Isle de France (1715-1810)

In 1715, the French took possession of Mauritius and in 1722 established the first settlement under the aegis of French East India Company, naming the island „Isle de France.‟

The first stage of the French colonization was not well established and faced difficulties until the 1735 arrival of the French governor, Mahe de Labordonnais, who transformed the little island from a simple stop-over place to a new colony (Selvon, 2005). Under his governorship, he developed the economy of the island based on sugar production and cassava. Port-Louis, now the capital of Mauritius, was established as a naval harbor base and shipbuilding center. Numerous public buildings were constructed, including barracks for the soldiers, part of the House of

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Government, and the Chateau de Mon Plaisir, some of which are still standing today. He brought more slaves to do the manual labour for the development of the island. “The population of Mauritius prior to the coming of Labordonnais consisted of some French and about 1,500 slaves-about equal numbers from West Africa, Madagascar, and India. However, Mahe de Labordonnais was to inaugurate the importation of slaves on a bigger scale from the eastern coast of Madagascar and East Africa, together with some free Indian artisans”(Guruvadoo, 1994, p. 15)

As discussed, slaves were brought from different parts of Africa to work the land in Mauritius. This is the origin of the Creole (the descendant of the African slaves) community in Mauritius. When the slaves were brought to the Island, they were forcibly separated from their families and friends. The separations from their country and families have affected their cultural identity through the present day in Mauritius.

The arrival of La Bourdonnais has enabled the French settlers to engage in liberal trade activities. Indeed, in the history of French colonization, he became a well-known figure and a key player in the success of „Isle de France‟ during the French period. In 1750, Pierre Poivre, one of the most important administrators of the Island, introduced the cultivation of spices such as cinnamon, pepper, and cloves which he brought from his previous travels to the Far East. The famous garden that he has designed and created, Pamplemousses, consisted of many different species of plants. Later, according to Selvon (2005), the governor Decaen, who had been a successful general, ruled the island from 1803 to 1810.The Code Napoleon was introduced in the island following the revolution in France. However, the General Decaen enacted the Code Decaen which consisted of a mixture of the Code Napoleon and the laws from the Colonial Assembly (Selvon, 2005). “For instance, it included the re-establishment of the judicial system

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of 1789, the replacement of the elected representative of the municipalities (during the Revolution) by Civil Commissioners chosen from the White colonists by the governor, and many others” (Selvon, 2005, p. 187). The slaves were controlled by a law known as the Code Noir.

One French official appointed by the French government in the Island, Bernadin de St. Pierre, argued that under such rules the slaves were undergoing inhumane treatment and punishment.“They were forced to wear an iron collar; they were chained; they were tortured;

marooned slaves, when caught, had an ear and the ligament of one thigh cut off, and suffered various other forms of punishment” (Selvon, 2005, p. 138). Indeed, slavery conditions during the French period were very harsh and inhumane. There were several militants during the French revolution that had fought for the abolition of slavery and a mutual agreement among the French Revolutionary governments to abolish slavery in the various French colonies. However, in Isle de France, such abolishment didn‟t take place and slavery continues to flourish in the Island (Selvon, 2005).

In the French crown colony of Mauritius, formal education was not present, and it depended on the concern of private individuals (Juggernauth, 1993). However, the French Revolution in 1789 raised the idea of active state participation in education. It was proclaimed at the colonial assembly that the state had to provide its citizens moral and political education. The idea was to provide a standard of education which didn‟t discriminate between social classes.

The French educational system during the French Revolution was mainly reformed by the French educator Joseph Lakanal (1762-1845). In Isle de France the „Plan Lakanal‟ was adjusted to the needs of the island and implemented with the setting up of „Ecole Centrale‟ as a French institution to provide secondary education for the French elite settlers only. The larger members of the society could access only primary education which was privately run. Therefore, it can be

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said that, towards the end of the eighteenth century, the establishment of education started to become the concern of the French administrators in the island. Ramdoyal (1977) supported this viewpoint by saying “It is in vain that one searches the Mauritian Archives for official documents relating to the provision of education before 1779” (p. 31).

The different ethnic groups residing in the colony and different social classes seemed to live in mutual isolation, largely on account of each having its own specific socio-cultural orientation and an unequal economic status. Ramdoyal (1977) further gave a statistical representation of the resident of the island during this period, highlighted in Table 5.

Table 5: The residents during the French Periods

Year White Free Coloured Slaves Total

1767 3,163 587 15,027 18,777

1797 6,237 3,703 49,080 59,020

1807 6,489 5,912 65,367 77,76

The colored slaves formed the majority, but because they didn‟t have any rights, access to education was denied to them. Education was mainly in the hands of the white settlers and didn‟t have the aim to bring about social change. Reverend Lebrun, a very famous religious personality in the island, initiated free day primary schools to instruct the free slaves. The aim was to provide the newly enfranchised slaves basic religious and academic education to guide them, while at the same time give them the opportunity to be absorbed in the society. The fact was that they were still rejected by the community, especially by their ex-owners; Reverend Lebrun‟s work was not appreciated by the white population. “If his work among the free men of color had earned him the hostility and contempt of the French population, his attempts at

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instructing the free slaves were met with such violent opposition that even his life was in danger.

He was accused of Protestant proselytism and of conspiracy to set the slaves free” (Ramdoyal, 1977, p. 38).

The medium of language at the beginning of the 19th century was the lingua franca, Creole, developed as a result of contact between the French settlers and the slaves. Furthermore, an intermediate colored element was formed in the population, and became very widespread throughout the island. They were the illegitimate offspring of the white elite with the female slaves. By the time the British conquered the island, the language, the occupation, education, and population were very much fragmented.