Special Holidays in Mauritius

The first people to set foot on the island of Mauritius were Arab sailors and merchants. Arabs merchant ships have been sailing the Indian Ocean for centuries. Important trading routes linked the east coast of Africa and Madagascar with the Arabian Peninsula, India and Indonesia. The Mascarenes Islands were a long way off the usual trading routes of Arab or Indian sailors. Perhaps the islands were discovered when a cyclone caught an Arab dhow unaware and pushed it towards Mauritius. Evidence that points to the discovery of the Mascarenes Archipelago by Arab seamen comes from copies of Portuguese maps of the early 16th century that depict a group of three small islands south east of Madagascar that bear Arabic names. In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama succeeded in rounding the Cape of Good Hope and called at various Arab-Swahili cities along the East African coast on his way northwards. It was at one of those city ports that an Arab or Indian pilot showed him the way to Goa, India. Within the next ten years, numerous Portuguese expeditions explored the Indian Ocean, visiting Madagascar, the Seychelles and the Comoros Islands. Around 1507, the Portuguese seaman Fernandez Pereira sighted Mauritius and named it Cerne. The group of islands consisting of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues were given the names of Mascarenes after the Portuguese captain, Pero Mascarenhas. The Portuguese never attempted to settle on any of the Mascarene Islands. They were more interested in protecting their trade routes with India and therefore established settlements along the coast of Mozambique instead. During French colonial rule, from 1767 to 1810, the capital and main port, Port Louis, became an important centre for trade, privateering, and naval operations against the British. In addition, French planters established sugarcane estates and built up their fortunes at the expense of the labour of slaves brought from Africa. The French patois, or colloquial language, which evolved among these slaves and their freed descendants, referred to as Creole, has become the everyday language shared by most of the island's inhabitants. French is used in the media and literature, and the Franco-Mauritian descendants of the French settlers continue to dominate the sugar industry and economic life of modern Mauritius. The British captured the island in 1810 and gave up sovereignty when Mauritius became independent in 1968. During this period, the French plantation aristocracy maintained its economic, and, to a certain degree, its political prominence. The British abolished slavery but provided for cheap labour on the sugar estates by bringing nearly 500,000 indentured workers from the Indian subcontinent. The political history of Mauritius in the twentieth century revolves around the gradual economic and political empowerment of the island's Indian majority. Rentalcarmauritius.com has been experts in the field of tailor-made luxury holidays for years; we pride ourselves on delivering a premium quality service supported by the first hand expertise of our friendly and knowledgeable team who are all native to Mauritius. Our long-term relationship with the airlines and hotel partners guarantees that we will be able to provide you with the best offers and added value for your dream holiday. For your Car rental mauritius, rentalcarmauritiu is present at Plaisance airport, in the newly renovated airport building. Our staff is welcoming you. Our drive offers a high quality chauffeuring service when you rent a car. The service is provided with a range of high quality, luxury cars that are driven by friendly, fully qualified chauffeurs. For more information visit the site.

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