Mauritius History
About eight million years ago, the island emerged from the depths of the sea as result of volcanic activity. Occupying 1860 sq km, it is situated just above the Tropic of Capricorn, 890 km to the east of Madagascar. Rising from the sea, the central plateau formation is about 400 m above sea level. There are mountains scattered in the island, and a few peaks, the highest of which reaches 820 m.

Early Settlers
Arab traders discovered the then uninhabited island in the 10th century, they were not charmed sufficiently to consider permanent settlement. The Portuguese early in the sixteenth century landed, but they too passed over the chance to lay claim for their king. But in 1598 the Dutch finally seized the opportunity. The island was grabbed for and named after Maurice, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau -then ruler of the Netherlands.

In the century that followed, the Dutch established settlements and devised means to live off the land. They introduced sugar and tobacco, which they farmed using African slave labour. Sugar is today still an important part of the economy. The Dutch were insensitive to the extremely fragile ecosystem that makes up an isolated island such as Mauritius. On their watch, most of the islands' indigenous forests were felled, and lost. The bird known as dodo was also shot to extinction. Thus did the trigger-happy Dutch give life to the expression "as dead as a dodo".

The Dutch courage that had made them pioneers was however not to last. They were subjected to many trials by the forces of nature - cyclones, droughts and floods. And also by the forces of man, for pirates were a constant headache. In 1710, they fled to the more hospitable Cape of Good Hope, at Africa's southern tip. A short five years after the Dutch left, the French claimed the island, and renamed it Isle de France.

French Rule
The French were much more successful than the Dutch in harnessing the potential of the island. They maintained law and order and laid the foundations for administration of society. Under the celebrated French Governor, Mahé de Labourdonnais, real nation building began. The French brought in more African slaves and expanded further sugar farming. They also laid out some social and economic infrastructure to support the settlers. Initially Mahebourg, named after the great man, was the major economic centre and a focus for naval activity.

Port Louis, named after King Louis XV, and today the capital of Mauritius, was developed to become a major hub for spices and goods on the trade routes between the East and the West.

Though the French had introduced systems of law and order, Port Louis turned out to be a favourite of corsairs. Corsairs were mercenary marine who specialised in the plunder of ships on behalf of a client country. The British, a great sea power at the time, had a vested interest in terminating the power of these mercenaries and in capturing Mauritius as a strategic point on the trade routes. For this reason British ships had a series of battles around Mauritius which culminated in capture of the island in 1810.

Naval Battles:

5 May 1794: Orpheus captured by the French Duguay-Trouin 3 miles off the North East corner of Mauritius.

11 December 1799: Tremendous destroyed the French Preneuse at the mouth of the Tombeau River.

6 August 1805: Blenheim. escorting a convoy beat off the French Ships Marengo and Belle-Poule 1,380 Miles east of Mauritius.

15 August 1809: Boats of Otter cut out two French vessels at Riviere Noire

1 May 1810: The British boats of Nereide captured the French Estafette and stormed batteries at Jacotet.

13 August 1810: Landing parties from Sirius and Iphigenia capture a battery on Ile de a Passe off Mauritius

21 August 1810 : Two unarmed boats of Sirius captured the ex British Indiaman Windham off Riviere Noire.

23 August 1810:Nereide taken by the French Ballone in Grand Port after suffering 222 casualties out of a crew of 281.

24 August 1810: Magicienne and Sirius burned by own crews to avoid capture at Grand Port

28 August 1810: Iphigenia taken by the French Bellone, Minerve, Victor and three other frigates at Grand Port.

3 December 1810: Capture of Ile de France (Mauritius) by Vice Admiral Albemarle Bertie (Africaine) and Major General John Abercromby. Ships involved were Africaine, Illustrious, Boadicea, Nisus, Cornwallis, Clorinde, Cornelia, Doris, Nereide, Psyche, Ceylon, Hesper, Hecate, Eclipse, Emma, Staunch, Phoebe, Acteon. The hired ships were Egremont, Farquhar and Mouche. The regiments involved were the 12th,14th, 22nd, 33rd, 56th, 59th, 84th and 87th divisions of the Royal Artillery along with the 1st Bengal Volunteers, 2nd Bombay Native Infantry, Madras Artillery and the Madras Pioneers.

In the 1814 Treaty of Paris, the British - magnanimous victors indeed, allowed the French settlers to remain in Mauritius. They too were allowed to retain their property, language, religion and legal system. The British reverted to the name the Dutch had given the island, but Port Louis retained its name. But in the century and a half that the British ruled, they were never really as grounded as the French had been.

Franco-Mauritians prospered on an agrarian economy based on slave labour. But in 1835, they felt the capricious hand of a great power when slavery was abolished. This is perhaps the single most important measure carried out under British rule, and the consequences had a far-reaching effect on the evolving demographics of the nation. India, a British colony greatly abundant in human resources was the answer to the labour problem that arose. In the years that followed, the descendants of the Indian labourers who came to work the sugar fields greatly multiplied. The Chinese also came -as labourers and traders.

Independence
In 1900, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was born, he was educated in Mauritius and in London (University College),where he first met Mahatma Ghandi. On his return to Mauritius he led the Labour party into government, which at the time was still a British Colony. He was knighted in June 1965 for his work, having been Governor General from 1963. Under the Winds of Change policy driven by Harold MacMillan he enabled Mauritius to gain independence from British Rule on the 12th March 1968. Independence was an issue that divided the country, those in favour could see advancement of their nation under free rule while the opposition declared there would be famine and hardship once Mauritius was set free. The ceremony took place during a State of Emergency at the Champ de Mars Racecourse, while riots fuelled by the opposers of independence took place over the hills. Dr Ramgoolam died in 1985 while still in power, you will see the name Ramgoolam across Mauritius. His son Navinchrada (Navin) is also a leading politician and was Prime Minister between 1995 and 200 before being re-elected to Prime Minister in July 2005.

It was during the lengthy process of gaining independence that Britain created the British Indian Ocean Territories, splitting off the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritian control. The Archipelago consists of atolls, banks and islet, the largest single land mass being Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia has since been leased to the USA as a strategic base for Air and Sea forces, while the Chagos Islanders live in Mauritius.

Today, Mauritius has developed into a country with one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa, with a stable, democratic society consisting of Indian, Chinese, Creole and Franco Mauritian descent. The country derives income from tourism, banking, sugar and textiles, it is also a forward looking nation and has developed a strategy to become a "Cyber-Island" where international companies can take advantage of the internet revolution and outsource work in data and call centres at a cost effective rate.

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Author

Andrew Muigai is editor of AfricaPoint Insider online newsletter. It is part of AfricaPoint.com- the Africa travel website that has helped thousands of travelers discover Africa. You can view more info on Mauritius Hotels at the website.

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