History of Mauritius: Contribution of the Slaves
"God first made Mauritius and from it, he created Paradise." This saying from Mark Twain praises the natural beauty of Mauritius. The island’s landscapes can be mesmerizing to the eyes of everyone, but Mauritius’ culture is not any less. However, it would be too simple to classify Mauritius as having one culture as so many unique and distinctive parts forms this whole. Going to its discovery can be a journey into some of the most fascinating and refined thousands year old ancestral traditions. It is made up of the different customs and traditions of those who, during the last 400 years, have settled on these shores. They all have been brought and planted on the fertile Mauritian soils by colonists from Europe, slaves from Africa, indentured laborers from India and Pakistan (before partition) and migrants from China. These people brought with them what they have been venerating in their country of origin; their tradition and cultures. This essay will take a look at how the migrants helped shaping the language, the food culture and the folklore culture in Mauritius.
The island was first discovered by the Arabs in the 10th century and they named it Dina Robin. In 1510, the Portuguese visited the island and navigator Pedro Mascarenhas called it Cirné. “The small Portuguese element in the vocabulary of Mauritian creole derives rather from the Portuguese element in European maritime jargons (such as Sabir and Lingua Franca) or from enslaved Africans or Asians who came from areas where Portuguese was used as a trade language”1. Both the Arabs and the Portuguese did not permanently settle on the island. Instead, they just used it as a port of call in order to supply themselves in food and water. Later on, in 1598, the Dutch, while going to the East, landed at “Port Bourbon”2, now called Vieux Grand Port, in the South East of the island and they named the island “Mauritius”. Unlike the Portuguese, the Dutch decided to establishment some settlements on the island. “The
The island was first discovered by the Arabs in the 10th century and they named it Dina Robin. In 1510, the Portuguese visited the island and navigator Pedro Mascarenhas called it Cirné. “The small Portuguese element in the vocabulary of Mauritian creole derives rather from the Portuguese element in European maritime jargons (such as Sabir and Lingua Franca) or from enslaved Africans or Asians who came from areas where Portuguese was used as a trade language”1. Both the Arabs and the Portuguese did not permanently settle on the island. Instead, they just used it as a port of call in order to supply themselves in food and water. Later on, in 1598, the Dutch, while going to the East, landed at “Port Bourbon”2, now called Vieux Grand Port, in the South East of the island and they named the island “Mauritius”. Unlike the Portuguese, the Dutch decided to establishment some settlements on the island. “The
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