History of Madagascar
By the 15th century, Europeans had wrested control of the spice trade from the Muslims. They did this by bypassing the Middle East and sending their cargo-ships around the Cape of Good Hope to India. The Portuguese mariner Diogo Dias became the first European to set foot on Madagascar when his ship, bound for India, blew off course in 1500. In the ensuing two-hundred years, the English and French tried (and failed) to establish settlements on the island.
Auguste Vinson
In 1862 Vinson was sent to Madagascar by Napoleon III to attend the coronation of Radama II. While here, he conducted valuable investigations of the islands' flora and fauna.