Background
Mauritius, a group of islands commonly referred to in the singular form, is situated in the Indian Ocean southeast of Africa, and has during its history been a colony of several imperial powers.
It belonged successively to the Portuguese, the Dutch and the French, before in 1968 achieving independence from Britain. Mauritius became a British possession in 1810, obtained by conquest in local battle against France. Originally uninhabited and at the turn of the century mainly occupied by French plantation owners and African slaves, the island was initially more of strategic interest to Britain. By the mid-19th century however, Mauritius had risen to become the Empire's prime sugar-producing colony. Figure 1.1 shows a map of the main island.The procurement and retention of cheap and effective plantation labour presented a significant concern for Britain. The abolition of slavery through the Imperial Act of 1833 was expected to cause a drastic reduction in available workers. The anticipated shortfall lead to the recruitment of contract workers predominantly from India, first on a private basis at the initiative of plantation owners, and later under a government-backed scheme. Among the sugar colonies adopting this system, Mauritius became the first and largest recipient of indentured labourers from the subcontinent.
Descendants of colonists, slaves, indentured labourers and certain other groups arriving at the time make up the population of Mauritius today. The Mauritian demographic is unique and it may be said that it was “assembled” during the era in question. Modern Mauritian society presents an amalgam of different cultures and ethnicities, each seeking to protect their interests and jockeying for power, an enduring feature of life on this multi-ethnic island which effectively began in the 19th century.
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