History History

According to certain manuscripts (rediscovered in the ^18th century), these islands were discovered by merchants around 851. Having settled on the east coast of Africa between the ^7th and ^9th centuries, notably in the Comoros Islands, the Arabs were bound to come across this archipelago on their way to the Persian Gulf. A certain Al Mas'Udi, a traveler and historian who visited Madagascar in 916, mentions the Maldives and the high islands beyond. Other later maps and texts also refer to the Arab presence in the Indian Ocean. These islands are often referred to as Zarin (i.e. "sisters"). Aldabra's name is said to come from "Al-Khadra", which in Arabic means "the green one", or from Al-Dabaran, the brightest star in the Taurus constellation.

From the time of the Great Discoveries onwards, some elements became more precise, as Portuguese caravels, after sailing along the Atlantic coast of Africa, landed in the Indian Ocean. In 1501, João de Nova discovered several islets in the Seychelles, to which he gave his name (renamed Farquhar).

Vasco de Gama, an admiral at the time, was cruising this area and referred to the future Amirantes islands as the Admiral's Islands, since Portuguese cartographers had first mentioned a large island, Ilha Ganaa, on the site of present-day Mahé, in their portulans. Other islands were included from 1506 onwards, with maps referring to them as As Sete Irmas (The Seven Sisters) or Os Irmaos (The Brothers). Portugal's navigators were not interested in this archipelago, which lay outside the normal route to India, as it contained no precious materials, and only stopped off to replenish their supplies of fresh water.

The British entered the scene, determined to trade in the ports of the Indian subcontinent. For them too, these islands were a good anchorage on the road to India. From then on, English and Dutch travelers followed one another to this archipelago.

Driven out of the West Indies (our present-day Caribbean), pirates also saw this new maritime space as a land paradise. Whether they flew the British, Dutch or French flag, many merchant ships were cruising these waters: a godsend for forbidden and freebooters. They were American (Burgess, Halsey, Tew, North, Captain Kid), French (Mission, Levasseur, called La Buse) and especially English (Taylor, William, Howard, Bowen, Avery, called Long Ben). From 1685 onwards, piracy extended to the African coast. Dismayed by these crimes, the English and the French intended to deploy great means to rid the ocean of these audacious terrorists. Many of them, taking advantage of an amnesty, withdrew not without having put their booty in a safe place. The Seychelles, still uninhabited, is an ideal place to hide treasure. In the Seychelles, when someone has suddenly become prosperous, it is said that he has discovered a loot in his garden.

After the colonization of Bourbon Island (Reunion Island) and the Island of France (Mauritius), why not colonize others? On November 19, 1742, the Frenchmen Lazare Picault and Jean Grossin arrived at an island. Having proved perfect for a stopover on the new route to the Indies, the flattering reports of Picault and Grossin led Mahé de La Bourdonnais, the admiral who governed Bourbon Island and the Island of France, to plan a settlement.

On May 30, Picault anchored at a new site called Port-Royal (now Victoria). Having found that the construction of 300 houses is possible and that the nature of the soil is favourable, he also visits one of the neighbouring islands, which he names the island of Palme (now Praslin), because it is home to many palm and cotton-bearing lataniers. The enchantment is such that the explorer decides to baptize the islands of La Bourdonnais this so pleasant archipelago, the island of Abondance becoming the island Mahé. The governor, although disgraced two years later, would leave his name to the territory.

A man named Brayer du Barré, a newly arrived businessman, was the first to obtain authorization to create a small farm. On August 27, twenty-six men and women disembarked and eight months later, the businessman was delighted. It was such a success that the Intendant of the Islands of France and Bourbon, Pierre Poivre, who had long been interested in testing spice plants in the Seychelles, decided to send a former military officer, Antoine Gillot, and some forty workers to create a royal garden. Gillot established it on Mahé, at Anse Royale. But the relations between the two groups were to be so disastrous that the enthusiasm of the beginnings quickly faded. The settlers were quickly disappointed, and many of them committed all kinds of excesses. Thus, the turtles were massacred by thousands.

The promising islands proved to be a disappointment. It was time for the governor general of the Ile de France to take over the colony. Make way for Romainville! Brought by the king's corvette, the lieutenant and his fifteen regimental men disembarked in October: fusiliers, grenadiers and corporals were also carpenters, blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, bakers, tailors and gardeners. A barracks, a prison, a store, a hospital and a pavilion for passing guests were quickly built on the site of present-day Victoria. Charles de Romainville was given police powers to keep the peace. He was also asked to protect the forests and turtles

The inhabitants were only about thirty, the slaves, more than two hundred. Slavery was in full swing and, even though, some 13,000 km away, the proclamation that "men are free and equal in rights" was about to be made, there was no question of freeing the servile population..

On June 19, 1790, Jorre de Saint-Jorre and Nageon de l'Étang were appointed secretaries of the meeting chaired by Quienet. The few inhabitants entitled to attend the meeting wished above all for an autonomous administration, that is to say, to no longer receive orders from Port-Louis. The Seychellois eventually obtained their independence... one hundred and eighty-six years later, the administrators having succeeded in leaving Port-Louis as the supervisory authority.

On ¹ August, the new national flag was solemnly hoisted and, two years later, the arrival of Quéau de Quinssy marked the end of the revolutionary period. For a third of a century, the man who can be considered the father of the Seychelles and who is nicknamed the Talleyrand of the Indian Ocean will be intimately linked to the history of the archipelago. For this quiet gentleman who was to become a man of war, to say the least, the period was marked by the beginning of a Franco-British war due to repeated attacks by French privateers on English ships. Quéau de Quinssy, after experiencing some trouble with the first British representatives who accused him of being a thief and a slave trader, went to Mauritius, from where he returned innocent.

Frequenting the new route to India, and no longer able to bear the aggressions of which they were victims, on May 16, the British sent four ships to conquer Mahé. With only a handful of men to fight back, Quéau de Quinssy chose to submit. This capitulation was followed by fifteen others, as the clever Quéau de Quinssy lowered the English flag as soon as the ships left Mahé! Thus, for fifteen years, Mahé was, depending on the day, English or French.

On April 21, 1811, the British settled in for good and Barthelemy Sullivan disembarked. He was the first of a long series of British officials who would administer the archipelago until its independence, one hundred and sixty-five years later. On May 30, 1814, the Treaty of Paris ratified this allegiance, Mauritius and the Sechelles having been attributed to England. The Congress of Vienna ratified this transfer the following year. From then on, Séchelles would take on a "y".

From that date on, Seychelles' production had to be transited through Mauritius. But it was mainly the fall in cotton prices that led to the economic decline of the Seychelles. Some began to develop coconut plantations, others planted tobacco, cloves and sugar cane. Money in circulation became even more scarce as in 1826 the monetary system had to obey the accounts made in pounds sterling.

On February 11th, the time of forced servility is over! On this historic date, it is the end of slavery.

On October 12, a terrible storm hit Mahé and Praslin. Violent winds, intense rains, waterspouts: from the tops of Victoria, mud and uprooted trees swallowed everything in their path. This avalanche was to leave its mark on the memory: fifty or so dead and as many missing, schooners crushed and sunk, thirty thousand coconut trees uprooted..

As the economy recovers, London becomes reachable by telegraph. The authorities have also set up a small hospital. The population doubled: 10,000 souls in 1880, nearly 20,000 in 1900. Officially recognized as Seychelles by an ordinance of 1881, the so-called remote islands are no longer ignored. The government now rents out some of them to farmers. But the new prosperity should not hide the disparity of social classes and health is the other grey area.

The collapse of vanilla prices on the European markets is ruining many small owners. As a result, the large planters, who have opted for the coconut tree, are taking over the leading position in exports. On the other hand, essential oils, especially cinnamon, are becoming established on the market. The business takes a new rise!

The First World War will affect the distant colony. London somewhat forgets its islands and unemployment and poverty make their appearance. Theft of fruit becomes commonplace. In 1916, 791 volunteers left for the African continent. The Seychelles Labour Force was going to experience difficult days: 327 of the 791 men would not return. A monument is erected in their memory, at the cemetery of Mont-Fleuri.

Seychelles will return to pre-war prosperity, with copra providing the bulk of exports. Modernism begins to impose itself. Electricity appeared in 1926, followed by the telephone bringing Praslin and La Digue out of their isolation. Another sign of progress appears: cars replace rickshaws. In 1924, a hospital is inaugurated. But the economic boom is stopped because of the global crisis of 1929.

The economy, aided by the Colonial Development Fund, is slowly recovering. The following year, a long-awaited agricultural bank opens. The sumptuous celebrations - held on the occasion of the coronation of King George V - testify to the regained prosperity.

At the time of the Second World War, some 900 enlisted men embarked in 1941 for Africa. They fought at El Alamein, against Rommel's troops, but also at Tobruk, in Libya, in Tunisia and even in Italy. About sixty soldiers fell on the field of honor.

A ten-year development program has been launched, in terms of public works (roads, port...), education (elementary school, college...) and health and social protection. The fishing industry also gives satisfaction, the salted and dried fish having become a promising niche. But the subsidies mask persistent difficulties and the Seychellois will soon show their discontent.

Universal suffrage was introduced for the election of district councils, but the British governor remained the sole master of the archipelago.

The Seychellois feel the need to rebel. It is the time of the emancipation of Africa. The United Seychellois People's Party (SPUP) and the Seychellois Democratic Party (SDP) were formed in 1964. Founded in England by a Seychellois expatriate, France-Albert René, the SPUP bases its electoral programme on a demand for autonomy. As for James Mancham's SDP, it initially intended to retain the colonial status of the Seychelles and to focus its campaign on improving the standard of living.

It took 12 years for the liberation process to be completed. It was a journey marked by several milestones, including the November-December 1967 election of the eight elected members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage. The resulting new, more liberal constitution preceded the one arrived at by the constitutional conference held in London in 1970: four ministers were to oversee the governor. In November of that year, after the elections to the Legislative Assembly, James Mancham became Chief Minister. He was reappointed in April 1974. The previous year, several thousand Seychellois had marched to reaffirm their desire to free themselves from the mother country. The British protector was to release its colony and at the same time return part of the national territory at the time of independence. Understanding that the Seychelles would one day free itself from their tutelage, the British had indeed decided, in 1965, to allocate Aldabra, Farquhar, Desroches and the Chagos (the latter depending on Mauritius until then), in order to keep a pied-à-terre in the Indian Ocean. In exchange for these islands far from Mahé, London promised to build an international airport at its own expense, allowing tourism to finally take off. This promise was kept in 1971. The following year, Queen Elizabeth landed there during her official trip to the archipelago. It was time for a British sovereign to set foot on the soil of this distant possession! In 1974, the Seychelles became an autonomous colony. A big step had just been taken, especially since the two parties had reconciled for the exercise of power: James Mancham became Prime Minister, France-Albert René, Minister of Public Works and Rural Development. With the new constitution prepared in London, the Republic of Seychelles was finally born at midnight on 29 June 1976. James Mancham became the first president of Seychelles.

On the night of 4-5 June, a handful of young leftist intellectuals seized power with astonishing ease. All they had to do was storm an arms depot, the airport and the Radio-Seychelles studios for the Seychelles to see a new future. The revolution was on the march, led by his charismatic guide France-Albert René, then 40 years old.

To the despair of the big landowners, many of whom decided to leave the country, revolution obviously meant expropriation. Having set out to build a state economy, President René began by practising radical social democracy, attacking inequality. In the civil service, the wage gap was narrowed from 1 to 21 in 1976 to 1 to 9 in 1981. A full-employment program would soon guarantee work for all at the minimum wage, while a social security system was established. In education, housing and health, revolisyon also worked wonders, with the infant mortality rate falling to the level of the most advanced European countries. "The Seychelles, archipelago of happy communism?" ran the headline in the Nouvel Observateur in March 1992, three months after René announced the advent of a multiparty system and elections in July.

After 14 years of authoritarian socialism, the archipelago was to convert to a multiparty system, with anyone being able to create a party with a minimum of 100 members. Exiles were invited to return to the country, which ex-president Mancham did in April 1992, three months before a new constitution was drafted. President René was nonetheless re-elected president in July with 59 per cent of the vote. The Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan (who trained as a priest in Britain), who is a very good speaker, quickly established himself as the leader of the opposition, and the SNP changed its name to United Opposition for the two 1998 elections. The March 1998 presidential election confirmed the enduring strength of President René, who was re-elected with 66.67 per cent of the vote, but also saw the decline of Mancham's SDP (13.80 per cent) in favour of Ramkalawan's United Opposition (19.53 per cent).

France-Albert René retained power, but not without taking the lead, deciding in 2001 to bring forward the presidential election by two years. the astute strategist was re-elected in the first round, on the SPPF ticket, with 54.19 per cent of the votes cast, according to the official results, against 44.95 per cent for his main rival, Wavel Ramlalawan. This was further confirmed by the September 2002 Assembly elections, which were also held early in order to cut off the opposition's lead. Now one of the world's longest-serving rulers, René was to put his designated successor, James Michel, in the saddle.

On February 24, the indomitable prezidan announced his intention to hand over to his vice president after 27 years in power. The 59-year-old, inspired by the philosophy of Rousseau and Voltaire, and an admirer of Baudelaire, was sworn in as president on April 14.

Following the 2008 crisis and the economic downturn in the archipelago, James Michel was re-elected in 2011 and again in December 2015 for a third and final term. A mandate that was ultimately (very) short-lived, as the presidential Lepep party was defeated in the legislative elections held the following September. His vice-president Danny Faure replaced him as head of state on September 27, 2016. For the first time in their history, the Seychelles lived under cohabitation. A new political revolution took place in October 2020, with opposition politician Wavel Ramkalawan taking charge of the archipelago's destiny. A first since the country's independence in 1976. A major political change in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. It is now up to him to revive the country after a health crisis that has damaged the all-important tourism sector and led to a rise in daily prices, as he himself admitted mid-term in the spring of 2023.