Sea of Zanj

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The Sea of Zanj is a former name for that portion of the western Indian Ocean adjacent to the East African region referred to by medieval Arab geographers as Zanj. The islands of the Sea of Zanj included Mauritius, Madagascar and Réunion. These islands have had a complex and bloody history as a result of various waves of invaders and colonists over many centuries. The South African historian, T.V Bulpin, wrote a book detailing the history of these islands called Islands in a Forgotten Sea. Madagascar was settled by tribes from the Indonesian region; the only such contact between that area and Africa. Mauritius, originally uninhabited, was fought over by the Dutch, the British and the French, among others.