British Mauritius

Mauritius
1810–1968
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Stella Clavisque Maris Indici"  (Latin) "Star and Key of the Indian Ocean"
Anthem: God Save the Queen
Location of the Crown Colony of Mauritius
Status	Crown Colony
Capital	Port Louis
Common languages	Mauritian creole, English, French, Chagossian creole
Government	Crown Colony
Governor
• 1810–1823	Robert Townsend Farquhar
• 1962–1968	John Shaw Rennie
Chief Minister
• 1961–1968	Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
History
• Established	3 December 1810
• Treaty of Paris	30 May 1814
• Seychelles separated as a crown colony	1903
• Agreement between the British and the French for Tromelin Island	1954
• Detachment of the Chagos Archipelago and BIOT formed	8 November 1965
• Independence	12 March 1968
Area
1952	2,103.17 km2 (812.04 sq mi)
1962	2,103.17 km2 (812.04 sq mi)
Population
• 1952	516,556
• 1962	701,016
Currency	Mauritian dollar (1820–1877) Mauritian rupee (1877–1968)
Preceded by Succeeded by Isle de France (Mauritius) Crown colony of Seychelles Tromelin British Indian Ocean Territory Mauritius (Commonwealth realm)
Today part of	Mauritius Seychelles French Southern and Antarctic Lands British Indian Ocean Territory

British Mauritius was a British crown colony.

Isle de France, which consisted of Mauritius and some other islands, had been under French rule since 1715. However, during the Napoleonic Wars, despite the French naval victory in the Battle of Grand Port on 20–27 August 1810, Mauritius was captured on 3 December 1810 by the British under Commodore Josias Rowley. British possession of the island was confirmed four years later by the Treaty of Paris. Nonetheless, French institutions, including the Napoleonic Code of law, were maintained, and the French language was still more widely used than English.

The British administration, with Robert Townsend Farquhar as the first governor, brought about rapid social and economic changes. One of the most important was the abolition of slavery on 1 February 1835. The planters received a compensation of two million pounds sterling for the loss of their slaves, who had been imported from Africa and Madagascar during the French occupation.

The Mauritian Creole people trace their origins to the plantation owners and slaves who worked in the sugar fields. Indo-Mauritians are descended from Indian immigrants who arrived in the 19th century via the Aapravasi Ghat in order to work as indentured laborers after slavery was abolished. Included in the Indo-Mauritian community are Muslims (about 17% of the population) from the Indian subcontinent. In 1885, a new constitution was introduced. The Franco-Mauritian elite controlled nearly all of the large sugar estates and was active in business and banking. As the Indian population became numerically dominant and the voting franchise was extended, political power shifted from the Franco-Mauritians and their Creole allies to the Indo-Mauritians.

Conflicts arose between the Indian community (mostly sugarcane labourers) and the Franco-Mauritians in the 1920s, leading to several (mainly Indian) deaths. Following this, the Mauritius Labour Party was founded in 1936 by Maurice Cure to safeguard the interest of the labourers. Cure was succeeded a year later by Emmanuel Anquetil, who tried to gain the support of the port workers. After his death, Guy Rozemond took over the leadership of the party.

See also

• British governor of Mauritius