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Madagascar’s first settlers arrived by sea from Southeast Asia roughly 1,000 to 2,000 years ago, and the Malagasy language is Austronesian: its closest relatives are spoken on the island of Borneo, not on the African mainland. The Merina, one of Madagascar’s largest peoples, built a kingdom in the central highlands that was unified and expanded under King Andrianampoinimerina in the late 18th century.