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Arab traders knew of Mauritius as early as the 10th century but never stopped to settle it. Portuguese naval explorers later stumbled upon the island in the wake of Vasco de Gama's voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498. Still, apart from introducing pesky monkeys and rats, the Portuguese did little to influence the place. This was left to the next wave of immigrants, the Dutch. In 1598, Vice Admiral Wybrandt van Warwyck came ashore and claimed the island for the Netherlands, christening it after his ruler, Maurice, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau. It was another 40 years before the Dutch began to settle the country, preferring instead to use it as a supply base on the route to Java. The colony never really flourished, and the Dutch departed for good in 1710, leaving in their wake the extinction of the dodo and the introduction of African slaves, Javan deer, wild boar, tobacco and sugar cane.
Five years later, French captain Guillaume Dufresne d'Arsel claimed the island, renamed it Île de France and gave it over to the French East India Company to run as a trading base. Popular settlement began in 1721, and within 15 years the first sugar mill had been built, along with a road network and hospital.
During the second half of the 18th century, the island's capital, Port Louis, became a free trading base and haven for corsairs, mercenary marines paid by a country to plunder the ships of its enemies. Tired of competing, the British moved in on the corsairs (and on Mauritius) in 1810. After an initial defeat at the Battle of Vieux Grand Port, the Brits landed at Cap Malheureux on the northern coast and took the island. The 1814 Treaty of Paris ceded Île de France, Rodrigues and the Seychelles to the victors but allowed Franco-Mauritians to retain their language, religion, Napoleonic Code legal system and sugar plantations. In 1835, the slaves were freed and the labour force was supplemented by workers brought in from India and China.
While Franco-Mauritian plantations supported some wealthy sugar barons (as they do today), Indian workers continued to be indentured by the thousands. Through strength of numbers, Indians gradually bolstered their say in the country's management, aided in 1901 by a visit from Mahatma Gandhi. In 1936, the Labour Party was founded to continue the struggle for labourers' rights. The following year, their burden was lightened by a new constitution granting the vote to anyone over 21 who could sign their name. Under the direction of Dr Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (who was later knighted), membership swelled and the party flourished.
Mauritius was granted independence from Britain on 12 March 1968, and Sir Ramgoolam was elected prime minister, a title he retained for the next 13 years. He was succeeded by a coalition of the leftist Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) and the Parti Socialiste Mauricien, though tensions in the parties' upper ranks rattled the infrastructure throughout their reign. In 1986, three Mauritian MPs were caught at Amsterdam's airport with heroin in their suitcases, and the resulting inquiry implicated other politicians in drug money and led to several resignations. Mauritius officially became a republic in 1992.
In 1999, tensions between the Créole population and the Indo-Mauritian majority exploded. Popular reggae singer Joseph 'Kaya' Topize was arrested during a rally to legalise marijuana and died of a skull fracture while in police custody. Riots broke out across the island, particularly in Port Louis.
The economic situation today isn't rosy. By the end of 2003, growth had slipped and unemployment had shot up to around 10%. The main cause of the downturn is competition from cheap textiles from South-East Asia. On the bright side, the number of tourist arrivals continues to grow.
The other major government strategy is to encourage foreign investment in telecoms. The latest talk is of Mauritius becoming a 'CyberIsland', fully wired-up with all the latest technology.
On the political front, Paul Bérenger became the country's first non-Indian prime minister in 2003. It was short-lived, however - Navinchandra Ramgoolam, son of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, took over in July 2005.
