This island group was uninhabited until the 16th century, when it was occupied by a small Dutch force that named it after Prince Maurice of Nassau. It was abandoned in 1710 and then re-occupied five years later by the French who imported African slaves to work on the sugar plantations. Mauritius and its neighbouring islands were captured by the British in 1810 and formally ceded by the 1814 Treaty of Paris.
After the abolition of slavery in the 1830s, Indian labourers were imported and their descendants now comprise more than two-thirds of the population. Incorporated into the British Empire, Mauritius remained a colony until 1957, when it was granted internal self-government with an electoral system based on the Westminster model. Full independence was granted in 1968, but the British kept a number of smaller islands, which were hived off as the British Indian Ocean Territory.
These connections to the Dutch, the British, the Indian and the African have all contributed towards Mauritius' refreshing brand of multiculturalism, which lingers within a social climate as peaceful and warm as its meteorological one. The friendliness of the Mauritian people is renowned, and you may even find yourself invited to dance the Sega, their indigenous dance, with them beneath star-filled skies. Dwarfed by other countries in factors such as total area and oil reserves, Mauritius remains colossal in terms of economic growth and political stability – and social stability.
The Mauritian climate also complements Mauritius' deep limpid blue waters, coral reefs and silky blonde piles of sand. For a while, Mauritius was a relatively unknown tourist destination, as were many islands of the Indian Ocean, but now – like most of them – it is regarded as a tropical paradise at an often-bargain price.
Concern that touristic development might impede the country's ecological progress led to an eco-touristic expansion, an earnest preservation of Mauritius' nature parks and hiking trails. There are strict policies that ensure that divers and snorkellers do not disturb Mauritius' delicate coral reefs. Officials have guaranteed that fishing and construction work will not be executed in excess. Mauritius' ecological decisions are usually under scrutiny, since this is an island made famous for its extinct bird, the Dodo, wiped out when human arrivals on the island brought livestock, which hunted the Dodo, and cleared forest space, destroying the Dodo's home. Now, Mauritius is full of birdwatching spots, where rare and interesting birds can be glimpsed, and this is a side of the island that has been eagerly promoted.
Mauritius more than anywhere deserves such gentle care of its landscape, since its stunning landscape ripples with volcanic skylines and pulsates with streams and waterfalls.
