Sahadia

Sahadia stood near the mouth of the Manambolo River on Madagascar's western coast. The river connected the settlement with the interior, while its mouth opened onto the Mozambique Channel. Early Portuguese visitors described communities along this coast who raised cattle and grew crops on fertile land beside the rivers. Their accounts also record people of African origin living among the populations of western Madagascar.

In 1616 the Portuguese priest Luís Mariano described bloody fighting between Sahadia's inhabitants and enemies he called the Suculambes. Portuguese missionaries visited the settlement, but their attempts to convert its people met with little success. These accounts preserve a glimpse of the western coast before the Sakalava kingdoms extended their authority over much of the region.