History of Mauritius

The History of Mauritius

Key Dates

• 1507: Discovery of the uninhabited island by the Portuguese. However, it was already known to the Phoenicians in antiquity and to the Arabs in the 10th century.

• 1598: The Dutch are the first to colonise the island. They give it the name Mauritius.

• 17th century: Disappearance of the dodo, the emblematic bird of Mauritius, heavily hunted by the new arrivals.

• 1715: The French take possession of the island abandoned by the Dutch in 1710 and rename it Île de France.

• 1725: Annexation of Rodrigues by the French, who permanently occupy it ten years later. Beginning of the mass arrival of slaves in the French islands of the Indian Ocean.

• 1810: During the Napoleonic Wars, the British seize the island (after Rodrigues in 1809), which four years later regains its name of Mauritius.

• 1835: End of slavery and beginning of the mass arrival of Indian workers. Mauritius gradually becomes a society where English, "Franco-Mauritian", and Asian cultures and traditions blend.

• 1870: With the opening of the Suez Canal, Mauritius loses its strategic importance on the Route to India, leading to negative consequences for its economy.

• 1930s: Emergence of a democratic and then nationalist movement within the population.

• 1948: Mauritius gains a degree of autonomy following the 1947 legislative elections.

• 1968: Independence within the Commonwealth.

• 1980s: Strong economic development thanks to free-zone status and a tourism boom.

• 1992: Mauritius becomes a republic.

• 2002: Rodrigues gains a degree of autonomy within the Republic of Mauritius.

• 2010: Navin Ramgoolam, previously in the role, is re-elected Prime Minister.