b63_1067 - 50 Cents MAURITIUS 1940 P.25a

MAURITIUS

The islands of Mauritius and Reunion were recognized by the Portuguese Pedro Mascarenhas in 1507 and visited by Domingo Fernandez in 1511. Mauritius was occupied by the Dutch from 1638. The French seized it in 1715 and the island received the name of island of France. The Compagnie des Indes settled in Port Louis in 1720. In 1810, the island was occupied by the English and became an English colony after the treaties of Paris in 1814 and 1815. Slavery was abolished in 1835 which created a serious economic crisis and the importation of Chinese or Indian coolies. Around 1860, the island had 170,000 inhabitants. English had become the official language since 1827, but French remained the vehicular language.