History of Mauritius Timeline

Abandoned by the Dutch, the island became a French colony when, in September 1715, Guillaume Dufresne d'Arsel landed and took possession of this port of call on the route to India.

Image source: Isle de France (Mauritius)

Six years after France claimed the island, in 1721, the French started their occupation of Mauritius, then known as Isle de France.

In early 1729 Indians from Pondicherry arrived in Mauritius aboard the vessel La Sirène. Work contracts for these craftsmen were signed in 1734 at the time when they acquired their freedom.

Image source: Mauritians

It was only from 1735, with the arrival of the French governor Mahé de La Bourdonnais, that 'Isle de France' started developing effectively.

Image source: Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais

The island was under the administration of the French East India Company which maintained its presence until 1767, after which officials were appointed directly by the French government.

In 1796 the French settlers broke away from French control when the government in Paris attempted to abolish slavery, and the local colonists expelled government envoys Baco and Burnel.

In 1806, the Governor General, Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen, created the city of Mahébourg, named in honour of Mahé de La Bourdonnais.

Image source: Mahébourg

Despite the only French naval victory during the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Grand Port on 19 and 20 August 1810 by a fleet commanded by Pierre Bouvet, Mauritius was captured on 3 December 1810 by the British under Commodore Josias Rowley.

Image source: Battle of Grand Port

In late November 1810 the British landed in large numbers in the north of the island near Cap Malheureux and rapidly overpowered the French, who capitulated on 3 December 1810. A preliminary attack had been foiled at Grand Port in August 1810.

Image source: British Mauritius

By the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the 'Isle de France', which was renamed 'Mauritius', was ceded to Great Britain, together with Rodrigues and the Seychelles, confirming British possession four years after capture.

In 1828, the colour bar was officially abolished in Mauritius, but British governors gave little power to coloured persons, and appointed only whites as leading officials. Rémy Ollier, an important journalist of mixed origin, was a key figure of the 19th century; his bust was erected in the Jardin de la Compagnie in 1906.

Image source: Rémy Ollier

When slavery was abolished on 1 February 1835, an attempt was made to secure cheap labour for sugar plantations. Indo-Mauritians are descended from Indian immigrants, most of whom arrived between 1835 and 1924 via the Coolie Ghat to work as indentured labourers.

Long opposed by planters, the abolition of slavery became effective in Mauritius on 1 February 1835. By the early 19th century there were 60,000 slaves on the island, accounting for around 80 percent of the population in the late 18th century.

Image source: Culture of Mauritius

To finance compensation in all its slave colonies, the British government negotiated a colossal loan of 15 million pounds sterling with financiers Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moïse Montefiore on 3 August 1835. In total, 2,112,632 pounds sterling were paid to Mauritian owners. The repayment of this debt was not completed until 2015, almost two centuries later.

Image source: Slave Compensation Act 1837

Events such as the 1850 Yamsé Ghoon Riots indicated the prevalence of ethnic tensions against the newly arrived Muslims from India.

Image source: 1850 Yamsé Ghoon Riots

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 reduced the number of ships transiting via Mauritius, diminishing the island's strategic importance as a stopover on routes to India.

In November 1901, Mahatma Gandhi visited Mauritius, on his way from South Africa to India, encouraging the Indo-Mauritian community to take interest in education and public life.

The Mauritius Territorial Force (MTF), a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces formation consisting of infantry and coastal artillery units, was created in 1934.

Following rising labour unrest, the Mauritius Labour Party was founded in 1936 by Maurice Curé to safeguard the interest of the labourers.

Image source: Labour Party (Mauritius)

During the war, more than 1,500 Central European Jews who were denied entry to Mandatory Palestine in 1940 were detained in Beau Bassin until 1945.

Image source: History of the Jews in Mauritius

As a result of the war, the MTF was expanded to comprise two battalions, and was renamed the Mauritius Regiment in 1943.

In December 1943, the 1,000-strong Mauritius Regiment mutinied in Madagascar as a result of anger over the regiment being sent abroad, as its members had enlisted for service only in Mauritius.

Elections in August 1948 for the newly created Legislative Council under the revised 1947 Constitution marked Mauritius's first steps toward self-rule. The first sitting took place on 1 September 1948.

Between 1965 and 1968 there were various ethnic riots which could only be brought under control with assistance from British troops who flew in from South-East Asia.

A coalition composed of the Mauritian Labour Party (MLP), the Comité d'Action Musulman (CAM), and the Independent Forward Bloc (IFB) won a majority in the 1967 Legislative Assembly election, despite opposition from supporters of Sir Gaetan Duval's and Jules Koenig's Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD).

British rule ended on 12 March 1968 with the Mauritius Independence Act 1968. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam became the first prime minister. The date of 12 March was specifically chosen to coincide with Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March of 12 March 1930.

The last colonial governor, Sir John Shaw Rennie, served as the first governor-general of independent Mauritius until 27 August 1968.

Image source: John Shaw Rennie

The Independence Party coalition disintegrated by 1969, most IFB MPs landing on opposition benches whilst most PMSD MPs joined the Labour-CAM government. In 1969, the Mouvement Militant Mauricien led by Paul Bérenger and Heeralall Bhugaloo emerged. The first MMM MP, Dev Virahsawmy, was elected in 1970 at a by-election.

Image source: Mauritian Militant Movement

Until 1982, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was prime minister, his Labour Party in coalition with Duval's PMSD. In 1982, the coalition of Mouvement Militant Mauricien/Parti Socialiste Mauricien came to power in a landslide electoral victory, with Sir Anerood Jugnauth as prime minister and Harish Boodhoo as Deputy Prime Minister.

Image source: 1982 Mauritian general election

The coalition split in 1983, with Sir Anerood Jugnauth forming the Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (MSM), which became the governing party, with Jugnauth as prime minister. Sir Satcam Boolell, dismissed from the Labour Party after the 1982 defeat, formed the short-lived Mouvement Patriotique Mauricien before returning to Labour in 1983, and was president of the party from 1984 to 1991.

Image source: Militant Socialist Movement

In 1990 Seewoosagur's son, Navin Ramgoolam, succeeded him as leader of the Labour Party, which was defeated at the 1991 elections, which saw Sir Anerood Jugnauth re-elected under a MMM-MSM government. In December 1991, the Constitution was amended to make Mauritius a republic within the Commonwealth.

Image source: Navin Ramgoolam

The Republic of Mauritius was proclaimed on 12 March 1992, with the last governor general, Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, as interim president. He was succeeded by Cassam Uteem on 30 June 1992.

Navin Ramgoolam led a MLP-MMM coalition to victory at the 1995 general elections, replacing Sir Anerood Jugnauth as prime minister, a post the latter had occupied for 13 years. The governing coalition split in 1997, with the MMM going back to the Opposition.

Image source: 1995 Mauritian general election

At the next elections in 2000, Sir Anerood Jugnauth's MSM, in coalition with Paul Bérenger's MMM, was returned to power, with Sir Anerood Jugnauth appointed as prime minister.

Image source: 2000 Mauritian general election

At the 2005 general elections, the MLP-led Alliance Sociale coalition won the elections, bringing Navin Ramgoolam back as prime minister.

Image source: 2005 Mauritian general election

The 2010 general elections saw the victory of a MLP-MSM-PMSD coalition known as 'L'Alliance de l'Avenir' and the maintaining of Dr Navin Ramgoolam in power.

Image source: 2010 Mauritian general election

The 2014 general elections saw the victory of a MSM-PMSD-ML coalition known as 'L'alliance Lepep', and Sir Anerood Jugnauth became Prime Minister while Kailash Prayag remained president until 2016 when Mrs Ameena Gurib-Fakim became the first female president.

Image source: 2014 Mauritian general election

In January 2017, Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth stepped down to hand power to his son, Pravind Jugnauth.

Image source: Pravind Jugnauth

The first female president, Mrs Ameena Gurib-Fakim, resigned over a financial scandal in March 2018.

Image source: Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

In November 2019, Mauritius' ruling Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) won more than half of the seats in the 2019 elections, securing incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth a new five-year term.

Image source: 2019 Mauritian general election

On 25 July 2020, Japanese-owned bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the coast of Mauritius, leaking up to 1,000 tonnes of heavy oil into a pristine lagoon and causing an environmental crisis.

Image source: MV Wakashio oil spill

On 5 December 2022, Yu Feng 67, a Taiwanese long liner based in Port Louis and authorised by the Mauritian Fisheries Planning and Licensing Division ran aground on the reefs of St. Brandon. This was the fourth Taiwanese shipwreck in Mauritius in 2022.

Image source: St. Brandon

On 3 October 2024 it was announced through a joint statement by the UK and Mauritian governments that the Chagos Archipelago was to have its sovereignty transferred to Mauritius.

Image source: Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute

On 10 November 2024, the opposition coalition, Alliance du Changement, won 60 of the 64 seats in the Mauritian general election.

Image source: 2024 Mauritian general election

The transfer agreement was signed on 22 May 2025, with the provision that the island of Diego Garcia would be leased back to the UK for at least 99 years. The UK government expects the treaty to be ratified near the end of 2025.