Anosy is one of the 23 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the T…Anosy is one of the 23 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name Anosy means "island(s)" in Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea route running along its coast, Anosy had been an important crossroads for the Malagasy, Muslims, and Europeans. In the mid-1600s, it was the location of the first French colonial settlement in the Indian Ocean. The region was part of the Imerina Kingdom for much of the 1800s and part of the French colony of Madagascar from the late 1800s to 1960.