Mtsamboro is a small fishing town and commune in the French overseas department in northwest Mayotte

Mayotte

Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...

, in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

. Its total population according to the 2007 census is 6,917. Included in the commune are the Choazil Islands

Choazil Islands

The Choazil Islands, also known as the Malandzamia Islands, are two small islands located off the shore of Mtsamboro, northern Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. To the northwest is the larger Chissioua Mtsamboro...

 and Chissioua Mtsamboro

Chissioua Mtsamboro

Chissioua Mtsamboro, widely known previously as Zamburu Island, also Saddle Island, is an island, about 3 miles off the northwest coast of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean in the Comoros archipelago. It lies north of the Choazil Islands, just off the coast of Mtsamboro.This stretch of water is known...

. The main economic activity is fishing and orange production.

History

Archaeology has revealed an occupation existed in thirteenth and fourteenth centuries on the Jiva beach named Mshambara, and traces of a medina dating from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries in the quartier of Mjikura. Mtsamboro has an important place in the history of Mayotte: this town was the first capital of the Shirazi Sultanate as it hosted the first Sultan of Mayotte at the end of the fifteenth century. Mtsamboro was the main commercial port of the island and was visited by many European vessels. The town, like many others in Mayotte, was ruined and abandoned in the eighteenth century. In Mjikura are the ruins of a royal palace and tombs, an important location for the Sultans of Mayotte.

Geography

The village of Mtsamboro lies on the northwest coast of the island along National Road 1. To the northeast is the village of Mtsahara

Mtsahara

Mtsahara is a village in the commune of Mtsamboro on Mayotte....

 and to the southwest is Mtsangadoua

Mtsangadoua

Mtsangadoua is a village in the commune of Acoua on Mayotte....

. Two small peninsulas jut out in the village area, the larger of which lies roughly a mile north of the village centre and separates the main village of Mtsamboro and Hamjago

Hamjago

Hamjago is a village in the commune of Mtsamboro on Mayotte....

 from Mtsahara

Mtsahara

Mtsahara is a village in the commune of Mtsamboro on Mayotte....

. The larger peninsula is also the nearest point of land to Choazil Island, which with another form the Choazil Islands

Choazil Islands

The Choazil Islands, also known as the Malandzamia Islands, are two small islands located off the shore of Mtsamboro, northern Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. To the northwest is the larger Chissioua Mtsamboro...

.This stretch of water is known as the Choazil Passage

Choazil Passage

Choazil Passage is a passage in the Mozambique Channel which separates the mainland of Mtsamboro in northwest Mayotte from the Choazil Islands. It is said to be 5 1/2 fathoms deep mid channel....

, part of the Mozambique Channel

Mozambique Channel

The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...

. North of the Choazil Islands is the larger Chissioua Mtsamboro

Chissioua Mtsamboro

Chissioua Mtsamboro, widely known previously as Zamburu Island, also Saddle Island, is an island, about 3 miles off the northwest coast of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean in the Comoros archipelago. It lies north of the Choazil Islands, just off the coast of Mtsamboro.This stretch of water is known...

 (widely known as Zamburu Island); both islands are under the administration of the commune of Mtsamboro. Chissiou Mtsamboro is separated from the Choazil Islands by the Zamburu Passage

Zamburu Passage

Zamburu Passage is a passage in the Mozambique Channel which separates the Choazil Islands from Chissioua Mtsamboro , 3 miles off the northwes coast of Mayotte....

.. Chissiou Mtsamboro is a mountainous island, providing shelter to the main stretch of beach, tucked away in the southwest of the island which contains a main settlement and numerous huts dotted along the beach. The area to the southeast is heavily forested and forms part of the Reserve Forestiere Des Cretes Du Nord.To the east is a mountain called Dziani Bole, with an altitude of 472 metres.

Economy

The economy is mainly based around agriculture and fishing; it is notable area for orange production.

Notable landmarks

The main mosque is Wemani Mosque. It contains the Collège de M'tsamboro and Hôtel Mtsamboro. There are at least 3 small sports grounds, two of which lie in very close proximity to the larger peninsula, near Mtsahara.