Mauritius was known to the early Arab traders, as it can 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 ways to Goa and Malacca, but did not settle.

The first attempt at colonisation was made by the Dutch, who arrived in 1598, and named the island Mauritius, after Prince Maurice of Nassau. They introduced sugar, Malagasy slaves, and a herd of Javanese deer.

The Dutch were heedlessly destructive and were responsible for the disappearance of the magnificent ebony forests and the extinction of the Dodo. They eventually abandoned their settlements in 1710.

The French occupied the island between 1715 and 1810, and renamed it Isle de France, and today many place names are reminders of this period. Mahé de Labourdonnais, who took over as governor in 1735, rebuilt Port Louis and opened the first sugar mill.

In 1810, with the British takeover, the name reverted to Mauritius. The abolition of slavery then led to the importation of Indian and Chinese labourers who were followed by traders of same nationalities. Mauritius obtained independence from Britain on 12 March 1968, and since then has been an independent sovereign nation within the commonwealth.Under the Constitution, which is based on the Westminster model, political power is vested in the Prime Minister and the cabinet.

Elections are usually held every five years. Mauritius became a Republic 0n 12 March 1992. Population Mauritius has a population estimated at 1,150226 people, with about 35 663 on Rodrigues island, a small dependency which forms part of Mauritius. The percentage rate of population growth is 1.1 per annum and the density is approximately 578 per square kilometre. Mauritius has a young educated population, which is remarkable for its ethnic diversity with Mauritians of Indian, African, European and Chinese origin. This has produced a brew of languages, religions and customs.

English is the official language but almost everyone speaks French. Oriental languages, especially Bhojpuri, Hindi and Hakka figure prominently but Creole remains the "Lingua Franca".
 
Mauritius - Gastronomy

The cuisine of Mauritius is a blend of Creole, Chinese, European and Indian influences. It is common for a combination of cuisines to form part of the same meal.

Mauritius has had strong ties with French culture throughout its history and was left with a very French "savoir vivre". The popularity of French dishes like the daube, civet de lièvre or coq au vin served with good wine show the prevalence of French culture in Mauritius even today. As years passed by, some have been adapted to the more exotic ingredients of the island to confer some unique flavor.

During the nineteenth century, after the abolition of slavery, Indian workers who migrated to Mauritius brought their cuisine with them. Those indentured labourers came from different parts of India, each with their own culinary tradition, depending on the region.

The end of the 19th century saw the arrival of Chinese migrants, who came mostly from the south-eastern part of China.

Along the years, each community has adapted and mixed each other's cuisine to their liking.

The production of rum is common throughout the island. Sugarcane was first introduced on the island when the Dutch colonised it in 1638. Even then, the propensity of making rum out of sugarcane was strongly recognised. Sugarcane was mainly cultivated for the production of "arrack", a precursor to rum. Only much later, after almost 60 years, the first proper sugar was produced.

However, it was during the French and English administration that sugar production was fully exploited, which considerably contributed to the economical development of the island. It was Pierre Charles François Harel who in 1850 initially proposed the concept of local distillation of rum in Mauritius. In part due to his efforts, Mauritius today houses three distilleries (Grays, Medine and St Aubin) and is in the process of opening an additional three.

Mauritius - Climate and Weather

The Island of Mauritius is situated in the southern hemisphere just above the Tropic of Capricorn with a tropical climate, with only two seasons inverted compared to the north hemisphere.

The temperatures are generally constant during the whole year with an average of 27ºC in summer and 20ºC in winter. Unlike the northern hemisphere, there are only two seasons namely the austral summer and winter.

The island is quite small in size with noticeable differences among the coastal regions and the central plateau and which generates microclimates. The northern and western regions get an average of 2600 hours of sunshine yearly and whereas the east and the south are more windy and rainy as in the center of the island where the temperature drops to 12ºC in the evening. The average temperature varies from 23ºC in winter to 28ºC in summer with some peaks in the hot season reaching 31ºC.

The Austral Summer
From November to April, it's the austral summer; a humid and hot season with temperatures of 28ºC to 35ºC during the day and 22ºC at night. It's quite rainy in the months of February and March with sometimes heavy rain and whereas the northern and western coasts are generally more sunny with less rain than the other parts of the island.

From mid December to March, it's the cyclonic season and quite rare that the island is being hit but once in the vicinity, it brings lots of winds and heavy rains. Once there is an alert 4, the maximum, the population is advised to take all necessary measures and mostly not to venture outside and to find a good shelter where security is guaranteed.

The Austral Winter
From June to September, a nice and pleasant climate, with less heat. Temperatures vary from 24ºC during the day and 17ºC at night and once the northern and western regions remain nicer and less windy. But if you would like to windsurf and kite surf, we advise you the southern and eastern coasts because of the wind.

The winter season is quite pleasant in Mauritius, nothing to compare with the European winter, with "acceptable" weather, and the temperature of the lagoon is between 22 and 23°C.
 
Mauritius - Geography

The island of Mauritius occupies a choice section of the Indian Ocean. It is situated on the 20th parallel, just north of the tropic of Capricorn, and is on the 57/35th longitude, east of Greenwich.

Mauritius is approximately 355 kms off the east coast of Madagascar, Africa being the nearest continent, with Mombassa some 1800 kms away. It is about 11 hours flight from the main European countries and 7 hours from Singapore.

It is a volcanic island, 10 million years old, only 1865 square kilometres in area. The central plateau reaches 600 meters in altitude with the highest peak, le Piton de la Rivière Noire, and hitting 828 meters.

The coastline of 1600 kms is almost entirely surrounded by one of the largest unbroken coral reefs in the world. In the summer months of November to April, the temperature varies from 20 to 35ºC. The hours of daylight are approximately from 05.00 to 19.00 in summer and 06.00 to 18.00 in winter.

The cyclonic season is between November and March. Port Louis is the economic and administrative capital city. It is also a modern, well-equipped and efficiently operated port.

A Free Port has recently been created and is operating.

Population

Mauritius has a population estimated at 1,2M people, with about 35 663 on Rodrigues island, a small dependency which forms part of Mauritius.
The percentage rate of population growth is 1.1 per annum and the density is approximately 578 per square kilometre. Mauritius has a population estimated at 1,2M people, with about 35 663 on Rodrigues island, a small dependency which forms part of Mauritius.
The percentage rate of population growth is 1.1 per annum and the density is approximately 578 per square kilometre.

Mauritius has a young educated population, which is remarkable for its ethnic diversity with Mauritians of Indian, African, European and Chinese origin.
This has produced a brew of languages, religions and customs.
English is the official language but almost everyone speaks or understands French or reads it in the newspapers.
Oriental languages, especially Bhojpuri, Hindi and Hakka figure prominently but Creole remains the "Lingua Franca".

Population 1,2M