History History

Around the 10th century, the Arabs from East Africa probably made a stopover on the coast of the Mascarene Islands. On the world map of 1502 by the Italian Albert Cantino, Mauritius appears under an Arabic name: Dina Arabi or Arobi, meaning "abandoned island" or "devastated"

In the 16th century, the Portuguese began sailing in the southern Indian Ocean and were the first Westerners to land on the island. The pilot Domingos Fernandez stopped there in 1516. The Portuguese named the archipelago that forms Mauritius with Reunion and Rodrigues Mascarene, in honour of the pilot Pedro Mascarenhas. Neither the Arabs nor the Portuguese settled on the island.

In September 1598, Vice-Admiral Warwijck officially took possession of the island for Holland and named it Mauritius in honour of its sovereign: Maurits Van Nassau, Prince of Orange. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company made its first attempt at colonization. In 1658, the colonists abandoned Mauritius. The Dutch attempted a second colonization from 1664, but it also failed and led them to abandon the island definitively in 1710. There is no trace left of the century of Dutch colonization, except for the exploitation of the primary forest and its ebony trees, the extermination of the giant tortoises eaten by the colonists, and the poor dodo.

As early as 1665, the French East India Company began the colonization of Bourbon, now Reunion Island, to develop the cultivation of coffee. When the Dutch abandoned Mauritius in 1710, the Company urged Louis XIV to take possession of the neighbouring island. In September 1715, the island was annexed by the kingdom of France and renamed Isle de France, but no one stayed there. Louis XV ceded Isle de France to the French East India Company, which settled there in 1722, without success.

Arriving in June 1735 with the title of Governor General of Bourbon and Isle de France, Mahé de La Bourdonnais had big plans, and his authoritarian approach to implementing them quickly changed the face of Isle de France, making it an important maritime crossroads on the route to the Indies. He established the Superior Council of the two islands at Port Nord-Ouest (Port Louis). To this end, he built the Hôtel du Gouvernement and forts at the entrance to the harbor, where he established a large port. As the port grew, so did the town. The governor also developed agriculture and contributed to the settlement of the island by encouraging the establishment of colonial families and the importation of slaves. But his successes earned him some jealousy. In 1746, La Bourdonnais succeeded in surrendering the largest English trading post in the Indies, Madras, and chose to hold the English to ransom rather than take a military position he couldn't hold for long. Dupleix, head of the French establishments in India, accused him of treason! Disgraced, the brilliant governor had to return to Paris, where he was imprisoned in the Bastille. Acquitted in 1751, Mahé de La Bourdonnais died in Paris in 1753.

Continuing the policy of their brilliant predecessor, the Governors General allow the island to develop and increase its population. The conflicts that broke out in Europe transformed the Indian Ocean into a zone of colonial confrontations. The maritime vocation of Isle de France and the development of Port-Louis earned it the role of rear base for all French military expeditions in the Indian Ocean and in India. The colonists increased the island's defences and provided the ships with the supplies necessary for their campaigns. The exorbitant cost of these operations, combined with poor management, forced the Compagnie des Indes into bankruptcy. In 1764, Louis XV decided to take over the Mascarene Islands from the Company and placed the three islands under the control of the Navy.

Of the royal administrators who landed on the island in 1767, history will remember above all the intendant Pierre Poivre, known for his knowledge as a naturalist, who encouraged him to develop the cultivation of spices in his garden of Pamplemousses, now the botanical garden. Poivre contributes to the development of the territory. Sugar cane experienced a remarkable boom, as did maritime trade. The colony changes its face: Port Louis is a city with beautiful avenues, a residential area, a commercial area, theatres and taverns, a lively port with flourishing activity. In 1789, when France had lost its trading posts in the Indies, the city of Port Louis was named chief town of the French settlements east of the Cape of Good Hope and the island was given a title that has remained its motto: Stella clavisque maris indicis - the star and key of the Indian Sea.

After the French Revolution, which was announced late in Mauritius, a Colonial Assembly was created. The government was under the authority of the Assembly, composed of members elected by the free men of the island. The colonists, satisfied with this situation, did not however accept one of the revolutionary principles: equality. The abolition of slavery was pronounced in 1794 by the Paris Convention. Like the West Indies, the Mascarene Islands refuse to accept it and secede. The metropolis does not enforce the law because, since 1793, it is again at war with the English. The latter have an almost total control of the Indian Ocean, except for Bourbon Island, renamed Reunion, and the tiny but powerful Isle of France. If the colonists manage to contain the English predominance, it is not enough and the metropolis, where the Empire has replaced the Directory, must intervene.

In 1803, Bonaparte sent two soldiers, Decaen and Vandermaësen, who replaced the revolutionary democratic structures with a military government. They cleaned up the economy and adapted the Napoleonic Code for the Mascarenes. But the pressure of the English navy is more and more strong. In July 1810, the English, who had already occupied Rodrigues since 1809, took Reunion Island. On August 14, four English ships seized the fort of Ile de la Passe which guards the entrance to the bay of Grand Port. It was only at the cost of a deadly confrontation - the battle of Grand Port, from 23 to 28 August 1810 - that four French ships managed to dislodge the enemy, giving Napoleon Bonaparte his only naval victory. The third and final assault took place in November 1810. Sir John Abercombie, at the head of 70 ships and 10,000 English and Indian men, landed not far from Cap Malheureux. After a perfunctory resistance, Decaen signed the surrender. Putting an end to 95 years of French occupation, Farquhar took over as Governor and immediately gave the island its definitive name of Mauritius.

When Governor Farquhar took office in 1810, the slave trade was a thriving industry and a hot political topic. Since 1807, the English Parliament had banned the trade. Even though the colony was outlawed, it was difficult to deal with the colonists and it was not until 1835 that the abolition was effective. This law led to the departure of many families. The former slaves gained their freedom but lived in precarious conditions that still affect some of their descendants today. The settlers who chose to stay received important indemnities which allowed the growth of sugar cane cultivation and the sugar economy.

As early as 1829, in order to cope with the lack of manpower, sugar owners had the idea of going to India to find the first coolies, particularly docile, poorly paid and mistreated farm workers. Engagements were born. At the beginning of the 19th century, immigrants of Indian origin constituted 2/3 of the population and considerably influenced the culture of the island by keeping their way of life, their religion and their language

The second half of the 19th century was marked by the arrival of Chinese immigrants. Less numerous than the Indians, they quickly took control of the retail trade, with no less than 700 grocery stores throughout the island. The Sino-Mauritians are today a fundamental component of the society

The 19th century also brought its share of technical progress: postage stamps in 1847, telephone in 1882, electric lighting in 1884, the first automobile in 1901...

Gandhi stayed 20 days in the island in 1901. In 1907, he encouraged an Indian lawyer, Manilal Maganlal Doctor, to come and practice his profession in Mauritius and to carry out political action in favour of Indian immigrants. This was the end of the engagement. The same year, Dr. Eugene Laurent, a man of colour, founded the Liberal Action to oppose the planters' party

The First World War did not affect Mauritius too much and the beginning of the 1920's was characterised by an economic boom, especially in the sugar industry under the impulse of England. This improvement was short-lived. The island was hit by cyclones, droughts and the world economic crisis of 1929. The fall in the price of sugar affected the economy, leading to social unrest, followed by political fallout. In proletarian circles, a feeling of belonging to the same underpaid and badly treated class was born.

The year 1934 saw the birth of the Mauritian rupee, directly linked to the pound sterling and independent of the Indian rupee.

In 1936, Maurice Curé, Emmanuel Anquetil and Sahadeo Rama joined forces to found the Labour Party which brought together Indian and Creole leaders. This party advocated socialism and defended the interests of the working class. Its demands led to social conflicts that resulted in improved social conditions and increased union rights.

The Second World War affected the economy of an island that was never attacked. From 1940 onwards, regular maritime links with Europe were interrupted and commercial activity slowed down. After the war, the Colonial Office in London granted special credits and undertook reforms: education reform, retirement allowance, modernization of infrastructures, development of aviation...

The first step towards independence was taken in 1947 when the Colonial Office adopted a new Constitution which granted the right to vote to all men and women who could read and write, even Creole. The first general elections were held in August 1948. They saw the victory of the Labour Party. It was the end of the supremacy of the sugar oligarchs and the advent of the Indo-Mauritians.

The boom in air travel led to the birth of tourism via a first 12-seater hotel in 1952. The Hotel du Morne opened in 1954 and the first seaside resort, Le Chaland, on the site of the present Shandrani in Blue Bay, became operational in 1960. Tourism never ceased to develop, until it became the main pillar of the Mauritian economy.

A newcomer to the political scene, Dr. Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the notorious SSR, wanted to be the spokesperson for the Indian community. He joined the Labour Party in 1952 and soon established himself as its leader. In the 1959 elections, the Labour Party won by a large margin. After a constitutional conference in London in 1961, it was decided that the leader of the majority party in the Legislative Council would be appointed Chief Minister. Dr. Ramgoolam was given this title in 1962. After the 1963 elections, a new Constitution redefined the political organization of the island. The new government had to be formed as a coalition in order to allow the different parties to learn to govern together. The Labour Party won the elections and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam became Prime Minister.

After a year of coalition government, England declared the colony ripe for independence. It proposed to give its independence to Mauritius, on condition that the colony cede to the Crown the Chagos archipelago for a price of 3 million pounds. Sir Ramgoolam had no choice but to accept this deal. England deports the 2,935 inhabitants of the archipelago to Mauritius. It cedes the use of these islands to the United States, which installs a military base there in 1966.

On 22 August 1967, the Legislative Assembly voted for the independence of Mauritius. The proclamation ceremony of the Independence took place on 12 March 1968. The Union Jack was lowered and the four-coloured flag of Mauritius was raised for the first time to the strains of the national anthem O Motherland. This event, which marks the end of 158 years of British colonization, is commemorated every year on 12 March, the national holiday.

Although decolonization went smoothly on the political level, the same could not be said of the social level. Against a background of overpopulation and economic crisis, clashes broke out between Creoles and Hindus. In the wake of these events, a national consciousness emerged that transcended ethnic differences, but did not completely calm the antagonisms between the communities.

To combat unemployment, which reached 35% in the 1970s, the country relied on the development of export-oriented industries. Textile clothing companies made the country's fortune, along with tourism via the creation of the national airline Air Mauritius in June 1967.

Politically, the bulk of the country's recovery work was done by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who remained in power until 1982. However, his political choices were more imposed than agreed upon. The press was censored and gatherings were forbidden. This lack of freedom gave rise to a new opposition party: the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), led by Paul Bérenger, which won the 1982 elections. The new Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, remained in power until 1995, after having created his own political party, the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM).

This was the last time that Mauritius experienced a change in its political system. Since independence, the country had been a constitutional monarchy attached to the British Crown. In 1992, the Legislative Assembly passed an amendment to the Constitution and on 12 March 1992, the country declared itself the Republic of Mauritius

In 1995, the Labour Party, allied with Paul Berenger's MMM, won and offered Sir Seewosagur Ramgoolan's son, Navin Ramgoolan, the post of Prime Minister. The alliance between the country's two main political parties ended in June 1997.

In 1999, a popular seggae singer, Kaya, allowed himself to smoke a joint in public and was arrested for this offence and found dead in his cell the next morning. This suspicious death led to riots throughout the country, particularly between Creoles and Hindus.

Against a backdrop of economic liberalization, the country is rocked by numerous political crises often linked to financial scandals. Even when Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, a renowned scientist, was elected the island's first president in 2015, she was forced to resign in 2018. After the Ramgoolan family, it was the turn of the Jugnauth family to secure power. Pravind Jugnauth won the 2019 legislative elections and became prime minister, succeeding his father Anerood Jugnauth.

The republic of Mauritius should have recovered in 2016 its former dependency of the Chagos Islands ceded under colonial pressure in 1968. But while the United Nations and the International Court of Justice ruled in Mauritius' favor in 2019, the British and Americans do not seem ready to leave this strategic "aircraft carrier" in the region.