MAURITIUS, an island and British colony in the Indian Ocean (known whilst a French possession as the Île de France). It lies between 57° 18′ and 57° 49′ E., and 19° 58′ and 20° 32′ S., 550 m. E. of Madagascar, 2300 m. from the Cape of Good Hope, and 9500 m. from England via Suez. The island is irregularly elliptical—somewhat triangular—in shape, and is 36 m. long from N.N.E. to S.S.W., and about 23 m. broad. It is 130 m. in circumference, and its total area is about 710 sq. m. (For map see [Madagascar].) The island is surrounded by coral reefs, so that the ports are difficult of access.

From its mountainous character Mauritius is a most picturesque island, and its scenery is very varied and beautiful. It has been admirably described by Bernardin de St Pierre, who lived in the island towards the close of the 18th century, in Paul et Virginie. The most level portions of the coast districts are the north and north-east, all the rest being broken by hills, which vary from 500 to 2700 ft. in height. The principal mountain masses are the north-western or Pouce range, in the district of Port Louis; the south-western, in the districts of Rivière Noire and Savanne; and the south-eastern range, in the Grand Port district. In the first of these, which consists of one principal ridge with several lateral spurs, overlooking Port Louis, are the singular peak of the Pouce (2650 ft.), so called from its supposed resemblance to the human thumb; and the still loftier Pieter Botte (2685 ft.), a tall obelisk of bare rock, crowned with a globular mass of stone. The highest summit in the island is in the south-western mass of hills, the Piton de la Rivière Noire, which is 2711 ft. above the sea. The south-eastern group of hills consists of the Montagne du Bambou, with several spurs running down to the sea. In the interior are extensive fertile plains, some 1200 ft. in height, forming the districts of Moka, Vacois, and Plaines Wilhelms; and from nearly the centre of the island an abrupt peak, the Piton du Milieu de l’Île rises to a height of 1932 ft. Other prominent summits are the Trois Mamelles, the Montagne du Corps de Garde, the Signal Mountain, near Port Louis, and the Morne Brabant, at the south-west corner of the island.

The rivers are small, and none is navigable beyond a few hundred yards from the sea. In the dry season little more than brooks, they become raging torrents in the wet season. The principal stream is the Grande Rivière, with a course of about 10 m. There is a remarkable and very deep lake, called Grand Bassin, in the south of the island, it is probably the extinct crater of an ancient volcano; similar lakes are the Mare aux Vacois and the Mare aux Joncs, and there are other deep hollows which have a like origin.

Geology.—The island is of volcanic origin, but has ceased to show signs of volcanic activity. All the rocks are of basalt and greyish-tinted lavas, excepting some beds of upraised coral. Columnar basalt is seen in several places. The remains of ancient craters can be distinguished, but their outlines have been greatly destroyed by denudation. There are many caverns and steep ravines, and from the character of the rocks the ascents are rugged and precipitous. The island has few minerals, although iron, lead and copper in very small quantities have in former times been obtained. The greater part of the surface is composed of a volcanic breccia, with here and there lava-streams exposed in ravines, and sometimes on the surface. The commonest lavas are dolerites. In at least two places sedimentary rocks are found at considerable elevations. In the Black River Mountains, at a height of about 1200 ft., there is a clay-slate; and near Midlands, in the Grand Port group of mountains, a chloritic schist occurs about 1700 ft. above the sea, forming the hill of La Selle. This schist is much contorted, but seems to have a general dip to the south or south-east. Evidence of recent elevation of the island is furnished by masses of coral reef and beach coral rock standing at heights of 40 ft. above sea-level in the south, 12 ft. in the north and 7 ft. on the islands situated on the bank extending to the north-east.[1]

Climate.—The climate is pleasant during the cool season of the year, but oppressively hot in summer (December to April), except in the elevated plains of the interior, where the thermometer ranges from 70° to 80° F., while in Port Louis and on the coast generally it ranges from 90° to 96°. The mean temperature for the year at Port Louis is 78.6°. There are two seasons, the cool and comparatively dry season, from April to November, and the hotter season, during the rest of the year. The climate is now less healthy than it was, severe epidemics of malarial fever having frequently occurred, so that malaria now appears to be endemic among the non-European population. The rainfall varies greatly in different parts of the island. Cluny in the Grand Port (south-eastern) district has a mean annual rainfall of 145 in.; Albion on the west coast is the driest station, with a mean annual rainfall of 31 in. The mean monthly rainfall for the whole island varies from 12 in. in March to 2.6 in. in September and October. The Royal Alfred Observatory is situated at Pamplemousses, on the north-west or dry side of the island. From January to the middle of April, Mauritius, in common with the neighbouring islands and the surrounding ocean from 8° to 30° of southern latitude is subject to severe cyclones, accompanied by torrents of rain, which often cause great destruction to houses and plantations. These hurricanes generally last about eight hours, but they appear to be less frequent and violent than in former times, owing, it is thought, to the destruction of the ancient forests and the consequent drier condition of the atmosphere.

Fauna and Flora.—Mauritius being an oceanic island of small size, its present fauna is very limited in extent. When first seen by Europeans it contained no mammals except a large fruit-eating bat (Pteropus vulgaris), which is plentiful in the woods; but several mammals have been introduced, and are now numerous in the uncultivated region. Among these are two monkeys of the genera Macacus and Cercopithecus, a stag (Cervus hippelaphus), a small hare, a shrew-mouse, and the ubiquitous rat. A lemur and one of the curious hedgehog-like Insectivora of Madagascar (Centetes ecaudatus) have probably both been brought from the larger island. The avifauna resembles that of Madagascar; there are species of a peculiar genus of caterpillar shrikes (Campephagidae), as well as of the genera Pratincola, Hypsipetes, Phedina, Tchitrea, Zosterops, Foudia, Collocalia and Coracopsis, and peculiar forms of doves and parakeets. The living reptiles are small and few in number. The surrounding seas contain great numbers of fish; the coral reefs abound with a great variety of molluscs; and there are numerous land-shells. The extinct fauna of Mauritius has considerable interest. In common with the other Mascarene islands, it was the home of the dodo (Didus ineptus); there were also Aphanapteryx, a species of rail, and a short-winged heron (Ardea megacephala), which probably seldom flew. The defenceless condition of these birds led to their extinction after the island was colonized. Considerable quantities of the bones of the dodo and other extinct birds—a rail (Aphanapteryx), and a short-winged heron—have been discovered in the beds of some of the ancient lakes (see [Dodo]). Several species of large fossil tortoises have also been discovered; they are quite different from the living ones of Aldabra, in the same zoological region.

Owing to the destruction of the primeval forests for the formation of sugar plantations, the indigenous flora is only seen in parts of the interior plains, in the river valleys and on the hills; and it is not now easy to distinguish between what is native and what has come from abroad. The principal timber tree is the ebony (Diospyros ebeneum), which grows to a considerable size. Besides this there are bois de cannelle, olive-tree, benzoin (Croton Benzoe), colophane (Colophonia), and iron-wood, all of which arc useful in carpentry; the coco-nut palm, an importation, but a tree which has been so extensively planted during the last hundred years that it is extremely plentiful; the palmiste (Palma dactylifera latifolia), the latanier (Corypha umbraculifera) and the date-palm. The vacoa or vacois, (Pandanus utilis) is largely grown, the long tough leaves being manufactured into bags for the export of sugar, and the roots being also made of use; and in the few remnants of the original forests the traveller’s tree (Urania speciosa), grows abundantly. A species of bamboo is very plentiful in the river valleys and in marshy situations. A large variety of fruit is produced, including the tamarind, mango, banana, pine-apple, guava, shaddock, fig, avocado-pear, litchi, custard-apple and the mabolo (Diospyros discolor), a fruit of exquisite flavour, but very disagreeable odour. Many of the roots and vegetables of Europe have been introduced, as well as some of those peculiar to the tropics, including maize, millet, yams, manioc, dhol, gram, &c. Small quantities of tea, rice and sago, have been grown, as well as many of the spices (cloves, nutmeg, ginger, pepper and allspice), and also cotton, indigo, betel, camphor, turmeric and vanilla. The Royal Botanical Gardens at Pamplemousses, which date from the French occupation of the island, contain a rich collection of tropical and extra-tropical species.

Inhabitants.—The inhabitants consist of two great divisions, those of European blood, chiefly French and British, together with numerous half-caste people, and those of Asiatic or African blood. The population of European blood, which calls itself Creole, is greater than that of any other tropical colony; many of the inhabitants trace their descent from ancient French families, and the higher and middle classes are distinguished for their intellectual culture. French is more commonly spoken than English. The Creole class is, however, diminishing, though slowly, and the most numerous section of the population is of Indian blood.

The introduction of Indian coolies to work the sugar plantations dates from the period of the emancipation of the slaves in 1834-1839. At that time the negroes who showed great unwillingness to work on their late masters’ estates, numbered about 66,000. Immigration from India began in 1834, and at a census taken in 1846, when the total population was 158,462, there were already 56,245 Indians in the island. In 1851 the total population had increased to 180,823, while in 1861 it was 310,050. This great increase was almost entirely due to Indian immigration, the Indian population, 77,996 in 1851, being 192,634 in 1861. From that year the increase in the Indian population has been more gradual but steady, while the non-Indian population has decreased. From 102,827 in 1851 it rose to 117,416 in 1861 to sink to 99,784 in 1871. The figures for the three following census years were:—

1881.1891.1901.
Indians248,993255,920259,086
Others110,881114,668111,937
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  Total359,874370,588371,023
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