Madagascar
I know one is not supposed to have favourites but if we did Madagascar would be it. Madagascar split from Africa around 180m years ago and then split from the Indian subcontinent 90m years later. As a result, native plants and animals evolved in relative isolation and now it is a biodiversity hotspot with over 90% of the wildlife being endemic. Societally, there is a class structure of nobles, commoners and slaves! Each of the many ethnic subgroups adhere to their own beliefs, practices and ways of life. However, there are a number of core cultural features that are common including values of solidarity, karma and a sacred life force; and core practices of male circumcision, strong kinship ties, belief in magic and witch doctors. The first humans took over 200,000 years to discover the island, the world's fourth largest, as late as 500 AD. In the 1830s (the mad) Queen Ranavalona I managed to halve the population by killing off many of the Christians by throwing them off the ...