[7] Suggestions were made in 1786 and 1830 that the French should establish a colony and import Chinese, Indian, and Mozambican labour to Madagascar to populate it in order to prevent the British from gaining a foothold there, but no action was taken on the idea.
[8] The first Chinese migrant to Madagascar arrived in the east coast port of Tamatave (now renamed Toamasina) in 1862, where he opened a shop, and later married a local Malagasy woman.
[10] The following year, three thousand more Chinese labourers were brought in at the initiative of the French general Joseph Gallieni to work on the construction of the railway.
[9] Contract workers, intending to return home after their stint on the island, often became ill while working on the construction of the railway; though they survived to board ships back to China, many died en route.
[12] The initial migrants came from Guangxi, but were later supplemented by Cantonese-speakers, both those who came directly from Guangdong and those who had been driven out of Mauritius by increasing competition from Hakka-speakers.
[4] As a result, the Chinese population remained largely homogenous; 98% traced their origins not just to Guangdong, but specifically to the Shunde district.
The one in Toamasina, the Collège de la Congrégation Chinoise, enrolled 398 students at the kindergarten through lower secondary levels as of 2008[update]; it continues teaching both Cantonese and Mandarin.
These students tended to attend the Overseas Chinese Preparatory High School (now part of National Taiwan Normal University) before going on to their degree work; many had trouble with Mandarin.
[4] Import-export was one popular business, with products such as coffee, cloves, vanilla beans, and sea cucumbers flowing outwards.
[2][23] Popular resentment at the recent influx of Chinese small traders, whose prices undercut those of their Malagasy competitors, has strained relations with the People's Republic of China.