In 1840 France acquired the island of Nôssi-Bé in hopes of using it for a seaport, but its potential for that purpose was very limited because it was a volcanic island. In 1841 the governor of Réunion negotiated with Adrian Souli, the Malagasy ruler of Mayotte to cede Mayotte to France. Mahoré (Mayotte) offered a suitable site for port facilities, and a treaty was ratified in 1843.
     The stamp issued in 1941 has a map of Mayotte and Nôssi-Bé, and portraits of Admiral Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell (1783-1864), the governor of Réunion (1838-1841), Commandant Pierre Passot, (1806-1855) the French representative to Mayotte (1841-1843) and Captaine (?) Jehenne, who conducted surveys on Madagascar in 1841 and 1842.
     The Scott Stamp Catalog vol. 4, p. 650 (2009) has this note: "No. 211A was issued by the Vichy government in France but was not placed on sale in Madagascar."