More Information Mauritius

Off major shipping routes, Mauritius remained uninhabited until the 16th century, allowing it to develop into one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. It was favoured by pirates and occupied briefly by the Dutch before the French brought African slaves to work the sugar plantations. Captured by the British in 1810, Mauritius achieved independence in 1968. Its diversification into textiles, tourism and, of late, financial services, telecommunications and cyber services has been an Indian Ocean economic success story. So too has its stable multicultural society.

Descendants of Indian labourers brought in after the abolition of slavery in 1835 now comprise 70% of the population, and Chinese and Muslim traders add to a French and Creole cultural legacy. This friendly co-existence of cultures expresses itself in croissants for breakfast and curry for dinner, and garish Indian temples near French colonial mansions.