Comprehensive history of Mauritius, A: From the beginning to 200

HISTORYpp. 437 illusts #271124The known and sometimes formally documentedÂhistory of MauritiusÂbegins with its possible discovery by Austronesians (not documented) under the Austronesian expansion from pre-HanÂTaiwan, circa 1500 to 1000 BC, and then byÂArabs, (documented on Portuguese maps), followed byÂPortugueseÂand its appearance on European maps in the earlyÂ16th century.ÂMauritiusÂwas successively colonized by the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, and became independent on 12 March 1968.Mauritius was first officially discovered by the Portuguese as corroborated by Portuguese maps. This is evident in the earliest existing historical evidence of the island on theÂCantino PlanisphereÂwhich was purloined by theÂItalianÂdiplomat/spyÂAlberto Cantino from Portugal in 1502.ÂCantino shows three islands which represent the Mascarenes (Rà union, Mauritius and Rodrigues) and calls them Dina Margabin, Dina Arobi, and Dina Moraze. TheÂCantino planisphereÂalso shows theÂCargados Carajos shoalsÂ(St. Brandon) asÂbaixosÂ(shallows). The medieval Arab world called theÂIndian OceanÂisland regionÂWaqwaq.Mauritius was later rediscovered and visited by the Portuguese between 1507 and 1513. Mauritius and surrounding islands were known as the Mascarene Islands (Ilhas Mascarenhas) afterÂPedro Mascarenhas.An official world map byÂDiogo Ribeiro described "from west to east, the first island, 'Mascarenhas', the second, 'Santa Apolonia' and the third, 'Domingo Froiz.' ÂThe three islands (Rà union, Mauritius andÂRodrigues) were encountered some years earlier by chance during an exploratory expedition of the coast of theÂBay of BengalÂled byÂTristão da Cunha. The expedition ran into aÂcycloneÂand was forced to change course. Thus, the shipÂCirneÂof the captainÂDiogo Fernandes Pereira, came into view of Rà union island on 9 February 1507. They called the island "Santa Apolonia" ("Saint Apollonia") in honor of that day's saint. Mauritius was encountered during the same expedition and received the name of "Cirne" and Rodrigues that of "Diogo Rodrigues".[4]ÂFive years later, the islands were visited by Pedro Mascarenhas.[5]Âwho left the name "Mascarene" for the whole region. The Portuguese took no interest in these isolated islands. They were already established in Asia inÂGoa, on the coast of Malabar, on the island of Ceylon (nowÂSri Lanka) and on the Malaysian coast.Their main African base was inÂMozambique, therefore the Portuguese navigators preferred to use theÂMozambique ChannelÂto go to India. TheÂComorosÂto the north proved to be a more practical port of call. Thus no permanent colony was established on the island by the Portuguese. Elizabeth's Bookshops have been one of Australia's premier independent book dealers since 1973. Elizabeth's family-owned business operates four branches in Perth CBD, Fremantle (WA), and Newtown (NSW). All orders are dispatched within 24 hours from our Fremantle Warehouse. All items can be viewed at Elizabeth's Bookshop Warehouse, 23 Queen Victoria Street\, Fremantle WA.…