The island, and its dependency Rodrigues, is believed to have been sighted by Arab sailors in the 10th century but they did not settle. The Portuguese found it in the early 16th century but they too didn't settle. The Dutch called it a colony from 1598-1710 but only settled from 1638-58 and again from 1664-1710. Then the French East India Company settled it in 1721 and called it the Ile de France. They started sugar plantations, as on Reunion. The island was captured by the British in 1810 and passed to them at the end of the Napoleonic war at the Treaty of Paris in 1814. It has been independent since 1968.

The population is a mixture of many cultures including: Indian (probably the majority); African; Chinese; French. The ancestors of the Indians were brought to work the sugar cane fields which are the main agricultural activity. So far the communities appear to co-exist harmoniously.

There were no indigenous inhabitants when the islands were discovered.

Creole (French derived)

English

French

var. Indian Langs.

Patrick O'Brian - The Mauritius Command Fiction based on the capture of the islands from France during the Napoleonic war Geheimauftrag Mauritius Expédition à l'Île Maurice

Vigorous multi-party system with actual change of government after elections (rare in this region). However, one should note that the current Prime Minister Navinchandran Ramgoolam is a son of the founding independence PM and that he has served three five year terms. This suggests a dynastic democracy, as in India.

Attempts are being made to diversify the economy away from its dependence on sugar. Tourism is the main replacement.

An increasing population shows the dangers of living on a small island with limited land and resources. (But the Earth itself is only a bigger Island).

Mauritius was the home of several endemic (found only there) species, of which the Dodo bird is the most notorious. It is said to have been eaten by the earliest Dutch settlers, or killed by rats and dogs which ate its unguarded eggs.

The Dodo may well have been the origin of the "Giant Roc" of Arab folklore (though the even bigger Elephant Bird in Madagascar has a better title).