About Mauritius » General Information » History

Mauritius was discovered by Portuguese explorers in the early sixteenth century but it had been used for shelter by Arabs and Malays for centuries before. Uninhabited and largely forest-covered, it was first settled by the Dutch in the seventeenth century but was abandoned in 1710. In 1715, France claimed the island and renamed it 'Isle de France'. The first permanent settlement dates from 1722. Sugarcane, introduced by the Dutch, soon became the major crop. By 1797, the population had increased to about 60,000 including some 50,000 slaves from Africa and Madagascar. Seized in 1810 by the British, who renamed it Mauritius, the island was formally ceded by the French to the British in 1814.

Slavery was abolished in 1835 and a fairly large number of indentured labourers were brought from India to work in the sugar cane fields. The Indian immigrants were later joined by a small number of Chinese traders. Mauritius remained a British colony till it achieved independence in 1968. Today, Mauritius has a multi-racial population and it is a country where various cultures and traditions flourish in peace and harmony. It is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Non-Aligned Movement and the Francophonie, among others.