History of the Seychelles

History of the Seychelles

Key Dates

• 10th century: Arab traders are the first to visit this uninhabited archipelago, located far from the maritime routes of the time.

• 1502: Discovered by the Portuguese, who use it as an occasional stop on the route to India.

• 1609: The English in turn discover the Seychelles and land on Mahé without settling.

• 17th century: The still-unexploited archipelago serves as an occasional base for pirates in the Indian Ocean.

• Mid-18th century: In a context of Franco-British rivalry, France, already present in Mauritius, claims the archipelago before officially taking possession of it in 1756 and increasing expeditions to the islands in the following years.

• 1770: Arrival of the very first French settlers, who later cultivate sugar cane and spices. At the time, the Seychelles depend on Mauritius.

• 1814: Already present since 1811 during the Napoleonic Wars, the British officially take possession of the archipelago following the Treaty of Paris. They govern it until independence, just as they did with Mauritius, which they had also taken in 1810.

• 1836: Slavery is definitively abolished in the islands.

• Late 19th century: After a difficult start, the local economy experiences temporary success. Thanks to the opening of the Suez Canal (1869), the Seychelles are also less isolated from Europe.

• 1903: The status of colony allows the Seychelles to "separate" from Mauritius, to which they were previously attached.

• Early to mid-20th century: The archipelago faces numerous economic difficulties and increasing poverty among its inhabitants.

• 1970: The Seychelles gain autonomy after the victory of the independence movement "Seychelles Peoples United Party" (SPUP) in the 1970 and 1974 elections.

• 1976: Independence within the Commonwealth, with James Mancham, leader of the SPUP and former prime minister, as its head.

• Late 1970s–1980s: The archipelago experiences a period of instability. In 1976, France-Albert René, then prime minister, overthrows Mancham in a coup. He remains in power until his resignation in 2004, having initially established a socialist one-party regime with Marxist tendencies, which democratizes in the early 1990s.

• 1990s: The Seychelles embark on high-end tourism, which quickly generates significant revenue.

• 2004: James Michel is elected president of a country then in economic crisis, before being re-elected in 2006 and 2011.