The French Period
After the departure of the Dutch 1n 1710, Guillaume Dufresne D'Arsel, while on the route to India, landed in Mauritius in September 1715 and claimed the island for France. He named Mauritius 'Ile de France'. However it was only in 1721 that the French started their occupation of the island.
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But real progress on their settlement started only as from 1735 with the arrival of the most illustrious of French Governors, Bertrand François Mahé de Labourdonnais (See his picture on the left). Under Mahé de Labourdonnais, Port Louis on the northwest coast became the principal harbour of the island. With the help of slaves sugar cane cultivation became a full-blown success. Roads (linking Port Louis to other parts of the island), barracks, office buildings, mansions and houses were built rapidly in order to accommodate for the pace at which the island was prospering.
The strategic location of Ile de France in the Indian Ocean was a real asset to the French. History has it that during the Napoleonic wars Ile de France was used as a base from where French corsairs mounted successful raids on British commercial ships sailing between Europe and the East. In fact the French caused so much havoc to British interests by such means that Britain finally decided to take action against the French threat. In December 1810 the British landed on the north of Ile de France and captured the island from the French after a fierce battle. Click here to find out more about the British success story in Mauritius.
The British Period
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 RobertThe Dutch Period
In 1598 the Dutch came into the scene when Vice Admiral Vybrant Van Warwick claimed the island for the Netherlands and named it Mauritius in honour of his ruler, Prince Maurice of Nassau (Pictured onNational Historical Naval Museum
The well-planned wide streets in the old section of Mahébourg still bear testimony to this Dutch and French colonial past. After the French chose Port Louis as the main port Mahébourg declined intoPeople & Culture
Mauritius owes its fame to sites of spectacular beauty, at the cost of forgetting that it is also an amazing melting-pot of cultures and traditions we now invite you to discover.
Mauritius is a
Info on Business, Tourism, Media, Sport, Culture
Mauritius is a small island situated in the Indian Ocean. We are connected via direct flights to almost every capital city. So getting there is relatively easy.
The island is about 720 square miles
Classic Stamps of Mauritius
The Island of Mauritius is famous for 2 of the rarest stamps in the World, the 1847 "Post Office" Penny Orange and Twopence Blue. This site is dedicated to the first stamps of this Paradise on Earth