Traditionally, archaeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves in outrigger canoes from South Borneo, possibly throughout the period between 350 BC and 550 AD, while others are cautious about dates earlier than AD 250. In either case, these dates make Madagascar one of the most recent major landmasses on Earth to be settled by humans, predating the settlement of Iceland and New Zealand.[40] It is proposed that Ma'anyan people were brought as laborers and slaves by Javan and Sumatran-Malays in their trading fleets to Madagascar.[41][42][43][44] Dates of settlement of the island earlier than the mid-first millennium AD are not strongly supported.[16] However, there is scattered evidence for much earlier human visits and presence. (See History of Madagascar).[45][46] Archaeological finds such as cut marks on bones found in the northwest and stone tools in the northeast indicate that Madagascar was visited by foragers around 2000 BCE.[47][48][49] Upon arrival, early settlers practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the coastal rainforests for cultivation. The first settlers encountered Madagascar's abundance of megafauna,[50] including 17 species of giant lemurs, the large flightless elephant birds (including possibly the largest bird to ever exist, Aepyornis maximus), the giant fossa, and several species of Malagasy hippopotamus, which have since become extinct because of hunting and habitat destruction.[51] By 600 AD, groups of these early settlers had begun clearing the forests of the central highlands.[52] Arab traders first reached the island between the 7th and 9th centuries.[53] A wave of Bantu-speaking migrants from southeastern Africa arrived around the year 1000.[54] Around this time, zebu from South India were first brought, intermingling with sanga found in East Africa.[55] A Malagasy man riding an omby soavaly (zebu) in central Madagascar in the 19th centuryIrrigated paddy fields were developed in the central highland Betsileo Kingdom and were extended with terraced paddies throughout the neighboring Kingdom of Imerina a century later.[52] The rising intensity of land cultivation and the ever-increasing demand for zebu pasturage had largely transformed the central highlands from a forest ecosystem to grassland by the 17th century.[56] The oral histories of the Merina people, who arrived in the central highlands between 600 and 1,000 years ago, describe encountering an established population they called the Vazimba. Probably the descendants of an earlier and less technologically advanced Austronesian settlement wave, the Vazimba were assimilated or expelled from the highlands by the Merina kings Andriamanelo, Ralambo, and Andrianjaka in the 16th and early 17th centuries.[57] Today, the spirits of the Vazimba are revered as tompontany (ancestral masters of the land) by many traditional Malagasy communities.[58] Arab and European contacts European contact began in 1500 when Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias recorded the island while participating in the 2nd Portuguese India Armadas. The written history of Madagascar began with the Arabs, who established trading posts along the northwest coast by at least the 10th century and introduced Islam, the Arabic script (used to transcribe the Malagasy language in a form of writing known as sorabe), Arab astrology, and other cultural elements.[59] The Arabs also contributed to the blood mixture that today forms the Malagasy people. As masters of the entire African coastline, they repeatedly sent numerous migrations to the island, using the Comoros Islands as stopovers. Their traces can still be found along all the coasts, although it is doubtful that they ever penetrated far inland, since their colonies were founded mainly for commercial purposes. The Arabs primarily bought slaves, especially Hova slaves from the center of the island for the Indian Ocean markets. They were never able to convert the indigenous population to Islam, but they did manage to introduce some Muslim practices into local customs, which became widespread across the island. These included circumcision, abstaining from eating pork, and aversion of dogs.These customs led some early European travelers to wrongly believe that several tribes followed the doctrine of Muhammad.[60][61] European contact began in 1500, when the Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias sighted the island, while participating in the 2nd Armada of the Portuguese India Armadas.[8] Portuguese colonization In 1506, the Portuguese failed in their attempts to destroy Arab-Antalaotra settlements in Northern Madagascar despite violent raids led by Tristão da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque. Portuguese efforts of Christianization there also failed when their missionaries were massacred by natives. The Portuguese then resorted to the slave trade, buying slaves from the Arabs or Antalaotra when they did not acquire them directly through deceit or violence.[62][63] When the enterprise of colonization in the northwestern Madagascar was undone, the Portuguese, directed their ambition toward the southeastern coasts. In 1548, the Portuguese made an unsuccessful attempt to establish a settlement in the bay of Ranofotsy or Gallions bay in Anosy. The expedition ended in tragedy when Portuguese sailors and missionaries were attacked and massacred by the Antanosy people. The few survivors sought refuge in a stone house they had constructed and managed to defend themselves. In retaliation, they launched frequent raids on nearby villages, burning homes and demanding ransoms from local Inhabitants until they were rescued by Portuguese ships. At the same time, another violent incident occurred in the Matatana region, where 80 Portuguese settlers were killed in a separate massacre by the locals. These tragic events likely discouraged further Portuguese expeditions to Madagascar for several decades.[64][65] During this period, Portugal came under the rule of Spain, which focused primarily on its colonies in the Americas and the lucrative Spice Islands. As a result, Madagascar—seen as less economically valuable—was largely neglected. Substantial Portuguese activity on the island did not resume until the early 17th century. Matatana settlement of the beginning of the 16th century where Portuguese were massacred in 1548 The Portuguese, who had not yet founded any establishment in Madagascar, yet fervently desired to do so through evangelization. In 1613, they found their wishes nearly realized when Andriandramaka, the son of the king of Fanshere Andriatsiambany  having lately forged friendly relations with the Portuguese arrived in their city of Goa as a hostage. The king agreed to send his son Andriandramaka to Goa, while two missionaries and four Portuguese stayed as hostages on Santa-Cruz, near Saint-Lucas. The king gave Santa-Cruz to the missionaries to build a church. The young prince from Fanshere was treated kindly in Goa by Viceroy Jerónimo de Azevedo. He was educated by Jesuit priests and baptized. He promised that, if he could return to his homeland, he would convince his father to accept an alliance with the Portuguese and to adopt Christianity. People believed he would keep his promise. In 1615, the viceroy prepared four large ships with around 100 soldiers and four Jesuit missionaries. The mission's goal was to spread the Christian faith in Fanshere. The fleet left Goa with high hopes. However, less than a year later, the ships returned. The mission had failed. The Jesuit priests advised leaving because the people of Fanshère had not welcomed them. The king, persuaded by the Ombiasses—priests completely changed his attitude towards the Portuguese. He even forbade his subjects to give or sell any food to the foreigners. This left the Portuguese in a desperate situation. One of the missionaries soon died, and another, along with six companions, quickly left on a Portuguese ship to return to India. The new failure of the expedition from Goa, added to others like it, discouraged Portugal. Seeing Madagascar only as a graveyard for its soldiers, Portugal decided to abandon it for good. This left the island open for other nations to try, at their own risk, to conquer it.[66] Dutch and English colonies At that time, the English and the Dutch were competing for control of the Indian Empire. From 1618 to 1640, these two Protestant nations tried to establish rival settlements on various parts of the island and nearby islands. However, their colonization efforts, which were not very serious, ended in ruins and abandonment. The Dutch, who settled on the east coast near Antongil Bay and Sainte-Marie, died of malaria or were killed by the Malagasy people.[67] In 1646, out of 140 settlers led by John Smart to Saint Augustine Bay (now Toliara), only 63 survived. The others died from disease, hunger—like the fate of the Portuguese in Anosy or were killed by the locals. In 1649, a second English colony attempt by Robert Hunt at Assada (present-day Nosy Be) also ended with the massacre of the settlers, often by trickery. The Malagasy were very harsh toward Europeans. In 1686, English pirates who came to Nosy Be to for partying were massacred by the locals because of mistreatment by a previous English crew. The only survivor was Robert Everard, who became a slave to a local king. He only gained his freedom when he was sold to an Arab trader, and then resold to an Englishman in Muscat after spending two years on the island.[68][69]