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Think of endless white sand beaches and about a hundred shades of blue in the ocean. Add miles of lush sugarcane plantations, abundant bird life and scenic mountains. Garnish with a fascinating potpourri of cultures, colourful traditions and festivals and you have Mauritius. The island of Mauritius has come into its own as a tropical paradise in the popular imagination, a reputation it thoroughly deserves. Mauritius has an interesting history of ethnic immigration – Indian, Chinese and African that offers to the traveler a microcosm of world cultures in addition to its amazing natural beauty.

So come to Mauritius to enjoy the land, the wonderful mix of cultures, the sunny beaches of glittering sand and scintillating aquamarine waters. Lie back in the sun and have a relaxed holiday, pack in your days with a variety of water sports or take a one of a kind underwater sea walk and view the fabulous corals and marine life, hike up into the mountains or shake your hips and practice the sega dance, sunbathe or watch the dolphins frolic in the water.

Whatever you choose, beware – you may never want to leave

from this island in the sun!

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Have you ever wondered where that phrase ‘as dead as a Dodo’ originated? Right here in Mauritius. The Dodo was a bird found only in Mauritius and lost the power and will to fly because there was no need to hunt for it – there was an abundance of food available! The Dodo has now been extinct for over 300 years but the catchy phrase lives on!

The sensual ‘sega’ dance has its origins in Africa. Legend has it that after a hard days labour on the fields the slaves let their hair down at night and danced to the beat of the music as a form of relief. Today the sega dance is very much a part of Mauritian culture and is performed by young and old at weddings and other happy occasions.

Creole is the language spoken in Mauritius by nearly all the people who live there. Creole is a French based language with a sprinkling of Chinese, African and Bhojpuri words. Interesting!

Historically Speaking

Believe it or not, this beautiful island was uninhabited until the end of the 16th century (although Arab, Malay and Portuguese mariners stopped here several times before that). Mauritius was finally settled by the Dutch in 1598, who stayed till 1710, and gave Mauritius its name after the Dutch king Maurice. The period of Dutch colonial rule was environmentally disastrous for Mauritius—it resulted in massive deforestation due to the setting up of sugarcane plantations, the destruction of existing biodiversity and the extermination of indigenous wildlife (most famously, the dodo).

The next phase of colonization belongs to the French—they imported African slaves and administered profitable plantations that produced sugar, cotton, indigo, cloves, nutmeg and other spices. The French found Mauritius a convenient base to torment British ships on their way to India. This merry game of ‘imperialists and pirates’ continued till 1810, when the British finally defeated the French. To add insult to injury, the French were forced to cede Mauritius to the British at the end of the Napoleonic wars, although the British promised to

retain many existing French customs.

1835—slavery was abolished on the island, leading to a massive labour shortage. Solution? Simple—import indentured labourers from India. This was carried out on such a large scale that the ethnic composition of the island was altered forever--today, about 70% of the population is of Indian descent.

The main political resistance to colonial rule was carried on through the Labour Party that was formed in 1936 and was initially dominated by Franco-Mauritian planters. By 1953, however, a coalition of Indo-Mauritians had come to dominate the party and under the call to ‘defend the Hindu interest’, secured an electoral majority. In reaction, most of the Creole population joined the conservative PMSD, thus fracturing working class unity.

Formal independence came in 1968, by which time Seewoosagar Ramgoolam’s Labour Party-CAM (Muslim) had formed a pro-South Africa, pro-France conservative ruling coalition with the PMSD. A leftist alliance between the far-left MMM and the PSM led by Anerod Jugnauth from 1983-95 gave Mauritius an alternative from the pre-exisitng semi-authoritarian rule. However, the conservatives came back to power in 1995, led by Navin Ramgoolam, the son of former Prime Minister Seewoosagar Ramgoolam.

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Habitat

Mauritius is a volcanic island (don’t worry, no active volcanoes!) roughly the size of Luxembourg, located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa. The dimensions are 65kms north to south and 45 kms in width. As a country, it also includes the island of Rodrigues, and a few coral atolls like Cargados Carajos and Agalega. Mauritius is surrounded by coral reefs and white sand beach, broken dramatically at points like Souillac and Le Bouchon.

Mauritian flora and fauna have been adversely affected by the various early settlers like the Dutch, French and British, who cleared large tracts of forest to make way for plantations. In terms of wildlife , there are few impressive animals. Javanese deer (introduced by the Dutch), wild pig, macaque monkeys and various breeds of domestic guard dog (!) is about all you will get to see.

The bird life is much more varied, and includes many rare species like the pink pigeon, the echo parakeet, the Mauritian kestrel and various songbird species introduced to the island. About a third of the 900 plant species found on the island are endemic

to it, like the giant banyans, casuarinas and red-flowering flamboyants. A mere 1% of the original forest cover remains on the island, which is now zealously protected in reserves and parks with restricted entry to visitors. However, Marine life has much to offer, including corals, turtles, dolphin, sharks and four species of whale.

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