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'''Sainte Marie - Nosy Boraha Nosy Ibrahim, Nosim-bavy (Island of women) is the largest amongst the chain of small islands located at the east coast of Madagascar.'''
The island had been known as Isola Santa Maria since the 16th century when it was discovered by the Portuguese. Following their custom, the discoverers gave the name of the saint of the day to the places where they disembarked. They named Madagascar Isola Santa Lorenzo and when they saw Nosy Boraha, they baptised it Isola Santa Maria, a name which was later Gallicised as Sainte Marie when the French settled there in the 17th century.