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Mauritius was known to the early Arab traders, as it can
be found marked on their maps, but the first visitors from
Europe were the Portuguese, who landed in 1510.
They used the island as a victualling stop on the ways to
Goa and Malacca, but did not settle.
The first attempt at colonisation was made by the Dutch, who
arrived in 1598, and named the island Mauritius, after Prince
Maurice of Nassau. They introduced sugar, Malagasy slaves,
and a herd of Javanese deer.
The Dutch were heedlessly destructive and were responsible
for the disappearance of the magnificent ebony forests and
the extinction of the Dodo. They eventually abandoned their
settlements in 1710.
The French occupied the island between 1715 and 1810, and
renamed it Isle de France, and today many place names are
reminders of this period. Mahé de Labourdonnais, who took
over as governor in 1735, rebuilt Port Louis and opened the
first sugar mill.
In 1810, with the British takeover, the name reverted to Mauritius.
The abolition of slavery then led to the importation of Indian
and Chinese labourers who were followed by traders of same
nationalities. Mauritius obtained independence from Britain
on 12 March 1968, and since then has been an independent sovereign
nation within the commonwealth.
Under the Constitution, which is based on the Westminster
model, political power is vested in the Prime Minister and
the cabinet.
Elections are usually held every five years. Mauritius became
a Republic 0n 12 March 1992. Population Mauritius has a population
estimated at 1,150226 people, with about 35 663 on Rodrigues
island, a small dependency which forms part of Mauritius.
The percentage rate of population growth is 1.1 per annum
and the density is approximately 578 per square kilometre.
Mauritius has a young educated population, which is remarkable
for its ethnic diversity with Mauritians of Indian, African,
European and Chinese origin. This has produced a brew of languages,
religions and customs.
English is the official language but almost everyone speaks
or understands French or reads it in the newspapers. Oriental
languages, especially Bhojpuri, Hindi and Hakka figure prominently
but Creole remains the "Lingua Franca".
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Litographie - XIX ème siècle
Mahé de Labourdonnais
Historic Museum of Mahébourg
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