History of Mauritius And Flag
Mauritius is an island located on the eastern side of Madagascar and consists of four horizontal stripes. The top is red, then blue, yellow and green below. The colors used are of traditional Pan African significance. The red represents the struggle for independence and the blue represents the Indian Ocean that surrounds the island. After independence, the yellow stripe should symbolize the island’s bright future, and the green stripe reminds of Mauritius’s lush vegetation. These colors were influenced by the island’s coat of arms, which was given to King Mauritius in 1906 by King Edward VIII. The flag was adopted in 1968 when the island gained independence from British rule.
History of Mauritius
It is interesting to learn about the history of Mauritius. It is interesting to study the past which has contributed so much to the identity of Mauritius today.
Due to the lack of documentary evidence from the first period in which the island was discovered, it is difficult to ascertain the true events of history. The well-known fact is that in the 10th century, the first Arabs entered the island, which named the island Din Arubi (Desert Island). It is also known that there were Malaysian tribes after them, but very little information is available about this period.
Portuguese period
After the Arabs and Malaysia, the Portuguese maritime Domingo Fernandez Pereira visited Mauritius in 1507 and named it “Ilha do Siren” (Swan Island). The group of islands, named after Mauritius, Rodrigues and Reunion, the Portuguese captain, Peru Miskarenas, is still known today as the island of Muskerin. However, the Portuguese never settled in the country, they used the island as a port of call and a source of fresh food because they were more interested in protecting their trade routes with India.
The Dutch Settlements
Vibrant Warwijk was the first Dutch citizen to visit the country in 1598, and the island was named after the Dutch Stoilder Mauritius (also known as the Prince of Nassau). During the first years, the Dutch did not occupy the island but regularly visited it, taking advantage of its raw materials like ebony and wild animals such as the famous dodo, pigs, goats and turtles.
The first Dutch settlement began in 1630 to prevent the French and English from occupying the island. Settled on the eastern coast of the Netherlands island, which has a southeast harbor, an area they called “Haven van Warwijk”, where the town of Vieux Grand Port now stands.
