HISTORY
Mauritius was known to the early Arabs traders as it could be found marked on their maps, but the first visitors from Europe were the Portuguese who landed in 1510. They used the island as a victualling stop on the way to Goa and Malacca but did not settle.
The French occupied the island which
they renamed Isle de France between 1715 and 1810 and many place names are
reminders of this period.
In 1810 the British took over the
island which they called Mauritius, but allowed Franco-Mauritians to retain
their language, religion, Napoleonic Code legal system and sugar plantations.
The abolition of slavery (1835) lead to the importation of Chinese and Indian
indentured labourers, who were followed by traders of their own nationalities.
Mauritius gained independence from Britain on 12 March 1968 and since then has been an independent sovereign nation within the British Commonwealth. On 12 March 1992, Mauritius became a Republic.
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