Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Until the 18th century the Seychelles was uninhabited. The islands were first spotted by
Portuguese explorers, but the first recorded landing was by a British East India Company
ship in 1609. Pirates and privateers used the Seychelles as a temporary base during lulls in
their marauding.
The Colonial Period
In 1742, Mahé de Labourdonnais, the governor of what is now Mauritius, sent Captain
Lazare Picault to investigate the islands. Picault named the main island after his employer
(and the bay where he landed after himself) and laid the way for the French to claim pos-
session of the islands 12 years later.
It took a while for the French to do anything with their possession. It wasn't until 1770
that the first batch of 21 settlers and seven slaves arrived on Ste Anne Island. After a few
false starts, the settlers began growing spices, cassava, sugar cane and maize.
In the 18th century, the British began taking an interest in the Seychelles. The French
were not willing to die for their colony and didn't resist British attacks, and the Seychelles
became a British dependency in 1814. The British did little to develop the islands except
increase the number of slaves. After abolition in 1835, freed slaves from around the re-
gion were also brought here. Because few British settled, however, the French language
and culture remained dominant.
Over the years the islands have been used as a holding pen for numerous political pris-
oners and exiles.
In 1903 the Seychelles became a crown colony administered from London. It promptly
went into the political and economic doldrums until 1964, when two political parties were
formed. France Albert René, a young lawyer, founded the Seychelles People's United
Party (SPUP). A fellow lawyer, James Mancham, led the new Seychelles Democratic
Party (SDP).
Independence
Mancham's SDP, made up of businesspeople and planters, won the elections in 1966 and
1970. René's SPUP fought on a socialist and independence ticket. In June 1975 a coalition
of the two parties gave the appearance of unity in the lead-up to independence, which was
