The Democratic Republic of Madagascar, an independent member of the French Community located in the Indian Ocean 250 miles (402 km.) off the southeast coast of Africa, has an area of 226,658 sq. mi. (587,401 sq. km.) and a population of 173.9 million. Capital: Antananarivo. The economy is primarily agricultural; large bauxite deposits are presently being developed. Coffee, vanilla, graphite and rice are exported. ,Diago Diaz, a Portuguese navigator, sighted the island of Madagascar on Aug. 10, 1500, when his ship became separated from an India-bound fleet. Attempts at settlement by the British during the reign of Charles I and by the French during the 17th and 18th centuries were of no avail, and the island became a refuge and supply base for Indian Ocean pirates. Despite considerable influence on the island, the British accepted the imposition of French protectorate in 1886 in return for French recognition of Britain?s sphere if influence in Zanzibar. Madagascar was mad a French colony in 1896 after absolute control had been established by military force. Britain occupied the island after the fall of France in 1942, to prevent its seizure by the Japanese, and gave it to the Free French in 1943. On Oct. 14, 1958, following a decade of intermittent but bitter warfare, Madagascar, as the Malagasy Republic, became an autonomous state within the French Community. On June 27, 1960, it became a sovereign independent of nation, through remaining nominally within the French Community. The Malagasy Republic was renamed the Democratic Republic of Madagascar in 1976.,, Monetary System:,,, ,1 French Franc = 100 Centimes to 1945,, ,1 CFA Franc = 1.70 French Franc, 1945-1948,, ,1 CFA Franc = 2 French Francs, 1948-1959,, ,1 CFA Franc = .02 French Franc, 1959-1961,, ,5 Malagasy Francs (F.M.G.) = 1 Ariary, 1961-,,