History of the Seychelles
When Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope for the first time in 1498 he opened up the sea route from Europe to India. This paved the way for the discovery of the Seychelles when in 1501 another Portuguese navigator came upon a group of low coral islands. However it is thought they may have been discovered centuries earlier, for a group of similar islands appear on documents owned by Arab sailors in AD 851.
The islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion were claimed by the Europeans in order to supply their ships working the trade routes between Europe and India but surprisingly the Seychelles were left undisturbed. A British ship arrived in 1609 and a member of the crew described in his journal the uninhabited islands, the beauty of the landscape, plentiful birds, tortoises and fishes.
Despite this, the islands were to remain uninhabited for a further 160 years, the first settlers arriving in 1770. They consisted of 14 French men, seven slaves, five labourers and a lady named Maria! In 1778 the French established a military base on Mahe, and by 1786 there were 24 military personnel, 4 civilians and 122 slaves.
When Mauritius fell to the British in 1810 the Seychelles was officially declared a British colony, as a dependency of Mauritius. By 1816 the Seychelles had a thriving community with a population of 7000 of whom 6000 were slaves. With the British influence continuing, the main town was given the name Victoria in 1841.
The Seychelles ceased to be a dependency in March 1903. But as industry increased across the world demand for its natural vanilla and coconut oils fell, and poverty became widespread.
During World War II, British ships stopped at the Seychelles to refuel. Troops from the Seychelles were sent to Africa and saw action in El Alamein and Tobruk.
The natural habitat continued to be plundered with demand for tortoiseshell ornaments and products increasing across the world. Turtles were harvested in large numbers.
Environmental lobbyists began to take more notice of the Seychelles and Aldabra became the world’s first coral atoll World Heritage site in 1982.
The international airport, on the island of Mahe, opened in 1971 and since then tourism has become an increasingly important part of the Seychelles economy.
The first main government of the Seychelles was established in 1948, elected only by landowners. Two political parties, with completely differing views, were established in 1964 and it was not until 1967 until everyone across the islands was given the vote.
In 1976 the Seychelles became an independent republic with leaders of the two parties forming a coalition government. However in 1977 and armed coup was staged and the Seychelles became a single party Socialist State. This situation continued until 1991 when there was a return to multi-party politics.
