Mauritius History - Geography
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Mauritius - History
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".
Mauritius - Geography
The island of Mauritius occupies a choice section of the Indian Ocean. It is situated on the 20th parallel, just north of the tropic of Capricorn, and is on the 57/35th longitude, east of Greenwich.
Mauritius is approximately 355 kms off the east coast of Madagascar, Africa being the nearest continent, with Mombassa some 1800 kms away. It is about 11 hours flight from the main European countries and 7 hours from Singapore.
It is a volcanic island, 10 million years old, only 1865 square kilometres in area. The central plateau reaches 600 meters in altitude with the highest peak, le Piton de la Rivière Noire, and hitting 828 meters.
The coastline of 1600 kms is almost entirely surrounded by one of the largest unbroken coral reefs in the world. In the summer months of November to April, the temperature varies from 20 to 35ºC. The hours of daylight are approximately from 05.00 to 19.00 in summer and 06.00 to 18.00 in winter.
The cyclonic season is between November and March. Port Louis is the economic and administrative capital city. It is also a modern, well-equipped and efficiently operated port.
A Free Port has recently been created and is operating.
Visit Mauritius
Places to see
Pointe Aux Canonniers
Port Louis
Mahebourg
Ile Cerfs
Grand Baie
Cap Malheureux
Ballade Ileplate
SubMarine Drive
Scuba Dive
