Early history of Mauritius (A brief outlook)

The Early History of Mauritius

(A Short Briefing on factual events)

~ By Vimal Kodai ~

MAURITIUS

The first inhabitants and initial dwellers of Mauritius were none other than the Dodo Birds: they were the first to have originated from the island, their scientific name was Raphus Cucullatus, and, they were flightless birds which stood 3 feet tall and weighed about 40 lb. Due to their inabilities to fly and to run fast, they had the very unfortunate fate of facing the aggressive Dutch settlers who brought this unique bird’s eminent extinction by the late 17^th century.  

The Dodo Bird (Raphus Cucullatus)

It is usually known and officially it has been recognized that Mauritius was first discovered by the Arabs (in the late 9th century or early 10th Century) and that they named the island Dina Arabi (or, Dina Arobi): the first historical evidence of the existence of an island now known as Mauritius is on a map of the globe produced by the Italian cartographer Alberto Cantino in 1502.  Cantino shows three islands which are known to represent today’s Mascarenes (consisting of Réunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues) and these were known under the Arabic names: Dina Margabin, Dina Arabi (or, Dina Arobi) and Dina Moraze.

World Map by Alberto Cantino showing (in blurred), Dina Margabin, Dina Arobi and Dina Moraze

Mauritius was visited by the Portuguese expedition (between 1507 and 1513). It was led by navigator Don Pedro Mascarenhas who visited the island and called it Ilha des Cirné (or, Ilha des Cirne after their sailing ship Cirne). It is also believed that the captain of the ship Cirne, Diego Fernando Pereira, was the claimer of this temporary settlement. The fact which remained set and well accepted is that Don Pedro Mascarenhas led the entire expedition to the Mascarene Islands (these consist of Réunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues), but similar to what the Arabs before them had done, the Portuguese also used Ilha des Cirne as a port of call and never established any permanent settlement.

Map of the World by Diego Ribeiro showing (in blurred) The Mascarenes

In 1598, the Dutch in their quests for lands of fortune, heading Easterly across the Indian Ocean, landed at Vieux Grand Port (which they named Port Warwick). Port Warwick was located in the south east of the island, and was later named Bourg Mahé (after the French governor, Mahé de Labourdonnais). Mauritius was named  “Mauritius” by the Dutch settlers after their Prince, Maurits Van Nassau. Unlike the Portuguese who had little influence in the Indian Ocean, the Dutch were much more powerful in the region. They had already several counters in the East and established a first settlement under the Dutch East India Company.

Portrait of Prince "Orange" Maurits Van Nassau

Mauritius (Originally named in 1598 by the Dutch)

Mauritius (Named after Prince Maurits Van Nassau)

In 1615, a shipwreck which resulted in the death of the Dutch governor, Pieter Both, who was coming back from India with four richly-laden ships in the bay, led Dutch sailors to consider the sea-route as cursed, and they tried to avoid it as much as possible. Those Dutch sailors who landed on the island freely cut down and took with them the precious wood of the ebony trees, then found in abundance all over the island.

Pieter Both Mountain (Named after the deceased Dutch governor, Pieter Both)

Colonisation by the Dutch started in 1638 and ended in 1715, with a brief interruption between 1658 and 1666--as they started showing more interest with the Far East, the settling in Mauritius remained very uncertain and unstable.  Various governors made their highlights while they tried to keep their colony afloat and ongoing on the island, but, continuous hardships such as: cyclones, droughts, pest infestations, lack of food, and illnesses finally took their toll, and the island began to be abandoned by these colonizers as from the year 1710. In 1712, they finally withdrew from Mauritius because of the difficult climatic conditions prevailing on the island and because it was more worthwhile to consolidate their already established base in Cape Town (South Africa).

The permanent withdrawal of the Dutch colony, allowed the French settlers to take over in 1715. The latter who were already operating in the Indian Ocean named the island: “Isle de France” (or, l’île de France). The French colonisation of the island started in 1722 and the settlers would control the island until 1810. For almost 100 years, l’île de France was developed and built up with the objective of conquering Madras and other Indian counters from the British. Under the French, colonisation was successful because they were prepared to settle and develop the infrastructure, agriculture and economy and use it as a trading post rather than just a port of call.

Ile de France (Nowadays known as Mauritius or Republic of Mauritius)

Ile de France (Shown on the map of the Indian Ocean of the early 18th Century)

Statue of  Mahé de Labourdonnais

From 1735, with the arrival of the French governor, Mahé de Labourdonnais, "Isle de France" started developing effectively. Mahé de Labourdonnais established Port Louis as a naval base and a shipbuilding centre. Under his governorship, numerous new establishments surfaced, a number of which still stand today; namely: part of Government House, The Botanical Garden of Pamplemousses, various quays and paved road, and the Line Barracks. The island was under the administration of the French East India Company which maintained its presence until 1767.

Port Louis in the 18th Century

Port Louis in the 18th Century

In 1806, the Governor General, Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen, created the city of Mahébourg, named in honour of Mahé de Labourdonnais. It was originally known as Bourg Mahé, the first harbour of Mauritius. From that year until 1810, the island was under the charge of several officials appointed by the French Government, except for a brief period during the French Revolution, when the inhabitants set up a government which was independently governed by those living in Mauritius.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the "Isle de France" (or, l’île de France) had become a base from which French corsairs organised successful raids on British commercial ships. The raids continued until 1810 when a strong British expedition was sent to capture the island. The initial attack took place at View Grand Port in August 1810, but the main one was launched in December of the same year from Rodrigues, which had been captured during the previous year by the British fleet. The successful seizure of Rodrigues by the British in 1809 was in fact one of reasons for which the naval battle of Vieux Grand Port favoured the British side among other of their plans which could not be foiled by the French.

The  naval battle of View Grand Port (Paintings showing its major highlights)

As a matter of fact, the British landed in large numbers in the north of the island and rapidly overpowered the French, who capitulated. The naval battle of Vieux Grand Port was won from both oppositely ironic directions of the island (the North-West and South-East). By the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the "Isle de France" (or, l’île de France) which was renamed Mauritius, was ceded to Great Britain, together with Rodrigues and the Seychelles. In the act of capitulation, the British guaranteed that they would respect the languages, the customs, the laws and the traditions of the inhabitants.

It was during British rule that slavery was abolished in 1835 and Indentured labourers were contracted from India. The 19th Century was a time of great change in the population structure of the island. The coloured people and immigrants greatly modified the political of the island. The 20^th Century saw a continuation of the political struggle started in the 19^th Century. Political Parties were formed and the distribution of power was reformed to accommodate the different emerging segment of the population. In 1936, the Mauritian Labour Party was created and in 1968 the island became an independent country. Sir Sewsaagar Ramgoolam became the first Prime Minister of Mauritius. He passed away at the age of 85 in the year 1985 as then the Governor General of the country. His legacy lives on to this day.

The first Prime Minister of Mauritius, Honorable Sir Sewsaagar Ramgoolam

The monument of  Sir Sewsaagar Ramgoolam in the capital city of Port Louis

NOTE:

Before the arrival of the first European navigators, the Indian Ocean already knew great movement of goods and people from Indonesia to Madagascar. Many nations such as the Malays, Chinese and Dravidians might have visited the island although no written records exist to prove this.

Bibliography -

1.

Mauritius UK Connection, (1999), History of Mauritius: www.mauritius.org.uk 
Content of Website uploaded in 1999 by Mauritius UK Connection; Retrieved from World Wide Web on the 19^th of April, 2015 from:

http://www.mauritius.org.uk/History.htm

2.

Voyaz.com, (2002), Mauritius History; voyaz.com 2002 copyright reserved; Retrieved from World Wide Web on the 19th of April, 2015 from:

http://mauritius.voyaz.com/history.htm

3.

Wikimedia Foundation Inc., (2015), History of Mauritius; From Wikipedia the Free Encyclopaedia; Uploaded on August 9^th, 2009 and updated on February 7^th, 2015; Retrieved from World Wide Web on the 19^th of April, 2015 from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mauritius