Flag of Mauritius
Portuguese Mauritius
Pedro Mascarenhas, Viceroy of Portuguese India and namesake of the Mascarene Islands.
The Treaty of Tordesillas
purported to give Portugal
the right to colonise this part of world. In 1507, Portuguese sailors came to
the uninhabited island and established a visiting base. Diogo Fernandes
Pereira, a Portuguese navigator, was the first European known to land in Mauritius. He
named the island "Ilha do Cirne" ("Island of Cirne").
The Portuguese did not stay long as they were not interested in these islands.
The Mascarene
Islands were named after Pedro Mascarenhas, Viceroy of Portuguese
India, after his visit to the islands in 1512.
Rodrigues Island was named after Portuguese explorer Diogo Rodrigues,
who first came upon the island in 1528.
Dutch Mauritius
(1638–1710)
In 1598 a Dutch squadron
under Admiral Wybrand Van Warwyck landed at Grand Port and named the island
"Mauritius" after Prince Maurice of Nassau (Dutch: Maurits van
Nassau) of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch inhabited the island in 1638, from
which they exploited ebony trees and introduced sugar cane, domestic animals
and deer. It was from here that Dutch navigator Abel Tasman set out to seek the
Great Southern Land, mapping parts of Tasmania,
Aotearoa/New Zealand and New
Guinea. The first Dutch settlement lasted 20
years. In 1639 slaves arrived in Mauritius
from Madagascar.
The Dutch East India Company brought them to cut down ebony trees and to work
in the new tobacco and sugar cane plantations. Several attempts to establish a
colony permanently were subsequently made, but the settlements never developed
enough to produce dividends, causing the Dutch to abandon Mauritius in
1710.
French Mauritius
(1715–1810)
The Battle of Grand Port between French and British naval forces, 20–27 August 1810
France, which already controlled neighbouring Île Bourbon
(now Reunion), took control of Mauritius
in 1715 and renamed it Isle de France. In 1723, the Code Noir was established
to categorise one group of human beings as "goods", in order for the
owner of these goods to be able to obtain insurance money and compensation in
case of loss of his "goods".The 1735 arrival of French governor
Bertrand-François Mahe de La Bourdonnais coincided with development of a
prosperous economy based on sugar production. Mahe de La Bourdonnais
established Port Louis
as a naval base and a shipbuilding centre.Under his governorship, numerous
buildings were erected, a number of which are still standing. These include
part of Government House, the Château de Mon Plaisir, and the Line Barracks,
the headquarters of the police force. The island was under the administration
of the French East India Company, which maintained its presence until 1767.
During the French rule slaves were brought from parts of Africa such as Mozambique and
Zanzibar.As a result the island's population rose dramatically from 15,000 to
49,000 within thirty years. During the late eighteenth century African slaves
accounted for around 80 percent of the island’s population, and by the early
nineteenth century there were 60,000 slaves on the island. In early 1729
Indians from Pondicherry, India arrived in Mauritius aboard the vessel La Sirene.
Work contracts for these craftsmen were signed in 1734 at the time when they
acquired their freedom.
The Battle of Grand Port
between French and British naval forces, 20–27 August 1810 From 1767 to 1810,
except for a brief period during the French Revolution when the inhabitants set
up a government virtually independent of France, the island was controlled by
officials appointed by the French government. Jacques-Henri Bernardin de
Saint-Pierre lived on the island from 1768 to 1771, then went back to France, where
he wrote Paul et Virginie, a love story that made the Isle de France famous
wherever the French language was spoken. In 1796 the settlers broke away from
French control when the government in Paris attempted to abolish slavery.Two
famous French governors were the Vicomte de Souillac (who constructed the Chausse
in Port Louis and encouraged farmers to settle in the district of Savanne) and
Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux (who saw to it that the French in the Indian
Ocean should have their headquarters in Mauritius instead of Pondicherry in
India).Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen was a successful general in the French
Revolutionary Wars and, in some ways, a rival of Napoléon I. He ruled as
Governor of Isle de France and Reunion from
1803 to 1810. British naval cartographer and explorer Matthew Flinders was
arrested and detained by General Decaen on the island from 1803 to 1810,in
contravention of an order from Napoleon. During the Napoleonic Wars, Mauritius
became a base from which French corsairs organised successful raids on British
commercial ships. The raids continued until 1810, when a Royal Navy expedition
led by Commodore Josias Rowley, R.N., an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, was sent to
capture the island. Despite winning the Battle of Grand Port, the only French
naval victory over the British during these wars, the French could not prevent
the British from landing at Cap Malheureux three months later. They formally
surrendered the island on the fifth day of the invasion, 3 December 1810,on
terms allowing settlers to keep their land and property and to use the French
language and law of France
in criminal and civil matters. Under British rule, the island's name reverted
to Mauritius.The swift conquest of Mauritius was fictionalised in the
novel The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1977.
British Mauritius
(1810–1968)
The British administration, which began with Sir Robert Farquhar as governor, led to rapid social and economic changes. However, it was tainted by the Ratsitatane episode. Ratsitatane, nephew of King Radama of Madagascar, was brought to Mauritius as a political prisoner. He managed to escape from prison and plotted a rebellion that would free the island's slaves. He was betrayed by an associate and was caught by the British forces, summarily judged, and condemned to death. He was beheaded at Plaine Verte on 15 April 1822, and his head was displayed as a deterrent against future uprisings among the slaves.
In 1832, Adrien d'Épinay
launched the first Mauritian newspaper (Le Cernéen), which was not controlled
by the government. In the same year, there was a move by the procureur-general
to abolish slavery without compensation to the slave owners. This gave rise to
discontent, and, to check an eventual rebellion, the government ordered all the
inhabitants to surrender their arms. Furthermore, a stone fortress, Fort Adelaide,
was built on a hill (now known as the Citadel hill) in the centre of Port Louis to quell any
uprising.
Slavery was abolished in
1835, and the planters ultimately received two million pounds sterling in
compensation for the loss of their slaves, who had been imported from Africa
and Madagascar
during the French occupation. The abolition of slavery had important impacts on
Mauritius's society, economy and population. The planters brought a large
number of indentured labourers from India to work in the sugar cane
fields.Mixed emotions and feelings
are portrayed
Between 1834 and 1921, around
half a million indentured labourers were present on the island. They worked on
sugar estates, factories, in transport and on construction sites. Additionally,
the British brought 8,740 Indian soldiers to the island. Aapravasi Ghat, in the
bay at Port Louis
and now a UNESCO site, was the first British colony to serve as a major
reception centre for indentured servants.
An important figure of the
19th century was Rémy Ollier, a journalist of mixed origin. In 1828, the colour
bar was officially abolished in Mauritius,
but British governors gave little power to coloured persons, and appointed only
whites as leading officials. Remy Ollier petitioned to Queen Victoria to allow coloureds in the council
of government, and this became possible a few years later. He also made Port Louis become a
municipality so that the citizens could administer the town through their own
elected representatives. A street
has been named after him in Port Louis,
and his bust was erected in the Jardin de la Compagnie in 1906. In 1885 a new
constitution was introduced and it was referred to a Cens Démocratique as it
incorporated some of the principles advocated by one of the Creole leaders
called Onesipho Beaugeard. It created elected positions in the Legislative
Council although the franchise was restricted mainly to the white French and
fair-skinned Creole elite who owned real estate. In 1886 Governor John Pope
Hennessy nominated Gnanadicarayen Arlanda as the first ever Indo-Mauritian
member of the ruling Council despite the sugar oligarchy's preference for rival
Indo-Mauritian Emile Sandapa. Arlanda served until 1891. Two main political
parties were active at that time, the pro-Hennessy party being Sir William
Newton's Reform Party where as the anti-Hennessy party Democrats was led by
Gustave de Coriolis and Onesipho Beaugeard.Champ de Mars Racecourse, Port Louis, 1880
The labourers brought from India were not
always fairly treated, and a German, Adolph von Plevitz, made himself the
unofficial protector of these immigrants. He mixed with many of the labourers,
and in 1871 helped them to write a petition that was sent to Governor Gordon. A
commission was appointed to look into the complaints made by the Indian
immigrants, and in 1872 two lawyers, appointed by the British Crown, were sent
from England
to make an inquiry. This Royal Commission recommended several measures that
would affect the lives of Indian labourers during the next fifty years.
In November 1901, Mahatma
Gandhi visited Mauritius, on
his way from South Africa to
India.
He stayed on the island for two weeks, and urged the Indo-Mauritian community
to take an interest in education and to play a more active role in politics.
Back in India,
he sent over a young lawyer, Manilal Doctor, to improve the plight of the
Indo-Mauritians. During the same year, faster links were established with the island of Rodrigues thanks to the wireless.
In 1903, motorcars were
introduced in Mauritius,
and in 1910 the first taxis, operated by Joseph Merven, came into service. The
electrification of Port Louis
took place in 1909, and in the same decade the Mauritius Hydro Electric Company
of the Atchia Brothers was authorised to provide power to the towns of upper
Plaines Wilhems.
The 1910s were a period of
political agitation. The rising middle class (made up of doctors, lawyers, and
teachers) began to challenge the political power of the sugar cane landowners.
Dr. Eugène Laurent, mayor of Port
Louis, was the leader of this new group; his party,
Action Liberal, demanded that more people should be allowed to vote in the
elections. Action Libérale was opposed by the Parti de l'Ordre, led by Henri
Leclezio, the most influential of the sugar magnates. In 1911 there were riots
in Port Louis
due to a false rumour that Dr. Eugène Laurent had been murdered by the
oligarchs in Curepipe. This became known as the 1911 Curepipe riots. Shops and
offices were damaged in the capital, and one person was killed. In the same
year, 1911, the first public cinema shows took place in Curepipe, and, in the
same town, a stone building was erected to house the Royal College.
In 1912, a wider telephone network came into service, used by the government,
business firms, and a few private households.
World War I broke out in
August 1914. Many Mauritians volunteered to fight in Europe against the Germans
and in Mesopotamia against the Turks. But the
war affected Mauritius
much less than the wars of the eighteenth century. In fact, the 1914–1918 war
was a period of great prosperity due to a boom in sugar prices. In 1919 the
Mauritius Sugar Syndicate came into being, which included 70% of all sugar
producers.
The 1920s saw the rise of a
"retrocessionism" movement, which favoured the retrocession of Mauritius to France. The movement rapidly
collapsed because none of the candidates who wanted Mauritius
to be given back to France
were elected in the 1921 elections. In the post-war recession, there was a
sharp drop in sugar prices. Many sugar estates closed down, marking the end of
an era for the sugar magnates who had not only controlled the economy but also
the political life of the country. Raoul Rivet, the editor of Le Mauricien
newspaper, campaigned for a revision of the constitution that would give the
emerging middle class a greater role in the running of the country. The principles
of Arya Samaj began to infiltrate the Hindu community, who clamoured for more
social justice. At the 1926 elections Dunputh Lallah and Rajcoomar Gujadhur
became the first Indo-Mauritians to be elected at the Legislative Council. At
Grand Port Lallah won over rivals Fernand Louis Morel and Gaston Gebert; at
Flacq Gujadhur defeated Pierre Montocchio. After the end of nominated Arlanda's
term in 1891 and until 1926 there had been no Indo-Mauritian representation in
the Legislative Council.
1936 saw the birth of the
Labour Party, launched by Dr. Maurice Curé. Emmanuel Anquetil rallied the urban
workers while Pandit Sahadeo concentrated on the rural working class. The Uba
riots of 1937 resulted in reforms by the local British government that improved
labour conditions and led to the un-banning of labour unions. Labour Day was
celebrated for the first time in 1938. More than 30,000 workers sacrificed a
day's wage and came from all over the island to attend a giant meeting at the
Champ de Mars. Following the dockers' strikes trade unionist Emmanuel Anquetil
was deported to Rodrigues, Maurice Curé and Pandit Sahadeo were placed under
house arrest whilst numerous strikers were jailed. Governor Sir Bede Clifford
assisted Mr Jules Leclezio of the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate to counter the
effects of the strike by using alternative workers known as ‘black legs’.
At the outbreak of World War
II in 1939, many Mauritians volunteered to serve under the British flag in
Africa and the Near East, fighting against the
German and Italian armies. Some went to England to become pilots and ground
staff in the Royal Air Force. Mauritius
was never really threatened but several British ships were sunk outside Port Louis by German
submarines in 1943.
During World War II, conditions
were hard in the country; the prices of commodities doubled but workers’
salaries increased only by 10 to 20 percent. There was civil unrest, and the
colonial government censored all trade union activities. However, the labourers
of Belle Vue Harel Sugar Estate went on strike on 27 September 1943. Police
officers eventually fired directly at the crowd, resulting in the deaths of 4
labourers Soondrum Pavatdan (better known as Anjalay Coopen the 32 year old
pregnant woman), Moonsamy Moonien (14 year old boy), Kistnasamy Mooneesamy (37
year old labourer), and Marday Panapen.[50] This became known as the Belle Vue
Harel Massacre. Social worker and leader of the Jan Andolan movement Basdeo
Bissoondoyal organised the funeral ceremonies of the 4 dead labourers. Three
months later Basdeo Bissoondoyal organised a mass gathering at "Marie
Reine de la Paix" in Port Louis on 12 December 1943 and the significant
crowd of workers from all over the island confirmed the popularity of his
movement Jan Andolan.
After the proclamation of the
new 1947 Constitution the general elections were held on 9 August 1948 and for
the first time the colonial government expanded the franchise to all adults who
could write their name in one of the island's 19 languages. Guy Rozemont's Labour
Party won the majority of the votes. with 11 of the 19 elected seats won by
Hindus. However, the Governor-General Donald Mackenzie-Kennedy appointed 12
Conservatives to the Legislative Council on 23 August 1948 to perpetuate the
predominance of white Franco-Mauritians. In 1948 Emilienne Rochecouste became
the first woman to be elected to the Legislative Council, serving until 1953.
Guy Rozemont's party bettered its position in 1953, and, on the strength of the
election results, demanded universal suffrage. Constitutional conferences were
held in London
in 1955 and 1957, and the ministerial system was introduced. Voting took place
for the first time on the basis of universal adult suffrage on 9 March 1959.
The general election was again won by the Labour Party, led this time by Sir
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.
A Constitutional Review
Conference was held in London
in 1961, and a programme of further constitutional advance was established. The
1963 election was won by the Labour Party and its allies. The Colonial Office
noted that politics of a communal nature was gaining ground in Mauritius and
that the choice of candidates (by parties) and the voting behaviour (of
electors) were governed by ethnic and caste considerations. Around that time,
two eminent British academics, Richard Titmuss and James Meade, published a
report of the island's social problems caused by overpopulation and the
monoculture of sugar cane. This led to an intense campaign to halt the
population explosion, and the decade registered a sharp decline in population
growth.
In early 1965 a political
assassination took place in the suburb of Belle-Rose in the town of Quatre Bornes when Labour
activist Rampersad Surath was beaten to death by thugs of rival party Parti
Mauricien. On 10 May 1965 racial riots broke out in the village of Trois
Boutiques near Souillac and progressed to the historic village of Mahebourg. A
nationwide State of Emergency
was declared on the British colony. The riot was initiated by the murder of
Police Constable Beesoo in his vehicle by a Creole gang. This was followed by
the murder of a civilian named Mr. Robert Brousse in Trois Boutiques. The
Creole gang then proceeded to the coastal historic village of Mahebourg
to assault the Indo-Mauritian spectators who were watching a Hindustani movie
at Cinema Odeon. Mahebourg police recorded nearly 100 complaints of assaults on
Indo-Mauritians.
Independence
(since 1968)
At the Lancaster Conference
of 1965, it became clear that Britain
wanted to relieve itself of the colony of Mauritius. In 1959, Harold
Macmillan had made his famous "Wind of Change Speech" in which he
acknowledged that the best option for Britain was to give complete
independence to its colonies. Thus, since the late Fifties, the way was paved
for independence.
Later in 1965, after the
Lancaster Conference, the Chagos Archipelago was excised from the territory of Mauritius to form the British Indian
Ocean Territory (BIOT). A general election took place on 7 August 1967, and the
Independence Party obtained the majority of seats. In January 1968, six weeks
before the declaration of independence the 1968 Mauritian riots occurred in Port Louis leading to the
deaths of 25 people.
Mauritius adopted a new constitution and independence was
proclaimed on 12 March 1968. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam became the first prime
minister of an independent Mauritius
with Queen Elizabeth II remaining head of state as Queen of Mauritius. In 1969,
the opposition party Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) led by Paul Bérenger was
founded. Later in 1971, the MMM, backed by unions, called a series of strikes
in the port, which caused a state of emergency in the country. The coalition
government of the Labour Party and the PMSD (Parti Mauricien Social Democrat)
reacted by curtailing civil liberties and curbing freedom of the press. Two
unsuccessful assassination attempts were made against Paul Beranger. On 1
October 1971 his supporter Fareed Muttur died in suspicious circumstances at Le
Réduit whilst driving Paul Bérenger's car.The second led to the death of Azor Adelaide,
a dock worker and activist, on 25 November 1971. General elections were
postponed and public meetings were prohibited. Members of the MMM including
Paul Beranger were imprisoned on 23 December 1971. The MMM leader was released
a year later.
In May 1975, a student revolt
that started at the University
of Mauritius swept across
the country. The students were unsatisfied with an education system that did
not meet their aspirations and gave limited prospects for future employment. On
20 May, thousands of students tried to enter Port-Louis over the Grand River
North West bridge and clashed with police. An act of Parliament was passed on
16 December 1975 to extend the right to vote to 18-year-olds. This was seen as
an attempt to appease the frustration of the younger generation.
The next general elections
took place on 20 December 1976. The Labour-CAM coalition won only 28 seats out
of 62. The MMM secured 34 seats in Parliament but outgoing Prime Minister Sir
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam managed to remain in office, with a two-seat majority,
after striking an alliance with the PMSD of Gaetan Duval.
In 1982 an MMM-PSM government
(led by PM Anerood Jugnauth, Deputy PM Harish Boodhoo and Finance Minister Paul
Beranger) was elected. However, ideological and personality differences emerged
within the MMM and PSM leadership. The power struggle between Bérenger and
Jugnauth peaked in March 1983. Jugnauth travelled to New Delhi to attend a Non-Aligned Movement
summit; on his return, Bérenger proposed constitutional changes that would
strip power from the Prime Minister. At Jugnauth's request, PM Indira Gandhi of
India
planned an armed intervention involving the Indian Navy and Indian Army to
prevent a coup under the code name Operation Lal Dora.
The MMM-PSM government split
up nine months after the June 1982 election. According to an Information
Ministry official the nine months was a "socialist experiment".Harish
Boodhoo dissolved his party PSM to enable all PSM parliamentarians to join
Jugnauth's new party MSM, thus remaining in power whilst distancing themselves
from MMM. The MSM-Labour-PMSD coalition was victorious at the August 1983
elections, resulting in Anerood Jugnauth as PM and Gaëtan Duval as Deputy PM.
That period saw growth in the
EPZ (Export Processing Zone) sector. Industrialisation began to spread to
villages as well, and attracted young workers from all ethnic communities. As a
result, the sugar industry began to lose its hold on the economy. Large retail
chains began opening stores in 1985 and offered credit facilities to low-income
earners, thus allowing them to afford basic household appliances. There was
also a boom in the tourism industry, and new hotels sprang up throughout the
island. In 1989 the stock exchange opened its doors and in 1992 the freeport began operation.
In 1990, the Prime Minister lost the vote on changing the Constitution to make
the country a republic with Beranger as President.
Republic (since 1992)
Perceived failure of the government to respond promptly and effectively to the MV Wakashio oil spill has resulted in anti-government protests.
On 12 March 1992, twenty-four
years after independence, Mauritius
was proclaimed a republic within the Commonwealth of
Nations. The last governor general, Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, became
the first president. This was under a transitional arrangement, in which he was
replaced by Cassam Uteem later that year. Political power remained with the
prime minister.
Despite an improvement in the
economy, which coincided with a fall in the price of petrol and a favourable
dollar exchange rate, the government did not enjoy full popularity. As early as
1984, there was discontent. Through the Newspapers and Periodicals Amendment
Act, the government tried to make every newspaper provide a bank guarantee of
half a million rupees. Forty-three journalists protested by participating in a
public demonstration in Port Louis,
in front of Parliament. They were arrested and freed on bail. This caused a
public outcry and the government had to review its policy.
There was also
dissatisfaction in the education sector. There were not enough high-quality
secondary colleges to answer the growing demand of primary school leavers who
had got through their CPE (Certificate of Primary Education). In 1991, a master
plan for education failed to get national support and contributed to the
government's downfall.
In December 1995 Navin
Ramgoolam was elected as PM of the Labour-MMM alliance. In October 1996 the
triple murder of political activists at Gorah-Issac Street in Port Louis led to several arrests and a long
investigation. The year 1999 was marked by civil unrest and riots in February
and then in May. Following the Kaya riots President Cassam Uteem and Cardinal
Jean Margot toured the country and calm was restored after four days of turmoil.
A commission of enquiry was set up to investigate the root causes of the social
disturbance. The resulting report delved into the cause of poverty and
qualified many tenacious beliefs as perceptions. In January 2000 political
activist Rajen Sabapathee was shot dead after he escaped from La Bastille jail.
Perceived failure of the
government to respond promptly and effectively to the MV Wakashio oil spill has
resulted in anti-government protests.
Anerood Jugnauth of the MSM
returned to power in September 2000 after securing an alliance with the MMM. In
2002, the island
of Rodrigues became an
autonomous entity within the republic and was thus able to elect its own
representatives to administer the island. In 2003, the prime ministership was
transferred to Paul Bérenger of the MMM, and Anerood Jugnauth became president.
Beranger was the first Franco-Mauritian Prime Minister in the country's
post-Independence history.
In 2005 elections, Navin
Ramgoolam became PM under the new coalition of Labour-PMXD-VF-MR-MMSM. In 2010
elections the Labour-MSM-PMSD alliance secured power and Navin Ramgoolam
remained PM until 2014.
The MSM-PMSD-ML coalition was
victorious at the 2014 elections under Anerood Jugnauth's leadership. Despite
disagreements within the ruling alliance which led to the departure of PMSD,
the MSM-ML stayed in power for their full 5-year term.
On 21 January 2017 Anerood
Jugnauth announced his resignation and that his son and Finance Minister
Pravind Jugnauth would assume the office of prime minister. The transition took
place as planned on 23 January 2017.
In 2018, Mauritian president
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (the only former female head of state in the African Union)
resigned over a financial scandal. The incumbent president is Prithvirajsing
Roopun. who has served since December 2019.
On 25 July 2020,
Japanese-owned bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the
coast of Mauritius,
leaking up to 1,000 tonnes of heavy oil into a pristine lagoon. Its location on
the edge of protected fragile marine ecosystems and a wetland of international
importance made the MV Wakashio oil spill one of the worst environmental
disasters ever to hit the western Indian Ocean.
In November 2019 Mauriutius
general elections the ruling Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) won more than
half of the seats in parliament , securing incumbent Prime Minister Pravind
Kumar Jugnauth a new five-year term.
Geography
The total land area of the
country is 2,040 km2 (790 sq mi). It is the 170th largest nation in the world
by size. The Republic of Mauritius is constituted of Mauritius Island
and several outlying islands. The nation's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers
about 2.3 million km2 (890,000 sq mi) of the Indian Ocean, including
approximately 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi) jointly managed with the Seychelles.
Mauritius Island
A panoramic view of Mauritius Island
Mauritius is 2,000 km (1,200 mi) off the southeast coast of Africa, between latitudes 19°58.8'S and 20°31.7'S and
longitudes 57°18.0'E and 57°46.5'E. It is 65 km (40 mi) long and 45 km (30 mi)
wide. Its land area is 1,864.8 km2 (720.0 sq mi). The island is surrounded by
more than 150 km (100 mi) of white sandy beaches, and the lagoons are protected
from the open sea by the world's third-largest coral reef, which surrounds the
island. Just off the Mauritian coast lie some 49 uninhabited islands and
islets, several of which have been declared natural reserves for endangered
species.
The Mauritius
Island (Mauritian Creole: Isle Moris;
French: Ilea Maurice, pronounced is relatively young geologically, having been
created by volcanic activity some 8 million years ago. Together with Saint
Brandon, Réunion, and Rodrigues, the island is part of the Mascarene
Islands. These islands emerged as a result of gigantic underwater
volcanic eruptions that happened thousands of kilometres to the east of the
continental block made up of Africa and Madagascar. They are no longer
volcanically active and the hotspot now rests under Réunion Island.
Mauritius
is encircled by a broken ring of mountain ranges, varying in height from
300–800 m (1,000–2,600 ft) above sea level. The land rises from coastal plains
to a central plateau where it reaches a height of 670 m (2,200 ft); the highest
peak is in the south-west, Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire at 828 metres
(2,717 ft). Streams and rivers speckle the island, many formed in the cracks
created by lava flows.
Biodiversity
The country is home to some
of the world's rarest plants and animals, but human habitation and the
introduction of non-native species have threatened its indigenous flora and
fauna. Due to its volcanic origin, age, isolation, and unique terrain, Mauritius is
home to a diversity of flora and fauna not usually found in such a small area.
Before the Portuguese arrival in 1507, there were no terrestrial mammals on the
island. This allowed the evolution of a number of flightless birds and large
reptile species. The arrival of humans saw the introduction of invasive alien
species, the rapid destruction of habitat and the loss of much of the endemic
flora and fauna. Less than 2% of the native forest now remains, concentrated in
the Black River Gorges
National Park in the south-west, the
Bambous Mountain Range in the south-east, and the Moka-Port Louis
Ranges in the north-west.
There are some isolated mountains, Corps de Garde, Le Morne Brabant, and
several offshore islands, with remnants of coastal and mainland diversity. Over
100 species of plants and animals have become extinct and many more are
threatened. Conservation activities began in the 1980s with the implementation
of programmes for the reproduction of threatened bird and plant species as well
as habitat restoration in the national parks and nature reserves.
In 2011, the Ministry of
Environment & Sustainable Development issued the "Mauritius
Environment Outlook Report," which recommended that St Brandon be declared
a Marine Protected Area.
In the President's Report of
the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation dated March 2016, St Brandon is declared an
official MWF project in order to promote the conservation of the atoll.
The Mauritian Flying Fox is
the only remaining mammal endemic to the island, and has been severely
threatened in recent years due to the government sanctioned culling introduced
in November 2015 due to the belief that they were a threat to fruit
plantations. Prior to 2015 the lack of severe cyclone had seen the fruit bat
population increase and the status of the species was then changed by the IUCN
from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2014. October 2018, saw the authorisation of
the cull of 20% of the fruit bat population, amounting to 13,000 of the
estimated 65,000 fruit bats remaining, although their status had already
reverted to Endangered due to the previous years' culls.
The Dodo
When it was discovered, Mauritius was the home of a previously unknown
species of bird, the dodo, descendants of a type of pigeon which settled in Mauritius over
four million years ago. With no predators to attack them, they had lost their
ability to fly. The Portuguese discovered the island around 1505 and the island
quickly became a stopover for ships engaged in the spice trade. Weighing up to
23 kg (50 lb), the dodo was a welcome source of fresh meat for the sailors.
Large numbers of dodos were killed for food. Later, when the Dutch used the
island as a penal colony, new species were introduced to the island. Rats,
pigs, and monkeys ate dodo eggs in the ground nests. The combination of human
exploitation and introduced species significantly reduced the dodo population.
Within 100 years of the arrival of humans on Mauritius, the once abundant dodo
became a rare bird. The last one was killed in 1681. The dodo is prominently
featured as a (heraldic) supporter of the national coat of arms of Mauritius.
Environment and climate
The environment in Mauritius is
typically tropical in the coastal regions with forests in the mountainous
areas. Seasonal cyclones are destructive to its flora and fauna, although they
recover quickly. Mauritius
ranked second in an air quality index released by the World Health Organization
in 2011. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.46/10,
ranking it 100th globally out of 172 countries.
Situated near the Tropic of
Capricorn, Mauritius
has a tropical climate. There are 2 seasons: a warm humid summer from November
to April, with a mean temperature of 24.7 °C (76.5 °F) and a relatively cool
dry winter from June to September with a mean temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F).
The temperature difference between the seasons is only 4.3 °C (7.7 °F). The
warmest months are January and February with average day maximum temperature
reaching 29.2 °C (84.6 °F) and the coolest months are July and August with
average overnight minimum temperatures of 16.4 °C (61.5 °F). Annual rainfall
ranges from 900 mm (35 in) on the coast to 1,500 mm (59 in) on the central
plateau. Although there is no marked rainy season, most of the rainfall occurs
in summer months. Sea temperature in the lagoon varies from 22–27 °C (72–81
°F). The central plateau is much cooler than the surrounding coastal areas and
can experience as much as double the rainfall. The prevailing trade winds keep
the east side of the island cooler and bring more rain. Occasional tropical
cyclones generally occur between January and March and tend to disrupt the
weather for about three days, bringing heavy rain.
Prime Minister Pravind
Jugnauth declared an environmental state of emergency after the 25 July 2020 MV
Wakashio oil spill. France
sent aircraft and specialists from Réunion and Greenpeace said that the leak
threatened the survival of thousands of species, who are at "risk of
drowning in a sea of pollution".
Government and politics
The politics of Mauritius take
place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, in
which the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of
government, assisted by a Council of Ministers. Mauritius has a multi-party system.
Executive power is exercised by the Government. Legislative power is vested in
both the Government and the National Assembly.
The National Assembly is Mauritius's
unicameral legislature, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992,
when the country became a republic. It consists of 70 members, 62 elected for
four-year terms in multi-member constituencies and eight additional members,
known as "best losers", appointed by the Electoral Service Commission
to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are equitably represented. The
UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), which monitors member states' compliance
with the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights (ICPCR), has
criticised the country's Best Loser System following a complaint by a local
youth and trade union movement. The president is elected for a five-year term
by the Parliament.
The island of Mauritius
is divided into 20 constituencies that return three members each. The island of Rodrigues is a single district that
returns two members.
After a general election, the
Electoral Supervisory Commission may nominate up to eight additional members
with a view to correct any imbalance in the representation of ethnic minorities
in Parliament. This system of nominating members is commonly called the best
loser system.
The political party or party
alliance that wins the majority of seats in Parliament forms the government.
Its leader becomes the Prime Minister, who selects the Cabinet from elected
members of the Assembly, except for the Attorney General, who may not be an
elected member of the Assembly. The political party or alliance which has the
second largest group of representatives forms the Official Opposition and its
leader is normally nominated by the President of the Republic as the Leader of
the Opposition. The Assembly elects a Speaker, a Deputy Speaker and a Deputy
Chairman of Committees as some of its first tasks.
Mauritius is a democracy with a government elected every five
years. The most recent National Assembly Election was held on the 7th of
November 2019 in all the 20 mainland constituencies, and in the constituency
covering the island
of Rodrigues. Elections
have tended to be a contest between two major coalitions of parties.
The 2018 Ibrahim Index of
African Governance ranked Mauritius
first in good governance. According to the 2017 Democracy Index compiled by the
Economist Intelligence Unit that measures the state of democracy in 167
countries, Mauritius
ranks 16th worldwide and is the only African-related country with "full
democracy".
Military
All military, police, and
security functions in Mauritius
are carried out by 10,000 active-duty personnel under the Commissioner of
Police. The 8,000-member National Police Force is responsible for domestic law
enforcement. The 1,400-member Special Mobile Force (SMF) and the 688-member
National Coast Guard are the only two paramilitary units in Mauritius. Both
units are composed of police officers on lengthy rotations to those services.
Foreign relations
Mauritius has strong and friendly relations with various
African, American, Asian, European and Oceania
countries. Considered part of Africa geographically, Mauritius
has friendly relations with African states in the region, particularly South Africa,
by far its largest continental trading partner. Mauritian investors are
gradually entering African markets, notably Madagascar,
Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The
country's political heritage and dependence on Western markets have led to
close ties with the European Union and its member states, particularly France.
Relations with India
is very strong for both historical and commercial reasons. Mauritius established diplomatic relations with China in April 1972 and was forced to defend
this decision, along with naval contracts with the USSR in the same year. It has also
been extending its Middle East outreach with the setting up of an embassy in Saudi Arabia whose Ambassador also doubles as
the country's ambassador to Bahrain.
Mauritius is a member of the World Trade Organization, the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the African
Union, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Indian Ocean
Commission, COMESA, and formed the Indian Ocean Rim Association.
Legal system
Mauritius has a hybrid legal system derived from British common
law and the French civil law. The Constitution of Mauritius established the
separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary
and guaranteed the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the
individual. Mauritius
has a single-structured judicial system consisting of two tiers, the Supreme
Court and subordinate courts. The Supreme Court is composed of various
divisions exercising jurisdiction such as the Master's Court, the Family
Division, the Commercial Division (Bankruptcy), the Criminal Division, the
Mediation Division, the Court of First Instance in civil and criminal
proceedings, the Appellate jurisdiction: the Court of Civil Appeal and the
Court of Criminal Appeal. Subordinate courts consist of the Intermediate Court, the Industrial Court,
the District Courts, the Bail and Remand
Court and the Court of Rodrigues. The Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council is the final court of appeal of Mauritius.
After the independence of Mauritius
in 1968, Mauritius
maintained the Privy Council as its highest court of appeal. Appeals to the
Judicial Committee from decisions of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court
may be as of right or with the leave of the Court, as set out in section 81 of
the Constitution and section 70A of the Courts Act. The Judicial Committee may
also grant special leave to appeal from the decision of any court in any civil
or criminal matter as per section 81(5) of the Constitution.
Demographics
The estimated population of
the Republic of Mauritius was at 1,265,985, of whom
626,341 were males and 639,644 females as at 1 July 2019. The population on the
island of Mauritius was 1,222,340, and that of
Rodrigues island was 43,371; Agalega and Saint Brandon had an estimated total
population of 274. Mauritius
has the second highest population density in Africa.
Subsequent to a Constitutional amendment in 1982, there is no need for Mauritius to
reveal their ethnic identities for the purpose of population census. Official
statistics on ethnicity are not available. The 1972 census was the last one to
measure ethnicity. Mauritius
is a multiethnic society, drawn from Indian, African, Chinese and European
(mostly French) origin.
Religion
According to the 2011 census
conducted by Statistics Mauritius, 48.5% of the Mauritian population follows
Hinduism, followed by Christianity (32.7%), Islam (17.2%) and other religions
(0.7%). 0.7% reported themselves as non-religious and 0.1% did not answer.
Languages
The Mauritian constitution
makes no mention of an official language. The Constitution only mentions that
the official language of the National Assembly is English; however, any member
can also address the chair in French. English and French are generally
considered to be de facto national and common languages of Mauritius, as
they are the languages of government administration, courts, and business. The
constitution of Mauritius is written in English, while some laws, such as the
Civil code and Criminal code, are in French. The Mauritian currency features
the Latin, Tamil and Devanagari scripts.
The Mauritian population is
multilingual; while Mauritian Creole is the mother tongue of most Mauritians,
most people are also fluent in English and French; they tend to switch
languages according to the situation. French and English are favoured in
educational and professional settings, while Asian languages are used mainly in
music, religious and cultural activities. The media and literature are primarily
in French.
The Creole language, which is
French-based with some additional influences, is spoken by the majority of the
population as a native language. The Creole languages which are spoken in
different islands of the country are more or less similar: Mauritian Creole,
Rodriguan Creole, Agalega Creole and Chagossian Creole are spoken by people
from the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Chagos. Some ancestral
languages that are also spoken in Mauritius include Bhojpuri, Chinese,
Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Bhojpuri, once widely spoken as a
mother tongue, has become less commonly spoken over the years. According to the
2011 census, Bhojpuri was spoken by 5% of the population compared to 12% in
2000.
School students must learn
English and French; they may also opt for an Asian language or Mauritian
Creole. The medium of instruction varies from school to school but is usually
Creole, French and English.
Education
The education system in Mauritius
consists of pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The education
structure consists of two to three years of pre-primary school, six years of
primary schooling leading to the Primary School Achievement Certificate, five
years of secondary education leading to the School Certificate, and two years
of higher secondary ending with the Higher School Certificate. Secondary
schools have "college" as part of their title. The government of Mauritius
provides free education to its citizens from pre-primary to tertiary level. In
2013 government expenditure on education was estimated at about ₨ 13,584
million, representing 13% of total expenditure. As of January 2017, the
government has introduced changes to the education system with the Nine-Year
Continuous Basic Education programme, which abolished the Certificate of
Primary Education (CPE).
The O-Level and A-Level
examinations are carried out by the University
of Cambridge through University of Cambridge
International Examinations. The tertiary
education sector includes universities and other technical institutions in Mauritius. The
two main public universities are the University
of Mauritius and the University of Technology,
in addition to the Université des Mascareignes, founded in 2012, and the Open
University Mauritius. These four public universities and several other
technical institutes and higher education colleges are tuition-free for
students as of 2019.
The adult literacy rate was
estimated at 92.7% in 2015.
Economy
Sugar cane plantation in Mauritius
Since independence from Britain in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a
low-income, agriculture-based economy to a high-income diversified economy,
based on tourism, textiles, sugar, and financial services. The economic history
of Mauritius since
independence has been called "the Mauritian Miracle" and the
"success of Africa" (Romer, 1992;
Frankel, 2010; Stiglitz, 2011).
In recent years, information
and communication technology, seafood, hospitality and property development,
healthcare, renewable energy, and education and training have emerged as
important sectors, attracting substantial investment from both local and
foreign investors.
Mauritius has no exploitable fossil fuel reserves and so relies
on petroleum products to meet most of its energy requirements. Local and
renewable energy sources are biomass, hydro, solar and wind energy. The country
will be potentially among the main winners after the global transition to
renewable energy is completed; it is ranked no. 8 out of 156 countries in the
index of geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition (GeGaLo Index).
Mauritius has one of the largest exclusive economic zones in
the world, and in 2012 the government announced its intention to develop the
marine economy.
Mauritius is ranked high in terms of economic competitiveness,
a friendly investment climate, good governance and a free economy. The Gross
Domestic Product (PPP) was estimated at US$29.187 billion in 2018, and GDP
(PPP) per capita was over US$22,909, the second highest in Africa.
Mauritius has a high-income economy, according to the World
Bank in 2019. The World Bank's 2019 Ease of Doing Business Index ranks Mauritius 13th
worldwide out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business. According to
the Mauritian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country's challenges are heavy
reliance on a few industry sectors, high brain drain, scarcity of skilled
labour, ageing population and inefficient public companies and para-statal
bodies.
Mauritius has built its success on a free market economy.
According to the 2019 Economic Freedom of the World report, Mauritius is
ranked as having the 9th most free economy in the world.
Financial services
According to the Financial
Services Commission, financial and insurance activities contributed to 11.1% of
the country's GDP in 2018. Over the years, Mauritius has been positioning
itself as the preferred hub for investment into Africa due its strategic
location between Asia and Africa, hybrid regulatory framework, ease of doing
business, investment protection treaties, non-double taxation treaties, highly
qualified and multilingual workforce, political stability, low crime rate
coupled with modern infrastructure and connectivity. It is home to a number of
international banks, legal firms, corporate services, investment funds and
private equity funds. Financial products and services, includes private
banking, global business, insurance and reinsurance, limited companies,
protected cell companies, trust and foundation, investment banking, global
headquarter administration.
Despite being tagged as a tax
haven by the press due to its low tax regime, the country has built up a solid
reputation by making use of best practices and adopting a strong legal and
regulatory framework to demonstrate its compliance with international demands
for greater transparency. In June 2015, Mauritius adhered to the
multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, and
currently has an exchange information mechanism with 127 jurisdictions. Mauritius is a
founding member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti Money Laundering Group
and has been at the forefront in the fight against money laundering and other
forms of financial crime. The country has adopted exchange of information on an
automatic basis under the Common Reporting Standard and the Foreign Accounts
Tax Compliance Act. Mauritius
is not on the European Union blacklist. Furthermore, Mauritius appears on the
OECD white list of jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the
internationally agreed tax standards. The OECD white list looks at
jurisdictions from multiple angles; tax transparency, fair taxation, the
implementation of OECD BEPS measures and substance requirements for zero-tax
countries.
Tourism
Mauritius is a major tourist destination, and the tourism
sector is the fourth contributor to the Mauritian economy. The island nation
enjoys a tropical climate with clear warm sea waters, beaches, tropical fauna
and flora complemented by a multi-ethnic and cultural population. The forecast
of tourist arrivals for the year 2019 is maintained at 1,450,000, representing
an increase of 3.6% over the figure of 1,399,408 in 2018.
Mauritius currently has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites,
namely, Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape. Additionally, Black River Gorges National Park
is currently in the UNESCO tentative list.
Transport
Since 2005 public buses in Mauritius have
been free of charge for students, people with disabilities and senior citizens.
There is currently a railway project under construction in Mauritius, former
privately owned industrial railways having been abandoned. The harbour of Port Louis handles international trade
as well as a cruise terminal. The sole international airport for civil aviation
is Sir Seewoosagur
Ramgoolam International
Airport, which also serves as the home
operating base for the national airline Air Mauritius; the airport authority
inaugurated a new passenger terminal in September 2013. Another airport is the
Sir Gaetan Duval Airport in Rodrigues. Mauritius has a serious traffic
problem due to the high number of road users, particularly car drivers. To
solve the traffic congestion issue, the government has embarked on the Metro
Express project. The line starts from Port
Louis and will go to Curepipe when completed. The
first phase of the project was completed in January 2020 while the second phase
will be completed in 2021.
Architecture
The distinctive architecture
of Mauritius reflects the
island nation's history as a colonial trade base connecting Europe
with the East. Styles and forms introduced by Dutch, French, and British
settlers from the seventeenth century onward, mixed with influences from India and East Africa,
resulted in a unique hybrid architecture of international historic, social, and
artistic significance. Mauritian structures present a variety of designs,
materials, and decorative elements that are unique to the country and inform
the historical context of the Indian Ocean and
European colonialism
Decades of political, social,
and economic change have resulted in the routine destruction of Mauritian
architectural heritage. Between 1960 and 1980, the historic homes of the
island's high grounds, known locally as campagnes, disappeared at alarming
rates. More recent years have witnessed the demolition of plantations, residences,
and civic buildings as they have been cleared or drastically renovated for new
developments to serve an expanding tourism industry. The capital city of Port Louis remained
relatively unchanged until the mid-1990s, yet now reflects the irreversible
damage that has been inflicted on its built heritage. Rising land values are
pitted against the cultural value of historic structures in Mauritius,
while the prohibitive costs of maintenance and the steady decline in
traditional building skills make it harder to invest in preservation.
The general populace
historically lived in what are termed creole houses.
Literature
Prominent Mauritian writers
include Marie-Therese Humbert, Malcolm de Chazal, Ananda Devi, Shenaz Patel,
Khal Torabully, J. M. G. Le Clézio, Aqiil Gopee and Dev Virahsawmy. J. M. G. Le
Clezio, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2008, is of Mauritian
heritage and holds dual French-Mauritian citizenship. The island plays host to
the Le Prince Maurice Prize. In keeping with the island's literary culture the
prize alternates on a yearly basis between English-speaking and French-speaking
writers.
Music
The major musical genres of Mauritius are
Sega and its fusion genre, Seggae, Bhojpuri folk songs, Indian movie music
especially Bollywood, and Classical music mainly Western classical music and
Indian classical music.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Mauritius is a
combination of Indian, Creole, French and Chinese, with many dishes unique to
the island. Spices are also a major component of Mauritian cuisine. One famous
drink originating from Mauritius
is Alouda, a cold beverage made with milk, basil seeds, and agar-agar jelly.
Sports
The most popular sport in Mauritius is
football and the national team is known as The Dodos or Club M. Other popular
sports in Mauritius
include cycling, table tennis, horse racing, badminton, volleyball, basketball,
handball, boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding and
athletics. Water sports include swimming, sailing, scuba diving, windsurfing
and kitesurfing.
Horseracing, which dates from
1812 when the Champ de Mars Racecourse was inaugurated, remains popular. The
country hosted the second (1985), fifth (2003) and tenth editions (2019) of the
Indian Ocean Island Games. Mauritius
won its first Olympic medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing when boxer Bruno Julie won the bronze
medal.
In golf, the former Mauritius
Open and the current AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open have been part of the European
Tour.
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