About Mauritius
The History of Mauritius
From Arab sailors to independence — 500 years of a remarkable island story.
Mauritius has no indigenous people. Every person on the island is descended from settlers, colonisers, enslaved Africans, or indentured labourers who arrived after 1638. It is a young society — less than 400 years old — yet it has produced one of the most diverse, stable, and prosperous nations in the world.
The island's layered history — Arab, Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, Indian, African, Chinese — is visible in its languages, its food, its architecture, its law, and its people. To understand Mauritius is to understand this history.
Timeline
Five Centuries at a Glance
Before European Contact
Arab sailors may have known the island as Dina Arobi. The island appears on Arab maps from the 9th century and was possibly visited by Malay seafarers. When Europeans arrived, it was entirely uninhabited by humans — a pristine volcanic island of dense tropical forest, endemic birds, and giant tortoises with no experience of predators.
Portuguese Discovery
Portuguese sailors Diogo Fernandes Pereira and Pedro de Mascarenhas sighted the island around 1507–1513, naming it Ilha do Cirne — Island of the Swan, likely a reference to the dodo. The Portuguese used it as a provisioning stopover but never settled permanently. The island appeared on Portuguese maps from 1519, but for a century it remained unclaimed.
Dutch Colonisation
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) landed in 1638 and named the island Mauritius after Prince Maurice of Nassau, Stadtholder of the Netherlands. They established the first permanent settlement at Grand Port on the south-east coast. The Dutch introduced sugar cane from Java — an act that would define the island's economy for the next three centuries. They also brought deer, pigs, and rats, beginning the devastation of native wildlife. The dodo was hunted and its nests destroyed by introduced animals; the last accepted sighting was in 1662 and the species was extinct by approximately 1681 — within less than 80 years of European contact. The Dutch abandoned the island twice, finally permanently in 1710, leaving behind cattle, deer, sugar cane, and rats.
The French Period
France claimed the island in 1715 and renamed it Isle de France. The capital was moved from the south-east to Port Louis, whose natural deep harbour made it a superior base. Under Governor Mahé de Labourdonnais (1735–1746), Port Louis was transformed into a major Indian Ocean port. The sugar industry developed seriously and African enslaved people were imported in large numbers to work the plantations. The island grew wealthy — and became a base for French privateers operating under government licence. The most famous, Robert Surcouf, preyed on British merchant shipping across the Indian Ocean. The French Revolution brought brief autonomy before the island was returned to French control under Napoleon.
Battle of Grand Port & British Takeover
Napoleon's wars reached the Indian Ocean. The British took Rodrigues in 1809 and Réunion in 1810. The Battle of Grand Port in August 1810 — fought in the lagoon where the Dutch had first landed — was the only significant French naval victory over the British during the entire Napoleonic Wars. It is the only battle name inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Despite this, British forces under General Abercrombie landed in the north of the island in December 1810 and the French surrendered. The Treaty of Paris in 1814 confirmed British sovereignty. Crucially, the British agreed to preserve French language, law (the Napoleonic Code), and customs — the decision that explains the island's unique dual French-British character to this day.
The British Period
Slavery was abolished in 1835 — some 66,000 enslaved people were freed. Most left the plantations. To replace this labour force, the British brought indentured workers from India between 1834 and 1921: approximately 450,000 people arrived over 90 years, primarily from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. This profoundly and permanently reshaped the island's demographics. Chinese merchants arrived from the late 19th century. The sugar industry dominated the economy; at its peak, Mauritius was one of the world's largest sugar exporters. A railway was built in the 1860s and closed in 1964. Mauritius contributed soldiers to both World Wars.
Road to Independence
The Labour Party, founded in 1936 by Dr Maurice Curé and later led by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, drove the independence movement. Universal suffrage was granted in 1958. Constitution negotiations followed. In 1965 the British detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius — a decision that remains deeply controversial and is the subject of ongoing international legal proceedings. Independence was declared on 12 March 1968. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam became the first Prime Minister. Independence Day, 12 March, remains a public holiday and the nation's most important anniversary.
Republic & Modern Era
Mauritius became a Republic within the Commonwealth on 12 March 1992. Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo became the first President. The economy underwent a dramatic transformation — sugar declined, replaced by textiles in the 1970s–80s, tourism from the 1980s, financial services from the 1990s, and ICT from the 2000s. GDP per capita is now the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and the country consistently ranks first in Africa for economic freedom, governance, and human development. The Wakashio oil spill in 2020 — when a Japanese bulk carrier ran aground at Pointe d'Esny — caused major ecological damage and galvanised environmental awareness. The sovereignty dispute over the Chagos Islands (BIOT/Diego Garcia) remains a live international issue.
Key Dates
Dates That Shaped the Island
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