Conclusion

As has been observed, the early period of British occupation of Mauritius was fundamentally influenced by the problems inherent in enforcing the abolition of the slave trade. An enduring point of contention between new and old colo­nists for decades, the issue became directly linked to the establishment of British authority on the French-dominated island.

the commercial viability of the colony. His particular style of administration was briefly interrupted by Hall and Darling, whose governorships took a different tone. However, while they sought to implement metropolitan policy more strin­gently, they did so in a way that failed to strengthen the colonial government locally. Implementing an effective administration in the context of the slave trade provided a potential avenue for the British to strongly assert their authority in Mauritius, but none of the governors appear to have found it feasible to do so. In the process, the population of Mauritius swelled with illegally imported slaves, and the lives of those who survived the journey, and of those who did not, were inevitably left unaccounted for.

With Farquhar’s final departure after his second tenure, the slavery question confronting the governors of Mauritius became more pressing, for not only did slave-holding become more important due to an expansion of the sugar industry, but amelioration and ultimately abolition were British policies to be implemented among a very hostile French population.

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