European exploration of Africa
One of the ships under command of Diogo Dias arrived at a coast that was not in East Africa. Two years later, a chart already showed an elongated island east of Africa that bore the name Madagascar. But only a century later, between 1613 and 1619, did the Portuguese explore the island in detail. They signed treaties with local chieftains and sent the first missionaries, who found it impossible to make locals believe in Hell, and were eventually expelled.
Madagascar
On St. Laurence's Day in 1500, Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias landed on the island and named it "São Lourenço". Polo's name was preferred and popularized on Renaissance maps. No single Malagasy-language name predating "Madagasikara" appears to have been used by the local population to refer to the island, although some communities had their own name for part or all of the land they inhabited.