Challenging paradigms

The lack of a native people in Mauritius presents a variation on the more com­mon colonial paradigm in which settlers graft a community on top of an indig­enous population. The development from a created plantation society, inhabited by colonists and their imported workforce, to modern multi-ethnic state invites detailed analysis, not at least because colonial history remains evident in every aspect of Mauritian life.

Despite Mauritius’ advances as a largely industrialized and politically stable country, the island’s inhabitants continue to experience the legacy of their colo­nial past strongly and are, consciously or not, even repeating certain colonial patterns. Social migration and economic diversification notwithstanding, the white minority still exerts a disproportionate amount of influence in the private sector, with the black population largely continuing to suffer manifest disad­vantage in terms of progress and opportunities. The Indo-Mauritian experience has been overall on a more upward trajectory, but nevertheless represents an arduous journey. As can be inferred, the issue of “race” remains an important one because of an informal segregation that is evident in Mauritian society, politics and economy.

This work examines the role law played in influencing Mauritian society. The main matter of concern is the social effect of law, as initially introduced and devel­oped during the colonial period. Carlo Ginzburg argues that the relevance of microhistory is intrinsic to the object of study and therefore provides “an oppor­tunity to subvert pre-existing hierarchies”.^[91] Achieving a subversion of canonical Mauritian history is certainly among the aims of this work.

1.3.3