![]() The arrival of humans in the form of sailors saw vast numbers of dodos being killed for their meat. The bird, once present in huge numbers on the island was flightless owing to a shortage of predators and thus remained safe on the ground. Mauritius is believed to be the only known habitat of the now extinct flightless Dodo bird. Ironically, the national football team of Mauritius is nicknamed as The Dodos - a bird commonly associated with slumber and lethargy.Ģ4. Legendary American writer Mark Twain was once quoted saying: "Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and heaven was copied after Mauritius." Well, that's some praise!Ģ3. Mauritius' peaceful atmosphere allows it to exist without needing to raise a standing army.Ģ2. Mauritius was one of the only four countries in the world in 2017 which were not engaged in any domestic or international conflicts with other countries including neighbouring countries.Ģ1. He played a vital role in Mauritius' freedom struggle and is often referred to as Father of the nation. ![]() Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, also referred to as Chacha is to Mauritians what Mahatma Gandhi is to Indians. ![]() Mauritius' national flag is also referred to as the Four Bands owing to the four coloured stripes each with its significance - Red symbolizes the bloodshed for abolishing slavery and attaining independence, Blue symbolizes the vast and mighty Indian Ocean surrounding Mauritius, Yellow symbolizes the bright and shining future ahead, and Green symbolizes the lush green vegetation on the island. Public Transport in Mauritius is free for students, people with disabilities and senior citizens!ġ8. Bhojpuri music is on the rise in Mauritius owing to the surging popularity of Bhojpuri bands such as The Bhojpuri Boys. Owing to a heavy presence of Indians on the island, Bhojpuri is a widespread native language spoken by a sizeable chunk of Mauritians. The songs are sung in Creole, and while dancing, the dancers never let their feet lose contact with the ground.ġ6. Mauritius' most popular native music and dance style is the Sega music which traces back its origin to the slave population. The locals converse in Mauritian Creole, a unique language deriving its structure from French with some African influences.ġ5. English and French are the two most widely spoken languages on the island. An estimate reveals that Mauritians on an average spend of more than 700 hours each year participating in religious activities.ġ4. Mauritius is the only African nation with Hinduism as the dominant religion.ġ3. Almost 90% of the Mauritian population is literate, and the life expectancy is a reasonably high 75 years.ġ2. There are more women than men on the island, leading to a very healthy gender ratio.ġ1. More than 1.2 million people reside on these islands leading to a high population density (highest in the entire African continent). After the abolition of slavery in 1835, the Britishers brought over more than half a million labourers from India whose descendants form the largest community in Mauritius today.ġ0. These sugarcane plantations were worked upon mostly by slaves. Mauritius also remained an important stopping point on the trade routes from Europe before the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.ĩ. While being ruled by the French East India Company, sugarcane plantations prospered, making it one of the most significant contributors to the economy. It has remained independent since 1968.Ĩ. Three nations have over the years colonised Mauritius - the Netherlands (1638-1710), France (1715-1810) and Great Britain (1810-1968). It was christened as Mauritius several centuries later when the Dutch Squadron landing at Grand Port in 1598 named it Mauritius in honour of Prince Maurice Van Nassau, stadtholder of the Dutch Republicħ. When first discovered by Arab Sailors back in 975, the island was called Dina Arobi. Mauritius is a proud possessor of the United Nations Development Program's highest Human Development Index (HDI) in all of Africa.Ħ. The island of Mauritius is surrounded by a ring of dormant volcanoes, streams, waterfalls and rivers in all four directions.ĥ. In fact, the island is just 45 km wide and 65 km long.Ĥ. The entire island of Mauritius is just 2040 km2 in area, making it the world's 170th largest nation. These islands were formed a relatively young 9 million years ago, from the lava spewed out by underwater volcanoes.ģ. Brandon and two more disputed territories as well.Ģ. While Mauritius is the island most people know about, The Republic of Mauritius comprises of the islands of Rodrigues, Agalega, St. Read on to get a taste of some lesser-known facts about Mauritius.ġ. While the sparkling white beaches and deep, impenetrable azure waters are what Mauritius is best known for in the tourist circles, there is much more to this island than meets the eye.
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