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 The cemetery.. The pirates.. Libertalia.. 
Sainte Marie became a popular basis for pirates all along the 17 th and the 18 th century because of many reasons: it was not far from the maritime ways where transited ships coming back from the Indies the holds overflow of wealths, it was provided of bays and creeks protected from storms and finally, it was abundant in fruits and in soft water. Legendary pirates like William Kidd, Avery, Thomas Tew and The Buzzard lived in the «île aux Forbans», an island located in the bay of the capital of Sainte Marie, Ambodifotatra. Many of them will found a line. A lot of vestiges of this history subsist at Sainte Marie. For example, several authentic pirates vessels lie again at few meters of the bottom of the «Baie des Forbans». On the tail of the pirates: evidences of hidden treasures come out According to a recent report of the National Geographic and Discovery Channel, some American archaeologists would have discovered, from the engraving of one of these tombs, a mysterious triangulation, starting point of an enigma supposed to lead to a pirate loot. Periodically, fragments of this fantastic past reappear. Thus, in 2002, in the lagoon of Sainte Marie, the Adventure Galley had been recovered, it was the admiral ship of the famous William Kidd, corsair and pirate having let behind him a treasure map even irresolute. (Cf. Article USA Today). In 2003, the Sérapis had been exhumed, it was one of the first American ships...  The Pirates cemetery On a promontory accessible in low tide and facing the «île aux Forbans», a green cemetery is the place for the eternal rest of adventurers of the southern seas. At the entry of this place in ruin, on the first tomb, a coin and some candies are the last offerings of the local guides made to apologise for the visits. One of the funerary stones carries the very known emblem, a skull and two crossed tibias. In fact, this peninsula is the burial place of pirates, outlaws, civil servants of the colonies and foreign convicts. There are also numerous tombs of sailors and dealers of which some date of the beginning of the eighteenth century. Here, a captain seems have been buried standing, there, a sailor's best friend had carved an unusual epitaph for him...
The Pirates Sainte Marie est située sur deux importantes routes commerciales du 17ème siècle: celle de la Mer Rouge et celle de l’Océan Indien. A l’époque déjà, la population y était accueillante, la nourriture abondante et aucune puissance européenne ne tenait l’île. La proche région devint au cours du siècle particulièrement prisée des pirates alors que les caraïbes, jusque alors lieu de regroupement privilégié de la flibuste internationale, diminuait en popularité.  Sainte Marie is located on two important trade routes of the 17th century: the one of the Red Sea and the one of the Indian Ocean. Already at this time, the population there was welcoming, food abundant, and no European power governed the island. During the century, pirates particularly appreciated the surrounding region whereas the Caribbean, until then privileged regrouping place of international pirates, decreased in popularity.
The comings and goings of Spanish galleons loaded of treasures became rarer in the Caribbean. Under the French control, the Island of the Turtle became, little by little, a calm and commendable port. On the other hand, the affluence of the buccaneers at Port Royal, once important, didn't recover from the Jamaican earthquake of 1692. Generally, as the European nations didn't tolerate piracy anymore, they encouraged the hunt to the pirates by their naval patrols in the Caribbean waters.
Around 1700, the Sainte Marie Island became the port of registry of more than about twenty vessels, and the dwelling place of more than 1500 pirates. Rumour of easy fortunes that happened there invades the seas. Like the democratic republic of Libertalia, ideals of equality, liberty and fraternity seemed to concretise there. This haven became so attractive that the European nations began to worry about the impact and the commercial and geopolitics role of this zone that they didn't control. Then they offered the amnesty to the pirates who would repent and would return to the country . Thomas Tew, William Kidd and Olivier Le Vasseur, as for them, were so famous that grace would not have been granted to them. Libertalia In his book "A General History of Pyrates”, Captain Johnson recounts the legend of Libertalia. Thomas Tew would have associated with the provençal Misson and the dominican italian priest Caraccioli to found a republic in Madagascar called "Libertalia" around 1695, more than one century before the French revolution. Maybe this republic was localized around the Bay of Antongil including Foulpointe and Sainte Marie Island.In Johnson's book, the Malagasy hospitality, the economic potentialities and the wealths in medicinal plants of the island were already clearly depicted Thomas Tew and Thomas White 
Thomas Tew disembarked to Madagascar in 1693, provided with a letter of mark from the queen of England. The local queen Antavaratra Rahena received him with so much honours that a child was born from their meeting. This mulatto child (half-caste), a son called Ratsimilaho, was later sent in England to receive an education. At his return, Ratsimilaho succeeded to his mother and united the tribes of the East Coast in only one population that he called the "Betsimisaraka": "The numerous who don't separate". The descendants of Ratsimilaho were called the Zana-Malatas, the "children of the mulattos".
In reality, Thomas Tew was not the English corsair that he said to be. As he anchored his ship of 70 tons, the “Amity", at Sainte Marie in 1693, Tew was already a pirate. Although English of nationality, he came from Newport in the Rhodes Island on the American East Coast. His letter of mark that had been delivered by a governor of Bermuda allowed him to attack the French vessels . But he never did that. It is rather by approaching English and Dutch boats of the Oriental Indies' Company in the Indian Ocean Tew's spoils were already estimated to more than 100,000 sterling pound in gold, precious stones, ivory and silver in 1697 Up to here the historians agree. On the other hand, the Malagasy and western versions of the history continuation differ. According to Charles Johnson (which would be the pen name of Daniel Defoe; author of Robinson Crusoe), Tew was killed in the Red Sea during the attack of a boat of the big Mogol. Another pirate called Thomas White got settled in Sainte Marie after 1700 and started a love affair with queen Rahena of which he took care of the son as his own. The Malagasy version doesn't recognise Thomas White and defends the belief that Thomas White and Thomas Tew were, in fact, one and only one person. Thomas Tew would have organised a screenplay to simulate his death in order to stop the hunt of which he was one of the most lusted after preys by the Oriental Indies' Company, hardly concerned by its numerous losses of ships. 
Captain Kidd In 1695, anxious to order a ship at the height of his aspirations, the captain William Kidd contracted in England with the future governor of New York, Richard de Bellomont for the command of a proud corsair ship with 34 cannons: The Adventure Galley. Provided with a letter of mark allowing him to attack the pirates and the French ships, the new captain decided then to return to its port of registry, New York, in order to complete his crew. It was on this boat coming back from London that some of his sailors were disrespectful towards the officers of two English war vessels by showing them their behind, bridge to bridge. Immediately boarded, So it's with a crew composed with a majority of pirates that Kidd left again for a new paradised called Madagascar It was certainly in Sainte Marie that Captain Kidd decided to become a pirate, under the pressure of this crew stirred up by the wind of liberty and the promise of fantastic gains. In January 1698, he was officially categorised like such, by the Oriental Indies' Company, after that he had raided one of their big trade ships. Kidd chose to hide his loot, to sink the Since hundreds of years, the history of Captain Kidd feeds the imaginary. Thus Stevenson had extensively inspired of it for its novel" l'île aux trésors ". The Adventure Galley is still in Sainte Marie, the boat has been recovered in 2001, flowed at some meters of the «île aux Forbans». Still today researches go on, books and articles are written and the treasures' maps circulate but the mystery of the hidden treasure of William Kidd always stays irresolute... Olivier Le Vasseur Nicknamed « La Buse » because of his speed attacks, Olivier Le Vasseur was born at Calais around 1680.It's in working in partnership with the pirate Taylor that Levasseur took the Vierge du Cap on 1721 which after riding out a storm was being repaired at the Saint-Denis' port in La Réunion. Among the catch were many valuables: caskets of jewels and precious stones, diamond and pearl rivières, gold and silver ingots, precious furniture, materials, sacred vessels and the Goa's golden crozier spangled with rubis which could weight tens of kg. Disguished passengers like The next year, the french Dugay-Trouin and the english Matthews, two well-known captains and pirate hunters went to hunt in the area. Afraid of a turnaround, the two outlaws prefered to take a comfortable retreat: Taylor at the West Indies and Levasseur at Sainte-Marie island of Madagascar. A little while after, the king of France offered an amnesty to repented buccaneers who would give their spoils back. La Buse returned only the sacred vessels of the spoils of the Vierge du Cap and hid the rest of his treasures. For almost 280 years, La Buse's treasures, valued at five billions of euros, still remain hidden despite a mysterious cryptogram supposed to bring there On 1729, the captain d'Hermitte of La Méduse for the company of Indies recognized the wanted La Buse at his board as this one worked as a pilote in the bay of Antongil. He was immediately arrested, brought to Saint Paul of La Réunion where he was judged. Olivier Levasseur was thus hanged for piracy on july 07, 1730 at La Réunion. Before being executed, on the scaffold he threw a cryptogram to the crowd and said: "My treasures to those who will understand !". The cryptogram is nowadays known but the mystery remains whole. We have a copy of this document that our guests can consult.
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Adventure Galley in the port of Sainte Marie and to come back to New York, hoping for a probable amnesty. Then he was arrested and thrown in jail to finish hanged, one year later, in March 1701.
the count Ericeira vice-king of the Indies and the archbishop of Goa, were redeemed and freed by the Saint-Denis' governor. Once refit, the two associated pirates rechristened the vessel Victorious.
