The French
On 16 January 1715, equipped with instructions to take possession on behalf of King Louis XIV, Guillaume Dufresne d'Arsel arrived in Mauritius and renamed it “Ile de France” as directed.[125] This designation presented not only a clear announcement of ownership, but also proved indicative of the colonial ambitions for the island.
Neighbouring Reunion, then known as Ile de Bourbon, had been occupied by France since the mid-17th century.[126]It is during nearly a century under French rule that Mauritius made the transition from rough and untamed territory into a diversely populated, flourishing colony. The French Governor Mahe de Labourdonnais, who arrived in 1735, has been mainly credited with the extraordinary transformation that took place. His vision for the island included vast constructions, including the erection of the capital city Port Louis, an extensive infrastructure, experimentations with a variety of agricultural crops, and the establishment of Mauritius as a shipping hub for imports from Asia.[127] The creation of an advanced port, internal order and a steady food supply were significant milestones in the development of island, leaving Labourdonnais to be remembered as the father of the colony.[128] The workforce for his endeavours was brought predominantly from the African continent in the form of slaves, which alongside the arrival of Indian traders, marks the beginning of the multi-ethnicity now idiosyncratic of Mauritius.
Political administration closely followed the events in France despite the considerable distance between metropolis and colony. The French period is
Historical background 35 distinguished by four political regimes: after the initial public administration through the French East India Company to 1767, representatives of the monarchy took over until 1790, with colonial revolutionary assemblies in charge up to 1803, which were then replaced by officers of the Napoleonic empire until British conquest in 1810.[129]
In the early days, the existence of a Conseil Superieur (a principal court of justice) on the Ile de Bourbon only indicates that Mauritius was initially administered from the neighbouring island.[130] A subordinate jurisdiction existed in the form of a Conseil Provincial (or provincial court) in Mauritius, from which appeals were permitted to the superior court in Bourbon.
This applied to civil matters and for most crimes, with an exception to slaves, in whose cases the decision of the lower court was deemed definitive and final. It was not until 1734, under Governor Labourdonnais, that a Conseil Superieur was established in Mauritius, constituting then the only court of justice on the island constituted by seven judges for both civil and criminal matters, ceasing any further appeals to Bourbon with all judgments being definitive.[131]A monopoly of Indian Ocean trade had been granted to a company, the Com- pagnie des Indes Orientales, their colonial endeavours funded by the Crown. Originally set up in 1664 by Jean Baptist Colbert, famous as the mercantilist minister of King Louis XIV, hopes for this new organization ran high, as evident from the capitalization set at 15 million livres.[132] Headed by 12 directors elected by the merchant community at a conference, it enjoyed considerable royal support, with the Crown subscribing to three million livres worth of shares immediately. A rival company, the Compagnie d'Orient held trading rights until 1667, but accepted an indemnity by way of 20,000 livres worth of shares in the new body.[133] Grand aspirations notwithstanding, the organization proved a commercial failure, mainly to due to a lack of funding. It may however be considered a political success, since it allowed the French to permanently establish themselves at Bourbon (Reunion island) and India, while also setting up a regular flow of trade.[134]
In the administration of justice in Mauritius, the Compagnie was highly influential, for the members of Conseil Superieur “were liable to be removed at the pleasure of the directors of the East India Company in France, upon
whose recommendation also their successors were appointed by the king.”[135] The period of company administration ceased in 1766 when a new Conseil Superieur was appointed by royal edict. From 1767 onward, the court system, both in its structure and the composition of members, became increasingly more complex.[136] In terms of legislation, regulations from 1670 continued to govern criminal proceedings, while civil matters fell under the Coutume de Paris, local regulations and “such other Laws and ordinances, as having been made for the Kingdom in general”.[137] The legal profession itself came to flourish, represented extensively by avocats (barristers), procureurs (attorneys) and notaires (notaries).[138]
The laws were however not applied uniformly.
The population was divided into three groups, each of which had its own legal regime.[139] The regulations as set out above applied only to the white population, which in the Mauritian context was almost exclusively of French origin. Governing the conduct of slaves was the Code Noir, promulgated in Mauritius on 18 September 1724 as the Lettres-Patentes of December 1723.[140]The Code Noir had been employed by France since 1685 and the Lettres- Patentes introduced in Bourbon and Mauritius were a slightly modified version specifically designed for the islands.[141] [142] The Code contained provisions characteristic to the definition of slavery. Explicitly defined as chattels (Article 39: “ Voulons que les esclaves soient reputes meubles,,)i6, slaves were inheritable as personal assets. They could not hold any kind of property themselves (Articles 21 and 22), and their children were born into slavery (Article 8). Crucially, slaves lacked active legal personality (for example Articles 23 and 24 stipulate that they could not be parties or witnesses in civil proceedings), but they nevertheless held legal responsibility (as for example for theft, see Articles 28 and 29) and could be prosecuted independently of their owners (Article 25). The very existence of regulation and its attending level of judicial oversight, no matter how limited, lead early commentators to argue that the Code Noir Historical background 37 represented a significant humanitarian achievement of the time.[143] However, practice showed that the Code was never fully observed, and slave-holding remained characterized by unfettered sadistic treatment, even if, as it is sometimes held, the situation in Mauritius may have been better than elsewhere in the French Empire.[144] Chapter 3 outlines the importance of slaves to colonial society on the island, which, as will be seen, was fundamental. By contrast, the situation of the “coloured” population (meaning free nonwhites and liberated slaves), involved an intermediate regime. Ostensibly, by virtue of the Edict of 1723, the gens de couleur had the same rights and privileges as the white population, but in practice they were stigmatized by their ethnicity: they were excluded from being able to exercise a legal or medical profession, have a public office or hold any kind of position of trust, and socially, black heritage denied access to the white class and their circles.[145] While in the years following the French revolution, certain resolutions were taken by the Colonial Assembly to achieve a level of political equality, in 1804 under General Decaen (the last French governor), in a return to military rule, the former restrictions were reinstated.[146] 2.5