The Mauritius Police Force
| Author | F. R. G. Rountree |
| Published date | 01 January 1930 |
| Date | 01 January 1930 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X3000300106 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Mauritius Police Force
By F. R. G.
ROUNTREE
Inspector
of Police.
Mauritius
,Stella Clavisque Maris
Indici'
1
IT is not, perhaps, surprising that few people are aware of the
exact position of the Colony of Mauritius or that many know
little or nothing about the island, if one takes into considera-
tion its size and isolated position. Those readers who study
political economy will, no doubt, be aware that Mauritius is
the largest cane-sugar producing Colony (as distinct from
Dominion) in the British
Empire;
those whose spare time
takes them into the realms of philately will immediately con-
nect its name with the famous ' Post Office Twopenny
Blue'
stamp, and naturalists will think of it as the one-time home of
the now extinct dodo.
In
the circumstances ashort historical
and geographical survey of the island, by way of an intro-
duction, may not be out of place.
Geographical and Historical
Survey.-
Mauritius is an island
in the Indian Ocean, and is situated just within the tropic
of Capricorn.
It
lies about
1,300
miles to the north-east of
Durban, South Africa, and
2,000
miles to the south-west of
Cape Comorin, India.
It
comprises an area of about
720
square miles (nearly equal to Surrey), having an extreme
length of 39 miles from north to south, and an extreme breadth
of 29 miles from east to west. Port Louis, situated on the
north-west coast, is the administrative and commercial capital
of the Colony and seat of the Government.
It
possesses
awell-sheltered harbour.
The
town within the muni-
cipallimits has an area of
2.1
square miles and the number
l'
Star
and
key of
the
Indian
Ocean'
(motto,
assigned by Royal
Warrant
dated
25th
August
1906.
for
the
Colony of
Mauritius).
50
THE
MAURITIUS
POLICE
FORCE
51
of persons per square mile reached 20,376 in the census
of 1921.
Tradition has attributed the discovery of the island to the
Portuguese navigator, Pedro Mascarenhas, between 15°7 and
1512,
but
it was probably known to the Arabs at a much earlier
date. However, the Portuguese made no settlement,
but
from
1638 downwards petty settlements were established at various
points by the Dutch, who first landed in 1598, and who gave
the name '
Mauritius'
to the island in honour of Prince
Maurice of Nassau.
The
Colony did not prosper and was
abandoned by the
Dutch;
and in 1715 the French took pos-
session,
but
did not actually occupy the island till 1721, when
a small party of colonists were sent out on behalf of the French
East India Company who re-named the
island'
Isle de France.'
During the war between England and France the Isle de
France was a great source of trouble to our merchantmen, as
its situation rendered it the key to the Indian Ocean, and in
1809 the British Government commenced preparations for its
capture. Astrong expeditionary force was sent from India and
the Cape under General Abercrombie: the island surrendered to
Great Britain on
jrd
December 1810, after a memorable battle,
and was finallyceded to the British Crown by the TreatyofParis
in 1814.
The
laws, religion and customs of the inhabitants were
guaranteed for a period of one hundred years in the instrument
of capitulation, and the name was changed back to Mauritius.
On rst April 1835 the slaves, who were descendants of the
natives of East Africa and Madagascar, were emancipated;
but
as this new class of free men refused employment as
agricultural labourers, the planters were obliged to resort to
the introduction of labour from India, which continued, with
temporary interruptions, from 1842 to 1910.
The
descend-
ants of the immigrants from
India-the'
Indo-Mauritians
,-
now form the largest section of the population.
They
are
increasing in numbers and are predominant in domestic, com-
mercial and still more in agricultural callings.
The
permanent
settled population of European race is greater in Mauritius than
in any other tropical colony of its size, many inhabitants being
descendants of the ancient French nobility, who were amongst
the earliest settlers.
To continue reading
Request your trial