In 1635, the bay was mentioned for the first time under this name by the French pilot Berthelot, author of an oriental map of Africa and Madagascar.
But this harbor, which is perfectly situated on the route to India, does not fail to interest the European nations and by the Franco-Malagasy treaty of 17 December 1885, France is authorized to occupy Diego Suarez.
There, Soares became wealthy, worth four million in jewels and other valuables, had a pension of 200,000 ducats yearly, was called the king's brother, and was supreme governor of the kingdom and general in chief of the army.
[1] While still King Tabinshwehti's general, Soares tried to take off by force the daughter of a rich merchant, in the process he killed the groom and others who came to her rescue, and the bride committed suicide to avoid the dishonour.
In 1963, botanist René Paul Raymond Capuron published a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Bixaceae, from Madagascar as Diegodendron and named in his honour and due to his links with the island.