With its population of less than a million people, the Union of the Comoros is an
archipelago of three islands steeped in Arabic culture, lying in the Indian Ocean at the
Mozambique Channel’s northern end. The Muslim-majority country gained independence
from France in 1975. Its early (pre 1000 CE) history is shrouded in a certain amount of
mystery, but it’s believed that the country has seen influences from early Swahili civilisation
and Bantu-speaking farmers.