôlanaro |
| Area | |
| • Total | 25,731 km2 (9,935 sq mi) |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 671,805 |
| • Density | 26/km2 (68/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC3) |
Anosy is one of the 22 regions of Madagascar in the southeast of the country. It is located on the eastern side of what used to be Province of Tulear. The name "Anosy" means "island(s)" in Malagasy.
Due to a strategic main searoute running along its coast, Anosy has been an osmotic crossroads for Malagasy and the rest of the world over the last 500 years. In the 1500s it served as a supplying area for European ships sailing to and from the Indies, and in the mid-1600s it was the location of an early French colonial settlement in the Indian Ocean. The region was part of the Merina Kingdom for much of the 1800s and part of the French colony of Madagascar from the late 1800s to 1960.
Its exports have included human slaves (shipped to Mascarene Islands and the United States in the 1700s), live cattle (exported to Réunion for almost 300 years), sisal, natural rubber, Rosy Periwinkle, graphite, uranothorite, lobster, sapphires, and, in the last five years, ilmenite. Due to its biodiversity and natural beauty, efforts commenced in the 1980s to promote environmental conservation and tourism in the region.
Anosy is a region in southeastern Madagascar. It borders Androy region in the west, Atsimo-Andrefana in the northwest, Ihorombe in the north and Atsimo-Atsinanana in the northeast. This region is 25,731 km2 (9,935 sq mi), about the size of the US State of Vermont, the island of Cyprus or the nation of Israel, running from approximately Manantenina in the northeast corner of the region, and west to Ranomafana and the Mandrare river. The distance from Manantenina at the northern edge of Anosy to the Mandrare river at the south is almost 150 km. "Anosy" means "island" or "islands" in Malagasy. Possibly, Anosy was named after the island in the Fanjahira (now named Efaho) river where the Zafiraminia first settled when they arrived in this region in the 16th century. Another theory is that the name means "land of the islands" because of the large amount of water in this region. During the rainy season, the Efaho valley floods, creating many temporary islands.
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