History UsefulNotes / Mauritius

Mauritius is a tiny East African island nation off the east coast of Madagascar. Famous for its unspoiled beaches combined with the tropical weather and natural inland beauty, hence Mark Twain's quote above. It is also considered to have one of the best economies in Africa – international metrics often label it the richest country in Africa; it's one of the only ones in the region with a per capita income classified as "upper-high". Because of its recent human colonization, the country is incredibly cosmopolitan with Indians, Africans, Europeans, and Chinese making up shares of the population. Pluralism is also the rule for the country's politics and affairs; the current Government, for example, features a (Sunni) Muslim as President, a Catholic as Vice-President, and a Hindu as Prime Minister. It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages.

* '''Highest point:''' Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (828 m/2,717 ft) (180th)

* '''Highest point:''' Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (828 m/2,717 ft) (165th)

* '''Highest point:''' Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (828 m/2,717 ft) (159th)

* '''Highest point:''' Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (828 m/2,717 ft) (165th)

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' MU

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Mauritius is a tiny island nation off the east coast of Africa. Famous for its unspoiled beaches combined with the tropical weather and natural inland beauty, hence Mark Twain's quote above. It is also considered to have one of the best economies in Africa – international metrics often label it the richest country in Africa; it's one of the only ones in the region with a per capita income classified as "upper-high". Because of its recent human colonization, the country is incredibly cosmopolitan with Indians, Africans, Europeans, and Chinese making up shares of the population. Pluralism is also the rule for the country's politics and affairs; the current Government, for example, features a (Sunni) Muslim as President, a Catholic as Vice-President, and a Hindu as Prime Minister. It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages.

Mauritius is a tiny island nation off the east coast of Africa. It is considered to have one of the best economies in Africa – international metrics often label it the richest country in Africa; it's one of the only ones in the region with a per capita income classified as "upper-high". It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages.

Recent studies suggest that the dodo actually disappeared because of the destruction of its habitat and vermin brought by humans (rats, cats, pigs, and so on) rather than from hunting. Contemporary accounts ''all'' mention how awful and unedible the dodo's flesh tasted.

The island was practically uninhabited until the Dutch came in the 17th century, but harsh conditions forced them to abandon the island. The French arrived some years after that and took control of it (they already controlled the rest of the neighbourhood anyway) and kept it until the NapoleonicWars, when the British took it. The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became one of the Realms of UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic within the Commonwealth.

Mauritius is a tiny island nation off the east coast of Africa. It is considered to have one of the best economies in Africa – international metrics often label it the richest country in Africa; it's the only one in the region with a per capita income classified as "upper-high". It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages.

Mauritius is a tiny island nation southeast of Africa. It’s a growing economy, considered one of the best in Africa, with an upper-high income. It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages.

The island was practically uninhabited until the Dutch came in the 17th century, but harsh conditions forced them to abandon the island. The French arrived some years after that and took control of it (they already controlled the rest of the neighborhood anyway) and kept it until the NapoleonicWars, when the British took it. The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became part of UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic.

The Dutch, even though they didn’t stay for long, left two indelible marks on the country. The first of them was the sugar cane, which continues to be the country’s main export. The second was the complete annihilation of one of its natural residents, a bird all people know very well from the media, even though nobody has seen one -- the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo dodo]]. This bird, endemic to Mauritius, was big, heavy, incapable of flying and didn’t appear to be too smart, so the Dutch named it "dodo", referring to its simpleton attitude. Given its natural dopey-ness, they didn’t take too long to hunt it to complete extinction. That didn’t stop the bird from [[VindicatedByHistory reaching memetic status]], of course, and since then it has appeared everywhere, including ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' and the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', among others; it even appears in the coat of arms of the country. A huge achievement for a bird that seems dumber than a turkey.

Recent studies suggest that the dodo actually disappeared because of the destruction of its habitat and vermin brought by humans (rats, cats, pigs and so on) rather than from hunting. Contemporary accounts ''all'' mention how awful and unedible the dodo's flesh tasted.

The island was practically uninhabited until the Dutch came in the 17th century, but harsh conditions forced them to abandon the island. The French arrived some years after that and took control of it (they already controlled the rest of the neighborhood anyway) and kept it until the NapoleonicWars, when the British took it. The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became part of TheCommonwealth. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic.

Recent studies suggest that the dodo actually disappeared because of vermin brought by humans, like rats, cats, and so on, and not because of hunting. Contemporary accounts ''all'' mention how awful and unedible the dodo's flesh tasted.

->The flag's red, blue, yellow and green stripes symbolize the blood of freedom fighters, the Indian Ocean, the light of independence, and the islands' lush vegetation, respectively.

->The red far-upper stripe symbolizes the blood of the fallen throughout the islands' struggle for self-government; the blue center-upper stripe symbolizes the Indian Ocean; the yellow center-lower stripe symbolizes the light of independence; and the green far-lower stripe symbolizes the lush vegetation of Mauritius.

UsefulNotes/{{Mauritius}} is a tiny island nation southeast of Africa. It’s a growing economy, considered one of the best in Africa, with an upper-high income. It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages.

The island was practically uninhabited until the Dutch came in the XVII century, but the harsh conditions forced them to abandon the island. The French arrived some years after that and took control of it (they already controlled the rest of the neighborhood anyway) and kept it until the NapoleonicWars, when the British took it. The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became part of TheCommonwealth. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic.

The Dutch, even though they didn’t stay for long, left two indelible marks on the country. The first of them was the sugar cane, which continues to be the country’s main export. The second was the complete annihilation of one of its natural residents, a bird all people know very well from the media, even though nobody has seen one. I’m talking about the dodo. This bird was big, heavy, incapable of flying and didn’t appear to be too smart, so the Dutch named it dodo, referring to its simpleton attitude. Given its natural dopey-ness, they didn’t take too long to hunt it to complete extinction. That didn’t stop the bird from [[VindicatedByHistory reaching memetic status]], of course, and since then it has appeared everywhere, including ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' and the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', among others; it even appears in the coat of arms of the country. A huge achievement for a bird that seems dumber than a turkey.

[[AC: The Mauritian flag]]
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/125px-Flag_of_Mauritius_svg_1347.png

UsefulNotes/{{Mauritius}} is a tiny island nation southeast of Africa. The island was practically uninhabited until the Dutch came in the XVII century, but the harsh conditions forced them to abandon the island. The French arrived some years after that and took control of it (they already controlled the rest of the neighborhood anyway) and kept it until the NapoleonicWars, when the British took it.

The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became part of TheCommonwealth. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic. Nowadays it’s a growing economy, considered one of the best on Africa, with an upper-high income. It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages.

The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became part of TheCommonwealth. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic. Nowadays it’s a growing economy, considered one of the best on Africa, with an upper-high income. It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and French as official languages. However, one troubling area is the gender equality, and [[UnfortunateImplications violence against women]] seems to be an awfully frequent thing, even though the government has taken some steps to try to mitigate this.

The Dutch, even though they didn’t stay for long, left two indelible marks on the country. The first of them was the sugar cane, which continues to be the country’s main export. The second was the complete annihilation of one of its natural residents, a bird all people know very well from the media, even though nobody has seen one. I’m talking about the dodo. This bird was big, heavy, incapable of flying and didn’t appear to be too smart, so the Dutch named it dodo, referring to its simpleton attitude. Given its natural dopey-ness, they didn’t take too long to hunt it to complete extinction. That didn’t stop the bird from [[VindicatedByHistory reaching memetic status]], of course, and since then it has appeared everywhere, including ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' and the ''LooneyTunes'', among others; it even appears in the coat of arms of the country. A huge achievement for a bird that seems dumber than a turkey.

The Dutch, even though they didn’t stay for long, left two indelible marks on the country. The first of them was the sugar cane, which continues to be the country’s main export. The second was the complete annihilation of one of its natural residents, a bird all people know very well from the media, even though nobody has seen one. I’m talking about the dodo. This bird was big, heavy, incapable of flying and didn’t appear to be too smart, so the Dutch named it dodo, referring to its simpleton attitude. Given its natural dopey-ness, they didn’t take too long to hunt it to complete extinction. That didn’t stop the bird from [[VindicatedByHistory reaching memetic status]], of course, and since then it has appeared everywhere, including ''AliceInWonderland'' and the ''LooneyTunes'', among others; it even appears in the coat of arms of the country. A huge achievement for a bird that seems dumber than a turkey.

UsefulNotes/{{Mauritius}} is a tiny island nation southwest of Africa. The island was practically uninhabited until the Dutch came in the XVII century, but the harsh conditions forced them to abandon the island. The French arrived some years after that and took control of it (they already controlled the rest of the neighborhood anyway) and kept it until the NapoleonicWars, when the British took it.

The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became part of TheCommonwealth. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic. Nowadays it’s a growing economy, considered one of the best on Africa, with an upper-high income. It has no permanent army and thanks to British and French legacy, it has both English and France as official languages. However, one troubling area is the gender equality, and [[UnfortunateImplications violence against women]] seems to be an awfully frequent thing, even though the government has taken some steps to try to mitigate this.

The Dutch, even though they didn’t stay for long, left two indelible marks on the country. The first of them was the sugar cane, which continues to be the country’s main export. The second was the complete annihilation of one of its natural residents, a bird all people know very well from the media, even though nobody has seen one. I’m talking about the dodo. This bird was big, heavy, incapable of flying and didn’t appear to be too smart, so the Dutch named it dodo, referring to its simpleton attitude. Given its natural dopey-ness, they didn’t take too long to hunt it to complete extinction. That didn’t stop the bird from [[VindicatedByHistory reaching memetic status]], of course, and since then it has appeared everywhere, including AliceInWonderland and the LooneyTunes, among others; it even appears in the coat of arms of the country. A huge achievement for a bird that seems dumber than a turkey.

The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became part of TheCommonwealth. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic. Nowadays it’s a growing economy, considered one of the best on Africa, with an upper-high income. It has no permanent army and belongs to thanks to British and French legacy, it has both languages as official. However, one troubling area is the gender equality, and [[UnfortunateImplications violence against women]] seems to be an awfully frequent thing, even though the government has taken some steps to try to mitigate this.

The Dutch, even though they didn’t stay for long, left two indelible marks on the country. The first of them was the sugar cane, which continues to be the country’s main exportation. The second was the complete annihilation of one of its natural residents, a bird all people know very well from the media, even though nobody has seen one of them. I’m talking about the dodo. This bird was big, heavy, incapable of flying and didn’t appear to be too smart, so the Dutch named it dodo, referring to its simpleton attitude. Given its natural dopey-ness, they didn’t take too long to hunt it until its complete extinction. That didn’t stop the bird of [[VindicatedByHistory reaching memetic status]], of course, and since then it has appeared everywhere, including AliceInWonderland, the LooneyTunes, among others; it even appears in the coat of arms of the country. A huge achievement for a bird that seems dumber than a turkey.

The country achieved its independence on 1968, when it became a monarchy. It stayed this way until 1992, when it became a republic. Nowadays it’s a growing economy, considered one of the best on Africa, with an upper-high income. It has no permanent army and belongs to thanks to British and French legacy, it has both languages as official. However, one troubling area is the gender equality, and [[UnfortunateImplications violence against women]] seems to be an awfully frequent thing, even though the government has taken some steps to try to mitigate this.

The Dutch, even though they didn’t stay for long, left two indelible marks on the country. The first of them was the sugar cane, which continues to be the country’s main exportation. The second was the complete annihilation of one of its natural residents, a bird all people know very well from the media, even though nobody has seen one of them. I’m talking about the dodo. This bird was big, heavy, incapable of flying and didn’t appear to be too smart, so the Dutch named it dodo, referring to its simpleton attitude. Given its natural dopey-ness, they didn’t take too long to hunt it until its complete extinction [[HumansAreBastards (like we have done with uncountable other species)]]. That didn’t stop the bird of [[VindicatedByHistory reaching memetic status]], of course, and since then it has appeared everywhere, including AliceInWonderland, the LooneyTunes, among others; it even appears in the coat of arms of the country. A huge achievement for a bird that seems dumber than a turkey.