Mauritius is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. The country is known for its beautiful beaches, unique wildlife, and diverse culture. The country’s capital city is Port Louis, and the population is estimated to be around 1.3 million people. The island was first discovered by the Arabs in the 10th century and has since been occupied by the Dutch, French, and British. The country gained independence in 1968 and has since become one of the most stable and prosperous nations in Africa. The economy of Mauritius is predominantly based on tourism, manufacturing, and services. The country is also known for its strong democratic government and has a mixed population of Indian, African, Chinese, and European people, leading to a vibrant cultural scene with a unique blend of different traditions and customs.

Mauritius is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. The country is known for its beautiful beaches, unique wildlife, and diverse culture. The country’s capital city is Port Louis, and the population is estimated to be around 1.3 million people. The island was first discovered by the Arabs in the 10th century and has since been occupied by the Dutch, French, and British. The country gained independence in 1968 and has since become one of the most stable and prosperous nations in Africa. The economy of Mauritius is predominantly based on tourism, manufacturing, and services. The country is also known for its strong democratic government and has a mixed population of Indian, African, Chinese, and European people, leading to a vibrant cultural scene with a unique blend of different traditions and customs.

This is the engrossing story of Mauritius, the exotic Indian Ocean island port of call at the heart of the fabled "Spice Route". Although first discovered and visited by the Arabs and the Portuguese, and subsequently colonised by the Dutch, the French and the English, it is the French influence that is most keenly felt in Mauritius today, thanks to France's nearly century-long rule over Mauritius from 1715 to 1810. Combining rich historical detail, rare archival documents, antique lithographs paintings, and portraits, and fascinating stories of well-known figures of the period - like the founder of the colony Governor Mahé de La Bourdonnais, the explorer and botanist Pierre Poivre, and the celebrated explorer Jean- François de Lapérouse - Mauritius on the Spice Route is an invitation to step back in time and discover the fascinating history of this exotic paradise.

The Mascarene islands in the southern Indian Ocean - Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues - were once home to an extraordinary range of birds and reptiles. Evolving on these isolated volcanic islands in the absence of mammalian predators or competitors, the land was dominated by giant tortoises, parrots, skinks and geckos, burrowing boas, flightless rails & herons, and of course (in Mauritius) the Dodo. Uninhabited and only discovered in the 1500s, colonisation by European settlers in the 1600s led to dramatic changes in the ecology of the islands; the birds and tortoises were slaughtered indiscriminately while introduced rats, cats, pigs and monkeys destroyed their eggs, the once-extensive forests logged, and invasive introduced plants from all over the tropics devastated the ecosystem. The now-familiar icon of extinction, the Dodo, was gone from Mauritius within 50 years of human settlement, and over the next 150 years many of the Mascarenes' other native vertebrates followed suit. The product of over 30 years research by Anthony Cheke, Lost Land of the Dodo provides a comprehensive yet hugely enjoyable account of the story of the islands' changing ecology, interspersed with human stories, the islands' biogeographical anomalies, and much else. Many French publications, old and new, especially for Réunion, are discussed and referenced in English for the first time. The book is richly illustrated with maps and contemporary illustrations of the animals and their environment, many of which have rarely been reprinted before. Illustrated box texts look in detail at each extinct vertebrate species, while Julian Hume's superb colour plates bring many of the extinct birds to life. Lost Land of the Dodo provides the definitive account of this tragic yet remarkable fauna, and is a must-read for anyone interested in islands, their ecology and the history of our relationship with the world around us.

This valuable book summarizes recent research by experts from both the natural and social sciences on the effects of population growth on land use. It is a useful introduction to a field in which little quantitative research has been conducted and in which there is a great deal of public controversy. The book includes case studies of African, Asian, and Latin American countries that demonstrate the varied effects of population growth on land use. Several general chapters address the following timely questions: What is meant by land use change? Why are ecological research and population studies so different? What are the implications for sustainable growth in agricultural production? Although much work remains to be done in quantifying the causal connections between demographic and land use changes, this book provides important insights into those connections, and it should stimulate more work in this area.

Mauritius has a population of only one million, yet it is noteworthy because of its religious, ethnic and cultural diversity. This text examines the history of the independence movement, the political and economic systems in operation and the post-independence democracy in Mauritius.