 In 1898, two cyclones razed the island to the ground, and a smallpox epidemic decimated the survivors.Mayotte had to start from the beginning once again, and the French government had to repopulate the island with workers from Mozambique, Comoros and Madagascar.The sugar industry was abandoned, replaced by vanilla, coffee, copra, sisal, then fragrant plants such as vetiver, citronelle, sandalwood and especially ylang-ylang, which later became one of the symbols of the island.