Independence, Revolution and Mercenaries
Chapter six begins with a survey of the local economy and the problems facing the new state. A coup d’état that occurred a month after independence led to a revolutionary government under Ali Soilihi, which took power and attempted to restructure the economy, as well as society more widely. Increasingly radical, faced with empty coffers and the return of 16,000 Comorians fleeing riots in Madagascar, the government was finally overthrown in a coup d’état in 1978, which ushered in a decade of despotic rule by Ahmed Abdallah, supported by Bob Denard and his mercenaries. Political repression and economic and political dependence on France and South Africa saw the country increasingly marginalized until Abdallah was finally assassinated in 1989. Meanwhile Mayotte moved closer to France, which had pledged a substantial investment program and showed no signs of abandoning the island.