HISTORY OF MAURITIUS

The discovery

It is believed that the first people to set foot on the island of Mauritius were Arab sailors and merchants. Arabs merchant ships have been sailing the Indian Ocean for centuries. Important trading routes linked the east coast of Africa and Madagascar with the Arabian peninsula, India and Indonesia.

The Mascarenes Islands were a long way off the usual trading routes of Arab or Indian sailors. Perhaps the islands were discovered when a cyclone (a very severe storm of the tropics) caught an Arab dhow unaware and pushed it towards Mauritius. Evidence that points to the discovery of the Mascarenes Archipelago by Arab seamen comes from copies of Portuguese maps of the early 16^th century that depict a group of three small islands south east of Madagascar that bear Arabic names.

Due to lack of documentary evidence, it is difficult to say with certainty when Arab seamen first landed on the island. Historians point to the end of the 14^th century or the beginning of the 15^th century as the most likely period for the discovery of the island by Arabs. They never attempted to settle for several reasons. Firstly, Mauritius was too far removed from their usual trade routes and devoid of populations with whom to trade with and secondly the journey to and from the islands was far too dangerous for Arab dhows.
 

In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama succeeded in rounding the cape of Good Hope and called at various Arab-Swahili cities along the East African coast on his way northwards. It was at one of those city ports that an Arab or Indian pilot showed him the way to Goa, India. Within the next ten years, numerous Portuguese expeditions explored the Indian Ocean, visiting Madagascar, the Seychelles and the Comoros Islands.

Around 1507, the Portuguese seaman Fernandez Pereira sighted Mauritius and named it Cerne. The group of islands consisting of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues were given the names of Mascarenes after the Portuguese captain, Pero Mascarenhas.
 

The Portuguese never attempted to settle on any of the Mascarenes islands. They were more interested in protecting their trade routes with India and therefore established settlements along the coast of Mozambique instead.

In 1710 the Dutch abandoned for good the island after two unsuccessful attempts at colonisation. A French sea captain, Dufresne d'Arsel claimed the island for France in 1715 and called it "ile de France" but it was only in 1721 that a small party was sent to began settling on the island. The island remained French till the British invaded in 1810 during the Napoleonic wars.

The French Period

Under the French, the island became a relatively prosperous colony with numerous French immigrants settling there. The French presence has had a profound influence on the fate of Mauritius.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the British invaded Mauritius in 1810. The British Occupation of the island lasted till 1968 when they granted the country independence. The only reason for the British to be interested in the island was that it lay along the sea route from England to British India and that the French presence in Mauritius was a threat to British shipping. Indeed, a number of French navy vessels and corsairs harassed British vessels en route to India or to England.

The British period

The British Admiralty of the time viewed Mauritius as the key to the control of the Indian Ocean and possession of the island became a military imperative. Once Mauritius taken over, the control of the Indian Ocean by the British Empire can be said to have been complete and remained virtually unchallenged till the entry of Imperial Japan into the Second World War in 1941.

Just as the French presence was determinant in the making of Mauritius, the British Occupation has shaped tremendously the destiny of this country. Mauritius is one of the few countries in the world to have been colonised by the French and the British successively. Like the French, the British left behind the English language and a system of laws. But just as important when they departed they left behind a Westminster-type of Government, a Civil Service, a Constitution, a British based educational system and an embryonic welfare system.

It goes to the credit of the British coloniser to have also permitted and to a certain extent encouraged the development of a working democracy.

Economy

City of Port Louis, the Capital City
 

The economy of the island is based upon agriculture, industry, trade and services. It is very much an export oriented economy due to the relatively small size of the local market and the lack of natural resources. The main exports are sugar and wearing apparel from Export Processing Zones. Tourism is a major contributor to the local economy. There are budding Off-shore and Free-Port sectors which will, it is hoped, contribute significantly to the wealth of the Republic.

The lack of natural resources ,except for a very fertile soil, compounded with the lack of a significant internal market has not been conducive towards sustained economic growth. Hence for the most part of its history, Mauritius has been a poor island. It is only for the past fifteen years or so that the majority of the inhabitants has known some degree of economic well being.

Indeed, the Gross Domestic Product per capita has gone from Rs 1218 (US $ 219) in 1968 to Rs 74,336 (US $ 3543) in 1997. From a poor country in 1968, at the time of independence, Mauritius has risen to a middle income country in 1997.
 

Geography

Barely 1865 kilometres square, the island of Mauritius is small by any standards. Yet it has a diversity of geographical features that makes the landscape always interesting to look at. Basically, the island is made up of undulating uplands varying in height from 300 metres to a maximum of 600 metres in the south. Surrounding the uplands are mountain ranges and plains. Numerous rivers flow to the sea fed entirely by rain fall. Last but not least, stretches of coral sand beaches are found along part of the coast line.