Everything about Mauritius

Mauritius was first discovered by the Arabs in 975 AD, then by the Portuguese between 1507 and 1513. In 1598, the Dutch landed in a bay in the southeast of the island and named it Mauritius after Prince Maurice of Nassau. Among other things the Dutch introduced sugar cane and the Java deer before leaving in 1710, before settling in The Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

About five years later, in 1715, the French occupied the island, renaming it "Isle de France". Mauritius knew its first development under the French Governor, Mahé de Labourdonnais; a harbour was built. Port Louis, named after the ruling king Louis XV, became the capital of Mauritius. There was thriving trade on the island; Mauritius could supply enough sugar and rum to the adjacent islands.

In 1810, the island was conquered by the British and Mauritius was formally ceded to them in the "Traiti de Paris" of 1814. Hence, most of the French settlers remained on the island and were allowed to keep their customs, religion and laws. A few years later, in 1835, slavery was abolished by the British- this led to the importation of Indian Indentured Labourers to work in the sugar cane fields. They eventually settled in Mauritius with their descendants constituting the majority of the population. Rapid development of the infrastructure continued. Mauritius achieved independence on 12 March 1968 and adopted a constitution based on the British Parliamentary System. Mauritius gained its status of Republic on 12 March 1992.