About Mauritius
Location | Early History | The Dutch Period | The French Period | The British Period | Mauritius Today
The British Period
In December 1810 the British made
a second attempt to capture Ile de France from the
French. This time they changed their tactics and landed
in the north of the island. They marched towards Port
Loius in the northwest and defeated the French.
After the capture of the island from the French the British re-named Ile de France 'Mauritius' and Port Louis was retained as the principal harbour. British administration started with Robert Farquhar as the first Governor. In terms of economic development the British took over from where the French left.
In the years to come Mauritius witnessed marked economic and social changes. One of the most important events, which had major repercussions on the socio-economic and demographic fields, was the abolition of slavery in 1835. The British Government granted the sugar cane planters a compensation of two million pounds sterling for the loss of their slaves which had been imported from Africa and Madagascar during the French occupation.
With no slaves to work in the sugar cane plantations the planters imported indentured labourers in large numbers. The Indian immigrants( mainly Hindus, Muslims and Tamils) were later joined by a small number of petty chinese traders.
It can be said that Mauritius, like Ile de France, was a success story under the rule of different British Governors. However during the 1930s and 1940s Mauritian nationalism became active in the political arena. Mauritius got its independance from Britain on 12th March 1968. Click here to find out more about modern Mauritius.