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According to the Mauritius history, the land was discovered by the Malays and Arabs during the middle ages, around 975 AD. Later, the region was visited by the Portuguese sailors in the 16th century. The Portuguese however did not settle in the island. The Dutch settlers left the island quite early and it was left to the mercy of the pirates for quite a few years. The next colony to acquire the governance of Mauritius was the French colony, which came to the country via the French East India Company.
Pre-Independence Mauritius History
Mauritius history records show that the island was under the Dutch dominance from 1598 to 1710. The island received its name from the Dutch settlers, who named it after Prince Maurice of Nassau. Before they left the land in the year 1710, the Dutch introduced two things in Mauritius, Java deer and sugarcane. They moved on to the Cape of Good Hope from Mauritius; five years later the French visited this island country.
The French took Mauritius as their homeland in 1715, during the month of September. The French invasion was followed by Guillaume Dufresne d’Arsel’s possession of the country, under the reign of King Louis XV. The French flag was posted at the place, which is now famous as the Port Louis. They gave Mauritius the name of “Ile de France”, after which it became a significant point enroute to India.
Mauritius history claims that the sugarcane plantation in the island was introduced by the French. Some scholars of Mauritian history also opine that these plantations required laborers, which were imported from other parts of Africa. The island was captured by British in 1810, which was followed by the restoration of the Dutch name. The abolition of slavery in1835 resulted in the hiring of the indentured laborers from India.
The Indians, as per the Mauritius history, gained power after the 1947 constitution, before which power mostly resided in the hands of the French and the Creoles. In the 1950s and 60s, many Indian leaders supported the independence movement, which took place in the History of Mauritius. The country acquired freedom in 1968.
Post-Independence Mauritius History
The year 1968 witnessed the independence of the island as a part of the Commonwealth of Nations. At that juncture, Queen Elizabeth II was the Head of States, who was represented by the Governor General. The first prime minister in the history of Mauritius was Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. An emergency state was declared in the year 1971 due to a tremendous social as well as industrial unrest. The emergency was declared due to the Mouvement Militant Mauricien or the MMM. Paul Berenger, one of the leading figures in the movement, along with other leaders was sent to jail for one year.
The 1982 election saw the capture of all the 62 seats by the MMM, under the presidentship of Anerood Jugnauth with Paul Berenger as its General Secretary. After the victory, Jugnauth gained the position of the prime minister of Mauritius, while Berenger became the Finance Minister. Mauritius became independent as a republic nation within the Commonwealth, in the year 1992.
There has been a dramatic change in the entire economic structure of Mauritius since its independence. The country is no longer only a sugarcane producing island. The diversification policy taken by the government has helped the island emerge from a single crop industry to a large tourism industry. The textile and the agricultural sector are equally flourishing in the island.
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