History of Mauritius

After a brief Dutch settlement, French immigrants who came in 1715 named the island Île de France and established the first road and harbor infrastructure, as well as the sugar industry, under the leadership of Gov. Mahe de Labourdonnais. Blacks from Africa and Madagascar came as slaves to work in the sugarcane fields. In 1810, the British captured the island and in 1814, by the Treaty of Paris, it was ceded to Great Britain along with its dependencies. Indian immigration, which followed the abolition of slavery in 1835, rapidly changed the fabric of Mauritian society, and the country flourished with the increased cultivation of sugarcane. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 heralded the decline of Mauritius as a port of call for ships...

Read more »

Republic of Mauritius

President: Anerood Jugnauth (2003) Prime Minister: Navin Ramgoolam (2005) Land area: 714 sq mi (1,849 sq km); total area: 788 sq mi (2,040 sq km) Population (2007 est.): 1,250,882 (growth rate: 0.8%); birth rate: 15.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 14.1/1000; life expectancy: 72.9; density per sq mi: 1,752 Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Port Louis, 577,200 (metro. area), 143,800 (city proper) Monetary unit: Mauritian rupee Languages: English less than 1% (official), Creole 81%, Bojpoori 12%, French 3% (2000) Ethnicity/race: Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% Religions: Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 24%, other Christian 8%, Islam 17% (2000) Literacy rate: 86% (2003 est.) Economic summary:...

Read more »

Atomium - Brussels

At first glance, the Atomium looks like a candidate for the World's Largest Roadside Attractions. And why not? It puts the World's Largest Baseball Bat and the World's Largest Bicycles to shame. Yet the city fathers of Brussels would hasten to tell you that, far from being an example of kitsch, the Atomium is a lasting symbol of the 1958 Brussels World's Fair and Belgium's answer to the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. Tastes obviously differ regarding the aesthetic appeal of a giant molecule. Still, the Atomium is an impressive structure when viewed from close up. It stands 332 feet (102 meters) high and consists of nine spheres of 59 feet (18 m) diameter connected by tubes measuring 94 feet (29 m) in length and 10 feet...

Read more »