Introduction
Welcome to Mauritius, a stunning tropical island off of the southeast coast of Africa abounding in flora, fauna, and an eclectic fusion of diverse cultures. As alluring as its natural beauty may be, its real charm lies with its people: descendants of ancestors tracing back to France, Great Britain, mainland Africa, India, and China, and whom are actively creating a nation of heterogeneity. Here English emerges as a language of the academics and as a lingua franca, adding yet another layer of linguistic variety to this remarkably complex country.
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Geography
Mauritius is a small island of 2,040 square km and about 1,132 kilometers (about 500 miles) from the island of Madagascar. This tropical oasis boasts wet, humid summers and hot, dry winters, and is home to lush rainforests and plentiful arable land. Much of the island is a small coastal plain that rises up into the mountains and into a central plateau in the center of the small country. Large urban centers are clustered throughout the main island with the highest population being around the capital Port Louis. Its proximity to water highlights environmental concerns such as coral reef bleaching, water pollution, and soil erosion detrimental to the ecosystem.
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Language & Demographics Mauritius is home to a multitude of different languages due to the different populations that have settled on the island over the centuries. Though Mauritius has no indigenous populations, the modern Mauritians have created a home French Creole, which is the most commonly spoken first language (86.5 percent). French has had a strong influence over Mauritius, including over its Creole, and is taught as a subject in all Mauritian schools. It is spoken as a first language by about 4 percent of the population, but 71 percent of the nation can write an intelligible and formal letter in French (Miles, 2000, p. 218). English has been the national language of Mauritius since its occupation by Britain in 1810, but very few (.2 percent) speak it as their first language. It is the language of the schooling system and of the judiciary, and about 45 percent of Mauritians speak it as a third language, but there are a surprisingly small amount of Anglophones for an Expanding Circle country (Miles, 2000, p. 218). The English taught in Mauritius is British Received Pronunciation. Due to the large population of Indo-Mauritians (close to two-thirds of the population), many Indian languages are also spoken on the island, including Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telegu, Hindi, and Urdu, Bhojpuri being the most widely spoken.
The majority of Mauritian citizens are of the Hindu religion, and, along with Indo-Mauritian, identify with the ethnicities of Creole, Sino-Mauritian (descended from Chinese immigrants and traders), Afro-Mauritian (descended from mainland African immigrants and former slaves), and Franco-Mauritian. The nation has one of the lowest population growth rates in Africa, most likely due to high education rates and high quality of health care. Today, Mauritius' population is around 1.3 million, each with a unique linguistic background. |
Government & Politics
The Mauritian government is a parliamentary republic led by a president and the National Assembly. Each position has a term of five years; the President and Vice President are elected by the National Assembly, and 62 of the 70 parliamentary positions in the National Assembly are voted upon by the constituents. The other 8 are appointed by the Office of Electoral Commission.
The current acting president is former Vice President Paramasiyum Pillay Vyapoory who took office after the former president Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resigned over a scandal involving federal credit cards. Gurib-Fakim was the the first Muslim woman to be named head of state in Africa before the incident. The government consists of members of each of the five major political parties, each of whom share power equally amongst the National Assembly. These parties include the Labour Party, Alliance Lepep, the Mauritian Militant Movement, the Mauritian Social Democrat Party, the Militant Socialist Movement, and Muvment Liberater. Many of these parties are socialist/leftist leaning. |
History & Economy |
Though the island, given the name "Mauritius" by the Dutch after their Prince Maurice von Nassau, had been on the radar of colonizers for years since its exploration by the Portuguese and the Dutch, the island remained relatively unclaimed until the French East India Company landed there in 1715. The French imported sugar cane to the island and made it an African naval port, and French settlers made their way to colonize this untouched land.
Mauritius was taken over by the British in 1810, but the citizens were allowed to keep their French-based language, laws, and customs. Many British settlers found Mauritius too far and too French to be a popular place to live, so English remained the language of Mauritius mostly in name only. Used in World War II as a naval and air base, the island and its people proved to be instrumental to the British. They received a bloodless independence in 1968. To this day, Mauritius has one of the highest GDPs in Africa, evolving from an agriculturally-based economy to one of industry, finance, and tourism. 90 percent of the island is used to grow sugar cane, which is still a vital export. |
Culture
There are no indigenous Mauritians: its people are all descendants of immigrants from Europe, India, mainland Africa, and China. Because of this, Mauritian culture is uniquely its own.
Most people in Mauritius marry into their same ethnicity. Culturally, Mauritians are generally collectivist, gravitating toward others who hold similar ideals in such a heterogeneous society, and valuing the group as a whole. Families are very close, often living with extended relatives in one home due to high land costs, and marriage outside of the ethnic identity of the family is often looked down upon. Street food is very common to the culture of Mauritius. Samosas, noodles, curried rolls, soups, and other snacks are often sold from vendors in highly populated cities like Port Louis. City restaurants are often owned by Sino-Mauritians, but feature a medley of different foods popular amongst each ethnicity. Families at home often eat rice with a variety of meats, fish, and vegetables. Upon meeting a foreigner, Mauritians often seem aloof, but are generally very warm and friendly. They they place an emphasis on family and community, and are a nation of celebrations with thirteen national holidays and a colorful style of dress. |
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Nathalie Dinsdale
Fall 2019
Fall 2019