Gracia y el forastero

Mauritius (pronounced /məˈrɪʃəs/; French: L’île Maurice pronounced: [lil mɔˈʁis], Mauritian Creole:Moris), officially the Republic of Mauritius (French: République de Maurice) is an island nationoff the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islandsof Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius is part of theMascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 200 km (120 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the northeast.
Uninhabited until the 17th century, the island was ruled first by the Dutch and then the French after the Dutch had abandoned it. The British took control during the Napoleonic Warsand Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. Mauritius is a parliamentary republic and is member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa the African Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.

The main languages spoken in Mauritius are Mauritian Creole, French and English. English is the only official language but the lingua franca isCreole and the newspapers and television programmes are usually in French.[7] Ethnically, the majority of the population is Indian, but there are also many people of African descent on the island. There are also European and Chineseminorities. It is the only African nation where the largest religion is Hinduism although Christianityand Islam also have significant populations.

The island ofMauritius is renowned for having been the only known home of the dodo. First sighted by Europeans around 1600 on Mauritius, the dodo became extinct less than eighty years later. Mauritius has an upper-middle income economy.

History.

Mauritius was uninhabited until being permanently settled by European explorers in the 1600s.[8] The island was known to Arab and Austronesian sailors as early asthe 10th century.[9] The Portuguesesailors first visited it in 1507 and established a visiting base leaving the island uninhabited. Five ships of the Dutch Second Fleet were blown off course during a cyclone while on their way to the Spice Islands and landed on the island in 1598, naming it in honour of Prince Maurice of Nassau, theStadtholder of the Netherlands.[10][11]

In 1638, the Dutchestablished the first permanent settlement. Because of tough climatic conditions including cyclones and the deterioration of the settlement, the Dutch abandoned the island after nearly a century in 1710.[12] France, which already controlled the neighbouring Île Bourbon (nowRéunion) took control of Mauritius in 1715 and later renamed it Île de France (Isle of France). Under French rule, the islanddeveloped a prosperous economy based on sugar production.

In the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) the British set out to gain control of the island. Despite winning the Battle of Grand Port, Napoleon's only naval victory over the British, the French surrendered to a British invasion at Cap Malheureux three months later. They formally surrendered on 3 December 1810, on terms allowing settlers to keeptheir land and property and to use the French language and law of France in criminal and civil matters. Under British rule, the island's name reverted to the original one. Mauritius then went on to become independent in 1968.

Politics.

The Government is elected on a five-year basis. The most recent general elections took place on July 3, 2005 in all the 20 mainland constituencies, as well as theconstituency covering the island ofRodrigues. Historically, elections have tended to be a contest between two major coalitions of parties. In international affairs, Mauritius is part of the Indian Ocean Commission, the Southern African Development Community and the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie (French speaking countries), amongst others. A more complete list can be found in the...