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If we go through the chronological history of Mauritius then we would come to know that the very existence of Mauritius first came into light courtesy Italian cartographer Alberto Cantino. But if you believe the claim of the Portuguese then you can say that Mauritius was actually discovered by the Portuguese explorer Tristao Da Cunha between the years 1507 and 1513. In 1598, the Dutch came to Mauritius and brought about a major change in the History of Mauritius.
Dutch colonization of Mauritius began from the year 1638 and it ended in the year 1710. Cornelius Gooyer, the first governor of Mauritius, established the first Dutch settlement in Mauritius in the year 1638 with a garrison of twenty-five people. After the end of the Dutch supremacy the French came to power and created a major landmark in the historical background of Mauritius. Guillaume Dufresne D'Arsel landed here in the year 1715 and named it the ‘Isle de France’. The glorious period of French occupation in the history of Mauritius however began from the year 1735, when Mahé de La Bourdonnais first came to Mauritius. Mahé de La Bourdonnais established Port Louis as the naval base and the center of ship building in Mauritius. Mauritius became an important base during the Napoleonic Wars till in 1810, a strong British naval force came and attacked the island.
The years from 1810 to 1968 marked the presence of the British dominance in the history of Mauritius. Commodore Josias Rowley conquered Mauritius on 3rd Decemeber 1810. The Treaty of Paris signed in the year 1814 finally made the British the sole colonial power ruling Mauritius. The most important contribution of the British colonial rule in the history of Mauritius was the abolition of slavery in 1835. However when slavery was abolished the need to have cheap laborer also increased which led to the influx of people from Asian countries like China, Japan and most importantly India to Mauritius as coolies. This led to the culture of Mauritius becoming a melting pot of various cultures of the world. The year 1947 marked a glorious episode in Mauritius’ history because in that year a new Legislative Assembly was created and that was won by the Labor Party and it was the stepping stone of the beginning of the self government in Mauritius. The independence movement gained momentum marking a change in the historical background of Mauritius from the year 1961 finally leading to the independence of Mauritius in 1968.
With the advent of independence Mauritius also with time became a member of Commonwealth and started progressing towards economic and social development.
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